Growth Mindset 1

Growth
Mindset

Is it better for a person to be talented or to work hard? What are the implications
of the belief that a person is naturally good at things? These questions bring us
to the work of Carol Dweck, noted for her work on mindset psychology, the
study of how people's beliefs, or mindset, about success can color how they
respond to challenges.

What is Mindset Psychology?

Another way of looking at the issue is how much control people believe they
have over success. Some people believe that they succeed based on natural
gifts that they either have or don't. Other people associate their success with
hard work, continued pursuit of a goal, or even failure. People in this second
group believe the ability to achieve is always in their reach if they work hard
enough.

What is Mindset Psychology?

The research behind mindset psychology was notable in part because it came
at a time when self-esteem was professed as the greatest influence to whether
young people succeeded and even whether they were happy. Violence and
other social ills were thought to be caused by low self-esteem. If someone
wasn't achieving to their potential, the answer would be to improve their respect
for themselves. Now, much of this research has been discarded by the scientific
community as too flawed to be dependable.

What is Mindset Psychology?

Multiple Choice

What is the study of mindset psychology?

• Self-esteem

• Violence

• Natural gifts

• How people's beliefs color success

Poll

What has been discarded by the scientific community as too flawed to be dependable?

• Mindset psychology

• Self-esteem

• Natural gifts

• Failure

Drag and Drop

Is it better to be talented or to work hard?

​

Placeholder

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

Both

Talented

Work hard

Neither

Dweck's
Research

Dweck's Research

Most of Carol Dweck's work is with children in
school. Her interest was in how people deal with
difficulties and whether it is better to teach young
people that they are innately smart, or if it's better to
praise their work ethic.

She developed a series of studies in which
she monitored the reactions of elementary
and middle school students to different
successes and failures. The children were
divided into two groups. Both groups were
given an easy test, and they all scored very
well. However, one group of students was
told they scored well because they were
especially talented or intelligent. The other
group of students was told they scored well
because they had studied hard.

Dweck's Research

Typically, the students who were told they
were naturally talented reported more
negative feelings about themselves when a
much harder test was given that they didn't
perform well on. Often, they seemed to
question the judgment about their talents.
These students had much less regard for
their abilities and didn't even seem to take
test preparation as seriously.

Dweck's Research

Students who were told that they had
scored well because they worked hard, on
the other hand, responded better to low
scores on subsequent tests. They felt that
they could work harder and do better in the
future. They studied more and didn't seem
to take failure as a reason to question their
own worth as students. Failure was just
another reason to study harder.

Dweck's Research

Multiple Choice

Which group of students reported more negative feelings about themselves when they didn't perform well on a harder test?

• The students who were told they were naturally talented

• The students who were told they had studied hard

• Both groups reported the same level of negative feelings

• None of the options are correct

• All of the options are correct

Multiple Choice

Which group of students responded better to low scores on subsequent tests?

• The students who were told they were naturally talented

• The students who were told they had studied hard

• Both groups responded the same way

Multiple Choice

What did Carol Dweck conclude about the best way to teach young people to deal with difficulties?

• It is better to teach them that they are innately smart.

• It is better to teach them that they can improve their intelligence with hard work.

• Both methods are equally effective.

Growth Mindset

Dweck's research into the second group of
students, those who possessed what is termed a
growth mindset, forms the core of her work.
While self-esteem psychology focused on praise
as a way to build up students, Dweck suggested
praise should be specific, and it should point out
behavior that influences outcomes. For example,
praising children's study skills or work ethic helps
them focus on skills that they can influence,
whereas praising their intelligence - something
that can't be changed - leaves them without a
way to influence an outcome.

Growth Mindset

Implications of Mindset

Psychology

Dweck's work shows promise in many areas. Praise
and encouragement are tools available to parents,
teachers, and counselors who are teaching young
people about how to succeed in their lives. When praise
is centered around something innate that cannot be
changed, this praise may be setting children up for
disappointment. Telling a youngster that she is smart
starts to sound false when she finds her innate
intelligence isn't enough for every challenge.

Implications of Mindset

Psychology

On the other hand, when a young person has been
encouraged to try harder in difficult situations, she can
use even her failures as a reason to try harder. The
growth mindset gives the child a sense of agency, the
sense that she can make decisions and influence
outcomes. Praise that is specific and addresses the
child's work habits and efforts raises her sense of
agency, which goes a lot farther in preparing her to
succeed and to not take failure so personally later in life.

Multiple Choice

What is a growth mindset?

• A belief that intelligence and abilities can be improved with hard work and effort

• A belief that intelligence and abilities are fixed and cannot be changed

Multiple Choice

What are the benefits of having a growth mindset?

• • People with a growth mindset are more likely to persevere in the face of challenges.

• People with a growth mindset are more likely to learn from their mistakes.

• • People with a growth mindset are more likely to achieve their goals.

• All options are correct

• None of the options are correct

Multiple Choice

What are some ways to encourage a growth mindset in children?

• • Praise children for their effort and hard work, rather than their intelligence or natural talents.

• • Help children to see challenges as opportunities to learn and grow.

• Create a learning environment where children feel safe to take risks and make mistakes.

• All the options are correct.

• None of the options are correct.

Draw

Draw a symbol that captures your understanding of a Growth Mindset