False praise, creates false self-esteem. It makes sense to me what the authors have hypothesized. There is one part that I take exception, “If Baumeister is right and violent criminals have higher self-esteem than most people, and if Rosemond is right and people who do not grow up with high self-esteem are more likely to be among the finest human beings, then society has the strongest interest in not promoting self-esteem among children.”

I believe there is more too it. What is omitted, is how people react, especially children in situations of high or low self-esteem. Would it not be better to teach people with the skills and tools to handled life experiences?  Is it not character building, and the raising of self-esteem, when a parent sought out methods to improved achievement in their LD child?  And if one method failed, try another one. 

I just believe there is more too it, than the simple hypothesis that was presented in the article.