Children's intelligence mindset plays an important role in their happiness and academic development. Several researchers have revealed the influence of parents' failure mindset on their children's ...intelligence mindset. This study examined this influence in Chinese culture and proposed that parents' academic trust is a mediator in the relationship between parents' failure mindset and children's intelligence mindset. In Study 1, 311 children (grades from 5 to 7; 171 were girls) and one of their parents provided their corresponding evaluations. Bootstrap analysis results demonstrated the effect of parents' failure mindset on children's intelligence mindset and the mediating role of parents' academic trust. In Study 2, 298 children (grades 5 and 6; 151 were girls) reported on their intelligence mindset and perceptions of their parents' failure mindset and academic trust. These results validated those of Study 1 and revealed that children's perceptions of their parents' beliefs exhibited the same effects as parents' self-evaluated beliefs. Therefore, we have found that parents with a failure-is-enhancing view are more likely to trust their children's academic potential and that these children thus develop a growth intelligence mindset.
•Chinese parents' failure mindset influenced their children's intelligence mindset.•Parents' failure-is-enhancing belief improved children's growth mindset.•Parents' failure-is-enhancing belief increased their academic trust in the children.•Parents' academic trust mediated the effect of failure mindset on growth mindset.
In this article we take up the two-fold task of creating a framework for a growth mindset pedagogy on the basis of our previous studies and exploring the critical points of this pedagogy in the ...classroom of a mixed-mindset teacher. The data include classroom observations and stimulated recall interviews. The results show how a teacher who is socialized into the Finnish educational system pursues core features of growth mindset pedagogy, despite not having a dominant growth mindset herself. However, we identify critical points in her practices, which suggest that teaching the theory of mindset in teacher education is needed.
•Core features of growth mindset pedagogy: process focus, mastery orientation, persistence, individualized student support.•Growth mindset pedagogy includes the recognition and countering of students' fixed mindset behaviors.•Growth mindset pedagogy is hampered by relying on the motivating power of success.•Trait-focused pedagogy is sometimes implemented only for academically competent students.•Teachers must develop understanding of academically competent students as fragile students in need of support.
Beliefs about the malleability of attributes, also known as mindsets, have been studied for decades in social-personality psychology and education. Here, I review the many applications of mindset ...theory to clinical psychology and psychotherapy. First, I review social psychological and cognitive neuroscience evidence that mindsets and mindset-related messages are, to a large extent, focused on emotional tolerance. Specifically, the growth mindset, or the belief that attributes are malleable, encourages confronting and tolerating anxiety, frustration, and disappointment in healthy and adaptive ways that promote resilience, whereas the fixed mindset and related messages discourage the experience of these emotions and often leads to helplessness. Second, I review the emerging research on the anxiety mindset and discuss its relevance to clinical work. A model is proposed illustrating connections between mindsets, emotion regulation strategies, treatment preferences, and outcomes. Case examples are used to illustrate practical applications. I conclude that mindsets can inform psychotherapy, research, and public policy.
•Mindsets of intelligence and anxiety relate to psychological symptoms.•Mindsets differentially predict willingness to tolerate discomfort.•A model linking the anxiety mindset to distress is proposed.•Case studies are used to illustrate practical applications of mindsets.•Mindsets can inform public narratives of mental illness.
The fuzziness of mindsets French II, Robert P.
International journal of organizational analysis (2005),
09/2016, Volume:
24, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore conceptualizations of mindset across disciplines with particular attention to scholars’ care in defining and operationalizing the construct of mindset. ...Theories of mindset have witnessed increased attention through a variety of disciplines for their applicability as processes with the potential to influence individual and/or organizational outcomes. Exploration of mindset conceptualizations and characterizations reveal substantial divergences.
Design/methodology/approach
This conceptual paper generally examines the utilization of mindset constructs via a multidisciplinary review of literature and specifically details three mindset theories (implemental and deliberative, global and growth and fixed mindsets) to illuminate such disparities.
Findings
This paper categorizes the significant variations of the mindset construct and research via three distinct streams. Each stream highlights knowledge as instrumental in the mindset construct; however, the ways in which varying aspects of knowledge, knowledge mechanisms or knowledge as a component of an individuals and/or organization’s identity correspond to the inherent presuppositions of varying articulations of mindset theory and praxis.
Practical implications
Effectively influencing an individual and/or organization’s mindset necessitates an accurate assessment of the mindset construct. Further, evaluating the applicability of mindset research and/or feedback from a consultant warrants attention to the assumptions undergirding the mindset construct.
Originality/value
Generally, mindset studies and theories have scantly attended to both the historical development of mindset research as well as divergences in the research record within and across disciplines. This paper attempts to address this deficiency. Further, this paper appears to be the first attempt to compare and identify varying conceptualizations and characterizations of mindset theory and, therefore, identifies previously unidentified assumptions.
The growth mindset is the belief that intellectual ability can be developed. This article seeks to answer recent questions about growth mindset, such as: Does a growth mindset predict student ...outcomes? Do growth mindset interventions work, and work reliably? Are the effect sizes meaningful enough to merit attention? And can teachers successfully instill a growth mindset in students? After exploring the important lessons learned from these questions, the article concludes that large-scale studies, including preregistered replications and studies conducted by third parties (such as international governmental agencies), justify confidence in growth mindset research. Mindset effects, however, are meaningfully heterogeneous across individuals and contexts. The article describes three recent advances that have helped the field to learn from this heterogeneity: standardized measures and interventions, studies designed specifically to identify where growth mindset interventions do not work (and why), and a conceptual framework for anticipating and interpreting moderation effects. The next generation of mindset research can build on these advances, for example by beginning to understand and perhaps change classroom contexts in ways that can make interventions more effective. Throughout, the authors reflect on lessons that can enrich metascientific perspectives on replication and generalization.
Public Significance Statement
Research on growth mindset-the belief that intellectual ability can be developed-has found that a growth mindset can lead to greater resilience and academic achievement among students facing difficulties. The present article reviews the evidence and shows that highly quality studies, and independent analyses, have supported the conclusion that growth mindset effects are replicable, meaningful, and theoretically grounded, but interventions targeting teachers (rather than students) have not yet been effective. The article concludes with a discussion of why it has been difficult to change teachers or schools and why new research is needed on this topic.
Organizational members must constantly confront and manage numerous paradoxical tensions inherent in organizational life, such as exploration and exploitation. Although prior research suggests that a ...paradox mindset helps individuals navigate such tensions, we know little about how paradoxical leaders might engender such a mindset in their followers. To shed light on this issue, we differentiate between cognitive and behavioral influences on followers' paradox mindset development. Drawing on primary data from 273 employees, our study indicates that the two influences are interrelated, with behavioral mechanisms mediating the effects of cognitive mechanisms. Our study advances extant theory by providing insights into how paradoxical leaders guide employees to situationally engage with specific paradoxical tensions and influence followers’ paradox mindset in general.
A growing body of research has suggested that mindset is one powerful predictor of students' academic achievement and that students are likely to hold self-beliefs about the malleability or stability ...of their academic abilities. In the domain of mathematics education, a belief in ‘math brain’ – as something you do or do not possess – is widely prevalent. Studies have shown that teachers and students are more likely to consider achievement in mathematics than achievement in other academic domains to be due to inborn ability. Most growth mindset-related research in schools is domain-general; however, given the prevalence of strong beliefs about the innateness of mathematical ability, possible idiosyncratic effects of mindset interventions in the mathematics domain may have been overlooked by research reviews and meta-analyses that do not examine domain-specific effects. The purpose of this paper is to compile and synthesise quantitative and qualitative research on interventions in mathematics classrooms that aim to change or foster teachers' and/or students' beliefs/mindset in primary and secondary schools and the reported impacts of these interventions (16 studies). The interventions in these studies were identified and sorted based on their targets (teacher-focused or student-focused), content (implicit theories of intelligence (ITI) intervention for general domains or in mathematics domain), and delivery mode (technology-based or in-contact). The results suggested most of the considered studies were quantitative and used student-focused interventions. Moreover, when ITI interventions were conducted specifically in the mathematics domain, positive results were reported, regardless of the intervention target or content or mode of delivery, whereas general ITI interventions yielded mixed results. Future studies should therefore consider the impacts of domain-specific effects and intervention targets when designing mindset interventions.
•The ‘key’ to a growth-mindset intervention success might be domain specificity.•Mindset interventions should not be isolated from changes in classroom practices.•Impacts of domain-specific mindset beliefs are critical in mathematics interventions.
People differ in how they define creativity. Some people see it as malleable and possible to be developed (so-called growth mindset). Others view creativity as a stable and largely unchangeable ...characteristic (fixed mindset). In this article, we explore whether and to what extent creative mindsets change when everyday (little-c) or eminent (Big-C) creativity categories are experimentally activated by having participants (N = 501) read short descriptions of everyday and eminent creativity. Consistent with our predictions, thinking about renowned creators (the Big-C condition) led participants to exhibit stronger fixed beliefs compared to when they read descriptions of less prominent, little-c creativity. A reversed pattern was observed in the case of growth mindsets. Specifically, growth mindsets increased when little-c creativity was activated but decreased in the Big-C condition. We discuss implications of our findings for theory, research, and practice.
As growth mindset interventions increase in scope and popularity, scientists and policymakers are asking: Are these interventions effective? To answer this question properly, the field needs to ...understand the meaningful heterogeneity in effects. In the present systematic review and meta-analysis, we focused on two key moderators with adequate data to test: Subsamples expected to benefit most and implementation fidelity. We also specified a process model that can be generative for theory. We included articles published between 2002 (first mindset intervention) through the end of 2020 that reported an effect for a growth mindset intervention, used a randomized design, and featured at least one of the qualifying outcomes. Our search yielded 53 independent samples testing distinct interventions. We reported cumulative effect sizes for multiple outcomes (i.e., mindsets, motivation, behavior, end results), with a focus on three primary end results (i.e., improved academic achievement, mental health, or social functioning). Multilevel metaregression analyses with targeted subsamples and high fidelity for academic achievement yielded, d = 0.14, 95% CI .06, .22; for mental health, d = 0.32, 95% CI .10, .54. Results highlighted the extensive variation in effects to be expected from future interventions. Namely, 95% prediction intervals for focal effects ranged from −0.08 to 0.35 for academic achievement and from 0.07 to 0.57 for mental health. The literature is too nascent for moderators for social functioning, but average effects are d = 0.36, 95% CI .03, .68, 95% PI −.50, 1.22. We conclude with a discussion of heterogeneity and the limitations of meta-analyses.
Public Significance Statement
Growth mindset interventions are increasing in popularity in education and are being applied to improving other areas of functioning as well; however, there is debate about how well they work. Despite the large variation in effectiveness, we found positive effects on academic outcomes, mental health, and social functioning, especially when interventions are delivered to people expected to benefit the most.
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