The Mindset Theory
During my Developmental Issues in Education class, I was lucky enough to be introduced to Dr. Dweck's Mindset Theory. This prompted me to reflect upon my life and think critically about the events that shaped me to be who I am today. I believe that parents and educators should consider Dr. Dweck and her colleague's methods to encourage growth mindsets in their children. As a strong indicator of academic success and a positive self-identity, growth mindsets can be encouraged by parents and educators to provide an important foundation for growth into adulthood.
Dr. Dweck is currently the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford, and is one of the world's leading researchers in the study of motivation. She has held "professorships at Columbia and Harvard Universities, has lectured all over over the world, and has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences" (MINDSET). Her research provides one specialized perspective on why some children achieve more than others. She offers insight on how to cultivate a happier and more successful society.
To clarify, these mindsets are not binaries––they are two categories with differing qualities, and people exhibit a combination of qualities from both sides of the spectrum. In a nutshell, children that have more of a growth mindset think of intelligence as a quality that can grow. Characteristics of children with more of a growth mindset view challenges and failures as opportunities for growth and refining their existing abilities. Dr. Dweck and her colleagues’ existing research explains that growth mindset children believe that they can develop their abilities through hard work, good strategies, and instruction from others.These mindsets lead to not only short term confidence, but also long term academic tenacity and a positive self-identity.
On the other hand, children that have more of a fixed mindset think of intelligence as an unchangeable, predetermined trait. Dr. Dweck’s research explains that fixed mindset children view success as the affirmation of inherent intelligence. These children tend to avoid failure at all costs as a way to maintain the sense of being intelligent or skilled. Dr. Dweck and her colleagues have discovered that “children’s mindsets about intelligence (as a quality they can grow vs. a trait they cannot change) robustly influence their motivation and achievement” (Dweck & Haimovitz, 2017).
Growth Mindset Toolkit. Digital Image. Transforming Education.
https://www.transformingeducation.org/growth-mindset-toolkit/
Within the past 5 years, numerous empirical articles and studies have been published about the implications of The Mindset Theory. Dr. Dweck and her colleagues explore the types of praise children receive, the relationship between mindset and academic achievement in the context of socioeconomic backgrounds, and the long term effects of cultivating a growth mindset. Among the research and academic articles, professionals, educators, and parents of all different backgrounds are echoing Dr. Dweck’s message to spread the word.
I believe that parents should consider Dr. Dweck and her colleague’s methods to encourage growth mindsets in their children. As a strong indicator of academic success and a positive self-identity, parents can practice these methods to provide an important foundation for growth into adulthood.
In the academic journal, “The Origins of Children's Growth and Fixed Mindsets: New Research and a New Proposal,” published in 2017, Dr. Dweck and her colleagues assess how different types of praising may affect children’s motivation. Across six studies, 5th grade children were given relatively easy problems and received different types of praise. Variables were controlled among three different groups of children: children who received only outcome praise, children who received both outcome praise and person praise, and children who received both outcome praise and process praise. In the study, outcome praise acted as a control group: “‘Wow, you did very well on these problems. You got [x number] right. That’s a really high score.’” One of the experimental groups received person praise, which ties the outcome to their intelligence: “‘You must be smart at these problems’” (Dweck & Haimovitz, 2017). The other experimental group received process praise, which ties the outcome to effort and the experience of learning: “‘You must have worked hard at these problems’” (Dweck & Haimovitz, 2017). The ways in which the children were praised profoundly affected the way they responded to more challenging problems.
Dr. Dweck and her colleagues found that children who were praised for their intelligence were more likely to view intelligence as a fixed trait. Furthermore, these children were also more likely to see their difficulty as reflecting badly on their intelligence when given a harder problem.The finding indicated that more fixed mindset children believed failure implies a lack of intelligence. In contrast, children who received process praise saw their intelligence as something they could develop rather than a fixed trait. Unlike the children who received person praise that tied their success to their intelligence, more growth mindset children “stayed focused on learning... persisted more, enjoyed more difficult tasks, and ultimately did better than the other groups” (Dweck & Haimovitz, 2017). This study provides evidence that the type of praise a child receives predicts their internal feelings about success and their motivation to work through challenges.
How to Encourage Students. Digital Image. Education Week.
22 September 2015, https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/09/23/carol-dweck-revisits-the-growth-mindset.html
In “Growth mindset tempers the effects of poverty on academic achievement,” an observational study published in 2016, Dr. Dweck and her colleagues explore the relationship between income and mindset. It is well known that socioeconomic background is one of the most significant, best established predictors of academic achievement (Claro et al. (2016). Poverty can discourage academic achievement through multiple mechanisms including “reduced access to educational resources, higher levels of stress, poorer nutrition, and reduced access to healthcare” (Brooks-Gunn & Duncan 1997). For the first time, Dr. Dweck and her colleagues observed the relationship between mindset, academic achievement, and socioeconomic background across an entire nation (Claro et al. (2016). This compelling study provided evidence that a growth mindset robustly improves academic performance among all family income deciles.
Economically disadvantaged students, lacking the resources of their wealthier peers are far more likely to develop a fixed mindset and achieve less (Claro et al. (2016). Yet, the most economically disadvantaged students with a growth mindset showed comparable test scores with fixed mindset students whose families earned 13 times more (Claro et al. (2016). For the first time on a national scale, Dr. Dweck and her colleagues have documented a significant relationship between students’ mindsets and their academic achievement.
This research is important because it shows that having a growth mindset is a protective factor. This is wonderful news because having a growth mindset is something that can be taught! Since these studies, dozens of studies have been performed and replicated by many other researchers all over the world. The Mindset Theory has made a huge impact on educational practices, psychological practices, and policies related to education and psychology. To learn more about Dr. Dweck's influential research, watch her Ted Talk and check out her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. To learn about what you can do as a parent or teacher to encourage a growth mindset in children, check out my blog post, "How to Encourage a Growth Mindset".
To learn how to promote growth mindsets in others, check out my blog, How to Encourage Growth Mindsets!
References
Brooks-Gunn., J & Duncan G., J. (1997). “The Effects of Poverty on Children.” The Future of Children, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 55–71.
“MINDSET.” Mindset | Carol Dweck, About the Author, Carol Dweck.
S., Claro et al. (2016). “Growth Mindset Tempers the Effects of Poverty on Academic Achievement.” PNAS.
C., Dweck & K., Haimovitz. (2017). “The Origins of Children's Growth and Fixed Mindsets: New Research and a New Proposal.” Wiley Online Library.
