Mindset (Dweck)

Carol Dweck (b. 1946)

- Professor of psychology at Stanford University (2004-present); teaches courses on
Personality and Social Development, Motivation
- Taught at Columbia University, Harvard University, and the University of Illinois
- Graduated from Barnard College in 1967; Ph.D. from Yale in 1972
- Implicit Theories of Intelligence underlying beliefs regarding whether or not
intelligence or abilities can change
- Wrote Mindset: The New Psychology of Success in 2006
Fixed Mindset (NOT pessimism)
- Believing that your qualities are carved in stone
- You only have a certain amount of intelligence, certain personalities, and moral
characters; focus on showing that you have a healthy dose of them; hide deficient traits
- Do not believe in the concept of trying; fear challenge and devalue effort
- Feeling the need to always prove yourself
- Coping with failure: Im an idiot/worthless/dumb,
Growth Mindset (NOT Optimism)
- Believing that your basic qualities are able to be cultivated through effort
- A persons true potential is unknown
- Believe that trying to improve deficiencies can lead to improvement over time
- Recognize the importance of challenging themselves
- Coping with failure: I should try harder, fix my mistakes, etc
Self-Insight
- People are terrible at estimating their abilities
- Growth you believe that you can develop yourself; you are more open to accurate
information about your current abilities
- Fixed hearing information regarding deficiencies distorts self-perception
Dangers of Praise and Positive Labels
- How do we give students confidence to face challenges and gain faith in their potential?
- Praising peoples ability causes them to focus on it even more; teaching the fixed mindset
Negative Labels
- Members of stereotyped groups; African-Americans, women, etc.
- Stereotypes can be triggered from something as simple as checking a box to indicate your
race or gender; can lead to feeling inferior and lowering test scores on performances
- Evoking stereotypes creates a mental distraction, gives people fear of performing poorly
confirming those stereotypes (only happens to people in the fixed mindset)
Sources:
Dweck, C. S. (2010). Mindset: about the author. Retrieved April 15, 2017, from
http://mindsetonline.com/abouttheauthor/
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success (pp.3-12, 67-80). New York:
Ballantine.
Gardner, H. (2006). Multiple intelligences: New horizons. New York, NY: Basic Books.

Videos and Links to Additional Resources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUWn_TJTrnU
- Comparison between growth and fixed mindsets

http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2017/01/mindset-theory-a-popular-idea-in-education-may-be-
trouble.html
- Article discussing Tom Chiverss Critique of Dwecks Mindset theory

https://hbr.org/2012/01/the-right-mindset-for-success
- Interview between Dweck and the Harvard Business Review

https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Mindset-The-New-Psychology-of-Success
- Bill Gatess review of Dwecks book Mindset