Growth Mindset

When psychologist Carol Dweck began her research career, she was fascinated with why some children, when faced with failure and setbacks, were able to bounce back and keep going while others were crushed. Through her research, she came to realize that the resilient children (and adults) shared one thing in common: they believed that they could grow in intelligence, skills and abilities throughout life. This worldview, which Dweck calls a “growth mindset”, helps build resilience because it suggests that growth is always possible, and therefore, a setback is never permanent. Dweck has spent over 30 years studying the growth mindset and its opposite, the fixed mindset.

She discusses her research findings in her book, Mindset, The New Psychology of Success. Since her research on mindsets has become popular, many more psychologists have supported her thesis, and many schools, universities, and corporations have adopted her ideas as part of their curriculum and training programs. Let’s look at Dweck’s theory of mindsets in more detail. Fixed versus Growth Mindset Imagine two students, Susan and Beth, waiting for their teacher to hand back their midterm test. It’s an important part of their mark, but there’s still half a semester to go. They both need to get a good mark in this course to get into the program they want to take next year. They get their tests and look at their marks. They both got a C. Susan looks at the test, her heart sinking, and thinks, “I’m so dumb. I’m terrible at this course. I’ll never amount to much. I guess there’s no point studying for the rest of term.”