Praise-aversion in the Patterson household.

It's not hard to see that you'll never see Elly provide Farley with positive reinforcement for desirable behavior; she doesn't, as I said, believe in it. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times that Elly has praised anyone for a job well done or congratulated her husband and children on their success without either being sarcastic or trying to twist things into a slam against her. She simply doesn't have it in her to be happy for their accomplishments or take pride in their deeds. It's even worse that she's not alone; she married a jerk who doles out sincere compliments with a damned eyedropper. John, as we all know, also cannot be grateful for the people in his life; he too must begrudge them their triumphs and be petty and ungracious. The worst thing of all is that Lynn doesn't see anything especially wrong with this surly, crabbed-up point of view. She seems to have a bottomless appetite for approval so can't seem to spare any for others.