Editing Mindset (section)

=== Fixed and growth mindsets {{anchor|Fixed and growth mindset<!-- This anchor is used by [[Goal orientation]]. -->|Classroom Implications|Fixed and growth mindsets in males vs. females|Implications for at risk students|Criticism}} ===
{{See also|Self-actualization#Abraham Maslow's concept of self-actualization|Kaizen}}
{{Further|Carol Dweck#Criticism}}
According to [[Carol Dweck]], individuals can be placed on a continuum according to their views about where ability originates, from a fixed to a growth mindset. An individual's mindset affects the "motivation to practice and learn".<ref name="Yousefi">Yousefi, H., & Khalkhali, V. (2020). The Effects of Mastery Versus Social-Comparison Praise on Students’ Persistence: A Role of Fixed Versus Growth Mindset. ''Education Sciences & Psychology'', ''55''(1), 3–9.</ref>

People with a fixed mindset believe that "intelligence is static", and little can be done to improve ability.<ref name="Bates">{{Cite book |last=Bates |first=Bob |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/926667644 |title=Learning theories simplified : 100+ theories and models from great thinkers...and how to apply them to teaching |date=2016 |isbn=978-1-4739-2533-5 |location=London |oclc=926667644}}</ref> Feedback is seen as "evaluation of their underlying ability" and success is seen as a result of this ability, not any effort expended. Failure is intimidating, since it "suggests constraints or limits they would not be able to overcome".<ref name="Yousefi" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=Dario |title=MindSet (Motivate Academy) |publisher=Create Space Independent Publishing Platform (December 20, 2016) |date=December 20, 2016 |isbn=978-1540868220 |edition=3 |location=USA |pages=84 |language=English}}</ref> Those with a fixed mindset tend to avoid challenges, give up easily, and focus on the outcome. They believe that their abilities are fixed, and effort has little value.<ref name="mylearningtools">{{Cite web |title=The Growth Mindset VS The Fixed Mindset - Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Tools |url=https://mylearningtools.org/the-growth-mindset-vs-fixed-mindset/ |access-date=2022-07-08 |website=mylearningtools.org}}</ref>

Those with a growth mindset believe that "intelligence can be developed", and their abilities can be increased by learning.<ref name="Bates" /> They tend to embrace challenges, persevere in the face of adversity, accept and learn from failure, focus on process rather than outcome, and see abilities as skills which are developed through effort.<ref name="mylearningtools" /> Feedback and failure are seen as opportunities to increase ability, signaling the "need to pay attention, invest effort, apply time to practice, and master the new learning opportunity".<ref name="Yousefi" />

[[Grit (personality trait)|Grit]], a personality trait combining determination and perseverance, is related to a growth mindset.<ref>Keown, S. R., & Bourke, B. (2019). A Qualitative Investigation of Fixed Versus Growth Mindsets of Third and Fourth Grade Students. ''Education'', ''140''(2), 51–58.</ref> Keown and Bourke discussed the importance of a growth mindset and grit. Their 2019 study found that people with lower economic status had a greater chance of success if they had a growth mindset and were willing to work through tribulation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Keown |first1=Stacey R. |last2=Bourke |first2=Brian |date=2019-12-22 |title=A Qualitative Investigation of Fixed Versus Growth Mindsets of Third and Fourth Grade Students. |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&issn=00131172&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA611547960&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs |journal=Education |language=English |volume=140 |issue=2 |pages=51–59}}</ref>

Much of Dweck's research was related to the effect of a student's mindset on classroom performance. For students to develop a growth mindset, a nurturing classroom culture must be established with appropriate praise and encouragement.<ref name="Dweck1">{{cite journal |last1=Dweck |first1=Carol S. |title=Even Geniuses Work Hard |journal=Educational Leadership |date=September 2010 |volume=68 |issue=1 |pages=16–20}}</ref> According to Dweck, "Praising students for the process they have engaged in—the effort they applied, the strategies they used, the choices they made, the persistence they displayed, and so on—yields more long-term benefits than telling them they are 'smart' when they succeed".<ref name="Dweck1" /> Teachers need to design meaningful learning activities for their students: "The teacher should portray challenges as fun and exciting, while portraying easy tasks as boring and less useful for the brain".<ref name="Dweck1" />

A second strategy to promote a growth mindset in the classroom is more explicit, establishing personal goals, and having students "write about and share with one another something they used to be poor at and now are very good at."<ref name="Dweck1" /> Hinda Hussein studied the positive effect of reflective journal writing on students' growth mindset; journaling can improve a student's conceptual knowledge and enhance the understanding of their thoughts.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hussein |first1=Hinda |title=Examining the Effects of Reflective Journals on Students' Growth Mindset: A Case Study of Tertiary Level EFL Students in the United Arab Emirates |journal=IAFOR Journal of Education |date=2018 |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=33–50|doi=10.22492/ije.6.2.03 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Dweck has identified the word "yet" as a valuable tool to assess learning. If a teacher hears students saying that they are not good at something or cannot do something, they should interject "not yet" to reinforce the idea that ability and motivation are fluid.<ref name="Dweck1" />

Dweck and [[Jo Boaler]] indicate a fixed mindset can lead to [[sex differences in education]], which can partially explain low achievement and participation by minority and female students.<ref name="Boaler">{{Cite journal|last=Boaler|first=Jo|date=2013|title=Ability and Mathematics: the mindset revolution that is reshaping education|url=http://www.youcubed.org/wp-content/uploads/14_Boaler_FORUM_55_1_web.pdf|journal=Forum|volume=55| issue = 1|pages=143–152|doi=10.2304/forum.2013.55.1.143}}</ref> Boaler builds on Dweck's research to show that "gender differences in mathematics performance only existed among fixed mindset students".<ref name="Boaler" /> Boaler and Dweck say that people with growth mindsets can gain knowledge. Boaler said, "The key growth mindset message was that effort changes the brain by forming new connections, and that students control this process. The growth mindset intervention halted the students' decline in grades and started the students on a new pathway of improvement and high achievement".{{sfn|Boaler|2013|p=5}}

L. S. Blackwell presented research in 2015 exploring whether growth mindsets can be promoted in minority groups.<ref name="Blackwell">{{Citation |last1=Blackwell |first1=Lisa S. |title=Intelligence as a Malleable Construct |date=2015 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1562-0_18 |work=Handbook of Intelligence: Evolutionary Theory, Historical Perspective, and Current Concepts |pages=263–282 |editor-last=Goldstein |editor-first=Sam |place=New York, NY |publisher=Springer |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-1-4939-1562-0_18 |isbn=978-1-4939-1562-0 |access-date=2022-05-05 |last2=Rodriguez |first2=Sylvia |last3=Guerra-Carrillo |first3=Belén |editor2-last=Princiotta |editor2-first=Dana |editor3-last=Naglieri |editor3-first=Jack A.|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Blackwell builds on Dweck's research, observing minority groups and finding that "students with a growth mindset had stronger learning goals than the fixed mindset students." These students "had much more positive attitudes toward effort, agreeing that 'when something is hard, it just makes me want to work more on it, not less{{'"}}. Students with a fixed mindset were more likely to say that "if you're not good at a subject, working hard won't make you good at it” and “when I work hard at something, it makes me feel like I'm not very smart".<ref name="Blackwell" />

Dweck's research on growth and fixed mindsets is useful in intervening with at-risk students, dispelling negative stereotypes in education held by teachers and students, understanding the impacts of self-theories on resilience, and understanding how praise can foster a growth mindset and positively impact student motivation.<ref>Veronikas, S., Shaughnessy, M.F. (2004). A reflective conversation with Carol Dweck. Gifted Education International, 19(1), 27-33.</ref> There has also been movement towards the application of Dweck's mindset research in non-academic environments, such as the workplace.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dweck |first=Carol S. |title=Mindset: The New Psychology of Success |publisher=Random House |year=2016}}</ref> Other scholars have conducted research building on her findings. A 2018 study by Rhew et al. suggested that a growth-mindset intervention can increase the motivation of adolescent special-education participants.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rhew |first1=Emily |last2=Piro |first2=Jody S. |last3=Goolkasian |first3=Pauline |last4=Cosentino |first4=Patricia |date=2018 |title=The effects of a growth mindset on self-efficacy and motivation |journal=Cogent Education |volume=5 |issue=1 |doi=10.1080/2331186X.2018.1492337|doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2019 study by Wang et al. suggested that substance use has adverse effects on adolescent reasoning.<ref name="Wang">{{cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Cuicui |last2=Luo |first2=Jie |last3=Nie |first3=Peixin |last4=Wang |first4=Daoyang |title=Growth Mindset Can Reduce the Adverse Effect of Substance Use on Adolescent Reasoning |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |volume=10 |pages=1852 |date=2019 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01852|pmid=31474906 |pmc=6705219 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Developing a growth mindset in these adolescents was shown to reduce this adverse effect. These studies illustrate how educators can intervene, encouraging a growth mindset, by allowing students to see that their behavior can be changed with effort.<ref name="Wang" /> Criticism has been directed at "growth mindset" and related research, however. Moreau et al. (2019) suggest "that overemphasizing the malleability of abilities and other traits can have negative consequences for individuals, science, and society."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Moreau|first1=David|last2=Macnamara|first2=B|last3=Hambrick|first3=D|date=2019-02-01|title=Overstating the Role of Environmental Factors in Success: A Cautionary Note|journal=Current Directions in Psychological Science|language=en|volume=28|issue=1|pages=28–33|doi=10.1177/0963721418797300|s2cid=149536001|url=http://psyarxiv.com/sv9pz/|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Follow up research after the release of her book  has led Dweck to be quoted as saying "Nobody has a growth mindset in everything all the time." along with the acknowledgement of the reality of the false growth mindset, and the truer growth mindset.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gross-Loh |first=Christine |date=2016-12-16 |title=Don't Let Praise Become a Consolation Prize |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/12/how-praise-became-a-consolation-prize/510845/ |access-date=2023-08-09 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref> One of Dweck's concerns being that educators were giving praise based on effort alone, when the results gained did not merit praise. Researchers noted adults within a study "who agree with growth mindset, but do not behave as though they believe ability can change" as holding a false growth mindset.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Barger |first1=Michael M. |last2=Xiong |first2=Yu |last3=Ferster |first3=Amanda E. |date=2022-07-01 |title=Identifying false growth mindsets in adults and implications for mathematics motivation |journal=Contemporary Educational Psychology |language=en |volume=70 |pages=102079 |doi=10.1016/j.cedpsych.2022.102079 |issn=0361-476X|doi-access=free}}</ref>