Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Tonight I was reminded of this book based on the research of Carol S. Dweck. I think that a lot of the questions asked about what should we teach and when should teach it can be answered by the mindset topic. I didn’t want “to go there” in class tonight as we would have digressed more than usual. However, I think that if educators concentrate more on building “growth mindset” children and students, then the content will not be some much the issue as we will be developing continuous learners that know how to reflect, think, and learn. Most of this post is from an investigation paper I wrote after reading this book.

Why do some people appear to be more motivated to learn while others appear to lack motivation? Is it motivation based or ability based? Is intelligence, ability, and capability something that one is born with or is it possible to acquire these traits? Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. has approached this topic with extensive research and presents some compelling results in her book, "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success."

Carol Dweck’s twenty plus years of research indicates, “the view that you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way that you lead your life.” (Dweck, 6). There are two mindsets that one can have; the fixed mindset or the growth mindset. The fixed mindset is based on the premise that you have only a certain amount of intelligence, personality, and character. This “carved in stone” mindset leaves the individual to constantly try to prove himself or herself over and over (6). Conversely, the growth mindset promotes the belief that your basic qualities and abilities can be cultivated through ones efforts (7). We all have different strengths, weaknesses, and abilities. However, we can “change and grow through application and experience” (7).

Some of the attributes of the two mindsets:

Fixed Mindset:
*Seek the safe, sure, thing
*If something is too challenging lose interest
*A non-leaner
*View failures as catastrophic
*IQ is fixed; it is all you will ever have
*Your character and personality is what it is
*Must “BE” already; expect ability to “show up”
*Defeated or destroyed by one low score or poor evaluation
*I failed = I am a failure
*Success and failure defines you
*Effort is for people with deficiencies and is a sign of weakness
*Lose confidence when fail at something and stop trying or make excuses

Growth Mindset:
*Stretch yourself
*Thrive on challenge
*A learner
*See failure as an opportunity to learn and get better
*Intelligence can grow
*Character and personality can change
*Becoming is better than “Being”
*Challenged and learn from low scores or poor evaluations
*I failed = I will get better
*Not defined by accomplishments or lack of accomplishments
*Admire effort regardless of accomplishment
*Confident in success and failure

Having the growth mindset as an educator, as well those that you instruct, will result in an approach that “everyone can learn and improve”—thus resulting in the igniting of minds (195). Consider the following statements. Do you mostly agree or disagree?:

1. Your intelligence is something very basic about you that you can’t change very much.
2. You can learn new things, but you can’t really change how intelligent you are.
3. No matter how much intelligence you have, you can always change it quite a bit.
4. You can always substantially change how intelligent you are.

1 and 2 reflect the fixed-mindset and 3 and 4 the growth-mindset.


What about personal qualities? Again mostly agree or disagree?:

1. You are a certain kind of person, and there is not much that can be done to really change that.
2. No matter what kind of person you are, you can always change substantially.
3. You can do things differently, but the important parts of who you are can’t really be changed.
4. You can always change basic things about the kind of person that you are.

1 and 3 reflect the fixed-mindset and 2 and 4 the growth-mindset.

Although you can be a mixture, most people will lean one-way or the other. Your mindset of intelligence or personality will affect how you approach mental ability situations and those that involve personal qualities (13).

This book is filled with numerous academic, business, and sports examples that demonstrate both mindsets. Each mindset is its “own world” and vastly shapes ones life and others that one will be associated with. One world is about validating yourself by proving that you are smart or talented. The other world is about stretching yourself to learn new things and continually developing. Benjamin Barber, an eminent sociologist, once said, “ I divide the world into learners and nonlearners” (16).

So when do the two mindsets begin? Babies don’t appear to be worried about making mistakes as they develop, rather they embrace each new learning opportunity, That is until the reach a point where the are able to evaluate themselves. In Carol Dweck’s research they observed four year olds working on puzzles. When the choice was given to either redo an easy jigsaw puzzle or attempt a harder one, something interesting happened. The children with a fixed mindset stuck with the safe ones resisting the option of making mistakes. However, the children who displayed the growth mindset embraced the challenge and continued to seek more challenging puzzles. So the conclusion was that the fixed mindset children wanted to make sure that they succeed, but the growth mindset children wanted stretch themselves to become smarter (17).

So when do you feel smart? Is it when you are mistake free or is it when you are learning? For the fixed mindset person it is all about perfection now, but the growth mindset is about facing a challenge and making progress.

Why does it matter which mindset that you, your students, or children have? Dweck’s book is filled with the negative results of CEO, athletes, musicians, etc. that had potential that was limited by the fixed mindset. Those that were “naturals” failed, but the “average” men and women who confronted challenges and setbacks with hard work and dedication prevailed. The growth mindset people exemplified the 1960 quote “becoming is better than being” and went from ordinary to extraordinary.

So this sounds great but how do we change ourselves and develop others into the growth mindset? One thing we can’t do is lower standards in order to boost self-esteem. When studying the “great teachers” the common belief was in the growth of intellect and talent and a fascination with the process of learning (189). “Do teachers have to love all of their students? No, but they do have to CARE about every SINGLE student.”(190). Benjamin Bloom’s study of 120 world-class athletes, artists, and academia’s, revealed a fascinating consistency. The first teachers for most of these people created an atmosphere that was “I’m going to teach you rather than I am going to judge your talent.”(191).

Some attributes of growth minded teachers:
*Create an atmosphere of affection and deep personal commitment to every student
*To challenge and nurture
*To teach students to love learning and to learn to think for themselves
*Tell the students the truth and then give them the tools to close the gap
*Leading the students to grasp that school is for them- a way to grow their minds
*Promote the concept that it is about practice and learning, not smart and dumb
*Continue to learn with and from the students
*A deep desire to ignite the mind of every child

The growth mindset is based on the belief in change (207). Carol Dweck was a fixed-mindset person who has transitioned to a growth-mindset. There are many examples of people who have transitioned to the growth-mindset. The change is not about “picking up a few pointers here and there”, rather it is about “seeing things in a new way” (238). It is about changing from a “judge-and-be-judged framework to a learn-and-help-learn framework” (238). The change requires a commitment to growth, which will involve plenty of time, effort, and mutual support (238).

Carol Dweck asked, “Did changing to a growth mindset solve all of my problems? No, But I know that I have a different life because of it—a richer one. And that I’m more alive, courageous, and open person because of it.” (239).

Closing questions to consider (238):
What are the opportunities for learning and growth today? For myself? For the people around me?

Resource:
Dweck, Carol S. Ph.D. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House