Growth Mindset
A tiny plant growing in the middle of dirt.
Chances are you may have heard the term - growth mindset - in some context. If you haven’t not a problem. This post aims to explore the concept of growth mindset. So settle in and enjoy!
The growth mindset was introduced by Carol Dweck. Dweck’s work aims to provide an explanation for the underlying psychological process that illuminates people’s mastery and helpless responses to failure on competence-based tasks (Harwood et al., 2008). According to this perspective, a mastery response has an association with adaptive cognitions, affects, and behavior when the situation is potentially adverse. This response is association learning goals irrespective of one’s perceived competence. The helpless response, on the other hand, is understood as high effort signifying low ability, heightened experience of anxiety, a concomitant threat to self-esteem, and reduced effort. This response is associated with performance goals when perceptions of competence are low.
Dweck talks about the growth mindset and the fixed mindset. As the growth mindset speaks about fostering one’s ability to persist and build a skill set versus the fixed mindset that talks about the belief in innate ability. It is easy to fall into that mindset that one was either born with an ability or not born with an ability. We can hear those messages in the media for example and maybe in our family or friends. That becomes internalized. If coaches approach teaching their athletes that one can learn and improve, that is a life lesson that will potentially improve them as a person. For example, Dweck (2015) showed in a study that students who believe or are taught that intellectual abilities are qualities that are able to be developed instead of fixed qualities generally show higher achievement in challenging school transitions and increased course completion rates in hard math classes. Additionally, Dweck (2015) reveals that believing or being taught that social attributes can be fostered lowers adolescents’ aggression and stress response to peer victimization or exclusion, and also results in enhanced school performance.
In my simple terms it gives athletes hope that they can learn with effort. We are not destined to one direction. We can grow and learn. Furthermore, this approach helps with understanding mistakes as learning experiences rather than failures, which can be discouraging. In the context of life as human beings this makes sense. Our brains are meant to keep growing and changing, hence neuroplasticity or our brain’s ability to change with new information! Our physical abilities have the ability to learn and adapt and change. In essence our bodies were made to learn. Biology supports us in facing adversity so that we can be successful.
One last useful piece of information. Dweck (2009) in an article directed towards athletes offered three rules to keep in mind about the growth mindset, as well how these rules are communicated. Rule number one is learn, learn, learn. Rule number two is working with passion and dedication where effort is the key. Rule number three is to embrace mistakes and confront deficiencies. Dweck (2009) says that either a growth mindset can be taught directly or by praising students’ effort or strategies. In that same vein, a coach teaching these skills can also either have a fixed or growth mindset. When a coach has a growth mindset, the coach is more likely to foster teamwork and team spirit (Dweck, 2009). Even outside of education and sports, there is so much that we can take from having a growth mindset. We can learn from daily experiences, bring passion and dedication to our efforts, and remember to show ourselves self-compassion and thank mistakes for the lessons they teach us.
take action today moment:
Take a moment to watch one or both of the videos below to learn more about the growth mindset. Then consider how to incorporate more of the growth mindset in your endeavors whether they are athletic, educational, career related, or life related. Finally, practice using the growth mindset in the ways you identified. See how things in your life shift!
Learn More About Motivation:
The Growth Mindset | Carol Dweck | Talks at Google
References
Dweck, C. S. (2009). Mindsets: Developing talent through a growth mindset. Olympic Coach, 21(1), 4-7.
Dweck, C. (2015). Carol Dweck revisits the growth mindset. Education Week, 35(5), 20-24.
Harwood, C., Spray, C. M., & Keegan, R. (2008). Achievement goal theories in sport, In T. S. Horn (Ed.), Advances in sport psychology (3rd ed.) (pp. 157-186). Human Kinetics Inc.