ABSTRACT
Mindsets are the implicit beliefs a person has about the malleability of intelligence. A growth mindset is the belief that intelligence can be changed through effort. In contrast, a fixed mindset is the belief that intelligence cannot be changed. Mindsets are influenced by peers, parents, and teachers making them dynamic, rather than trait-like. When a person has a fixed mindset, effort exertion is viewed as being an indicator of a person’s static level of intelligence. Studies show that a growth mindset is adaptive (i.e., positively associated with mastery goals, persistence, and achievement), while a fixed mindset is maladaptive (i.e., positively associated with performance goals and negatively associated with persistence and achievement). Due to the relation of mindset with motivation and achievement outcomes, a focus of recent research has been on the development of interventions that can be implemented in educational settings. Initial studies of these interventions suggest that there is a small, but practically meaningful, positive effect of receiving a growth mindset intervention.
