be definite.

Research Finds Achievement Differences Based on Mindset

Why do some achieve their potential while equally talented others do not?

“The key, [Carol Dweck] found, isn’t ability; it’s whether you look at ability as something inherent that needs to be demonstrated or as something that can be developed.”

According to reseacher Carol Dweck, there are two learner mindsets in the world: one set which believes that leaders are born and not made, and the other which believes that one’s abilities develop and strengthen through use.

So, what are the ramifications of these two opposing viewpoints?

Fixed Mindset

A study found that students from the first group, called the Fixed Mindset, tended to value ‘being right and not looking stupid’ over learning something. Gifted students or elite athletes in this group who had been informed of their superior natural abilities, showed the lowest motivation of all to work hard for anything. Their underlying belief seemed to be: “Why work hard when I have all these natural abilities? If I work as hard or harder than anybody else, that means I’m not really exceptional.” To them, effort implied low ability.

Growth Mindset

Students who valued learning something over looking right or smart, and who didn’t let making a mistake affect their self-worth, were of the Growth Mindset. This mindset promoted playfulness, curiosity, and an attitude that emphasized enjoying the process of learning and valuing the effort as an investment in achieving greater things by applying intelligent persistence to all areas of life.

These students did not view a challenge as a do-or-die event; they valued the challenge for what they’d become and gain by doing it. In other words, their success wasn’t measured by whether or not they got the correct answer to a problem on the first try, but by what the answer meant and how they could apply it in other areas. To them, “All is feedback, not failure.”

How to Motivate?

Dweck’s study showed that praising children for intelligence, rather than for effort, sapped their motivation. Read some Growth Mindset parenting tips.

Reactions to Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset

Entry on The Paradox of Being Stupid and Knowing It.

Comments @ Guy Kawasaki’s blog. He has several articles on the Growth Mindset.

by Guntur Harley:

I don’t know if the categorization of “fixed” and “growth” mindsets is being biased in a way, as it seems like the “growth” side would always have to be the good guys. While I personally think, there’s a (slight) generalization being made here, it’s still important to notice those who belong to the “growth” side, would undoubtedly perform better than their “fixed” counterparts (based on most circumstances, of course). This has been proved over and over again (in my organization), as those willing to learn from past mistakes, would get better each time in dealing with a new project or task. Accepting challenges, I agree, is a way of improving yourself (and your mindset), notwithstanding other factors, such as experience, ambition and motivation, but how do you rationalize; is this something you’re born with, or that can be developed over time? Not factoring out one from the other, I believe there’s a level of flexibility in every individual, to bend one’s mindset (to a certain extent) in order to fit in the other when the situation compels one to do so.

by SorenG:

I would say that I have a fixed growth mindset :-). I think it shows the impact and dangers of the judging mind. Growth seems to be one in which judgment is decreased, and understanding deepens. Good stuff.

Appetites and Aversions

by Hank Fay

I’m an Occam’s Razor kind of guy, and there’s a much simpler construct that leads to the same conclusion.

I called this The Great Divide when I was in psychology practice. The distinction is between whether one responds primarily to the need to avoid pain, or the need to increase pleasure. We know these are separate brain functions because a) two different brain centers are involved (tickle one with a small voltage and you get pain, tickle the other and you get pleasure) and b) factor analysis of emotions can’t get down to one global bi-polar emotion, but rather sticks on two separate factors, roughly called pain and pleasure.

What is being called Mindset here would be a special case of this more general principle. The value of the more general principle is that one knows to look for it everywhere in life. The value of specifying the special case is enhanced ease in finding it in one particular area of life.

And that was a truly great diagram by Nigel Holmes.

Here is a great entry with commentary using the diagram.

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