Motivation and emotion/Book/2026/Developing a growth mindset

Developing a growth mindset:
How can a growth mindset be cultivated and sustained?

Overview

**Figure 1**. Illustration of being open-minded

Imagine this ...

Two childhood best friends find themselves in two different places when they finish high school. Though living in the same neighbourhood, attending the same schools, enjoying the same hobbies and receiving equal opportunities, one is earning a scholarship to study their dream degree, and the other is falling behind. How could two people with the same opportunities have vastly separate life outcomes? Well, one evaded challenge for fear of failing, while the other appraised these failures as opportunities to learn. The margin between one and the other was not created based on ability, but from mindset.

A person's mindset is the foundation in which learning and motivation build up on.
Meaning the mindset that we adopt is highly influential in how we perceive our abilities and intelligence as well as how we conduct ourselves in facing new adversities
In order to foster learning and motivation, an individual must shift from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset in order to embrace challenges and gain success

Focus questions

How does a growth mindset differ from a fixed mindset?
What is the role of neuroplasticity in changing and sustaining a mindset?
How can failure, feedback and goal-setting affect the development of a growth mindset?
How do educational practices nurture a student's growth mindset?

Growth and Fixed Mindsets

Mindsets

Mindsets are an established process or set "rules" or structure that an individual adopts as part of their way of thinking, attitudes, and beliefs.

A mindset is highly influential in the way in which we conduct ourselves in terms of facing challenges, and how an individual may perceive failure and success (Dweck & Leggett, 1988)

Growth versus fixed mindset's

Mueller and Dweck (1988) established and developed two different Mindsets people adopt; growth and fixed, these mindsets run on a continuum
Someone who adopts a growth mindset views that their abilities, skills and intelligence are sculpted, being able to grow and develop from setbacks as well as view failures as something to improve upon (Mueller & Dweck, 1988)
Someone who adopts a fixed mindset's see that their abilities, skills and intelligence is static and are simply as a result of a persons genetic disposition unlikely to change (Mueller & Dweck, 1988)
Implicit theory of intelligence - the belief that intelligence is an ability that can be shaped or "moulded" and developed (Dweck and Leggett, 1988)

Physiological affects of mindset's

The role of neuroplasticity is to enable and create new neural pathways throughout the brain especially important in learning a new skill or behaviour - proving that the ability of a person's mindset is not fixed but ever changing (e.g. the process of neurogenesis, or synaptogenesis)
Therefore, repeated practice of a certain skill or behaviour (I.e. fixed Mindset), may strengthen these pathways in creating persistent and default processes in skill development - important in understanding how certain mindset's can be sustained
In the context of growth Mindsets, neurobiology supports the underlying physiological mechanisms that demonstrate that a new mindset can be constructed on a neurological level to adapt to learning, and development (Sarrasin et al., 2018)

Failure, feedback and goal setting

Responses to challenges and failure

Learned helplessness theory – exposure to repeated negative outcomes or failures could lead to a person reducing their attempts to change a situation (Seligman & Maier, 1967)

In the instance of Peter (see learning feature scenario), repeated failure reinforces the notion that their actions will not change their outcomes – this underlines the issue of how growth mindset is sustained or the beginning of a fixed mind/learned helplessness begins

Mastery goals versus performance goals

Mastery goals involve an individual who is motivated in achieving competence, understanding and self-improvement (Dweck & Leggett, 1988)

An individual motivated by performance goals seek to source their goals to appear competent relative to others

Dweck and Leggett (1988) connect goals to a growth mindset – the type of goals and motivation for goals may affect the types of mindset that you may adopt (Yu & McLellan, 2020; Combette et al., 2024)

Mindset's in the educational setting

Implicit theory of intelligence - the belief that intelligence is an ability that can be shaped or "moulded" and developed (Dweck and Leggett, 1988)

Pedagogical interventions and forming a growth mindset

It is well versed that the intervention of praise and positive feedback from teachers and educators is a positive predictor through which mindset changes can be achieved (Gunderson et al., 2013)
However, Mueller and Dweck (1998) suggested praise before failure may demonstrate lower persistence or high disappointment, but praise directed towards the effort of the student promotes improvement (person vs process praise)
It is also important to consider the role of the teachers beliefs and attitudes in the classroom environment in which a growth mindset is successfully cultivated (Mesler et al., 2021)

Academic outcomes and a growth mindset

Blackwell et al. (2007) suggested that the use of growth mindset interventions provided promising evidence in predicting that adopting growth mindset behaviours is reflective in positive academic achievement
Also contested that a growth mindset was sufficient with its association with academic achievement by relating to mastery goals however has a weak association between goals and goal achievement (Burnette et al., 2018)
Macnamara and Burgoyne (2023) systematic review and meta-analysis argue that such strong positive association between academic achievement and growth mindset interventions was as a result from targeting students with strong fixed mindsets

Learning features

Learned Helplessness scenario...

Peter has always been a good student in primary school. He always found that science was his strongest subject with his passion to become a biologist once he is older. Peter always takes pride in his abilities with his test results and assessment pieces always gaining praise from his teachers and parents.

When starting high school and feeling his most confident academically, he enrols in advanced science classes. However, he finds that high school science classes are far more difficult than he expected. After receiving a D in his first quiz and some harsh feedback, Peter feels discouraged and defeated. Peter believes that he is no longer good at science and believes he will never pass this class. As a result, Peter stops attending class and accepts that he will never become a biologist.

Conclusion

References

Blackwell, L. S., Trzesniewski, K. H., & Dweck, C. S. (2007). Implicit Theories of Intelligence Predict Achievement Across an Adolescent Transition: A Longitudinal Study and an Intervention. Child Development, 78(1), 246–263. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.00995.x

Burnette, J. L., Billingsley, J., Banks, G. C., Knouse, L. E., Hoyt, C. L., Pollack, J. M., & Simon, S. (2023). A systematic review and meta-analysis of growth mindset interventions: For whom, how, and why might such interventions work? Psychological Bulletin, 149(3–4), 174–205. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000368

Combette, L. T., Rotgé, J.-Y., & Schmidt, L. (2024). Growth mindset is associated with mastery goals in adulthood. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 20(3), 191–201. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.11915

Dweck, C. S., & Leggett, E. L. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological Review, 95(2), 256–273. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.95.2.256

Gunderson, E. A., Sorhagen, N. S., Gripshover, S. J., Dweck, C. S., Goldin-Meadow, S., & Levine, S. C. (2018). Parent praise to toddlers predicts fourth grade academic achievement via children’s incremental mindsets. Developmental Psychology, 54(3), 397–409. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000444

Macnamara, B. N., & Burgoyne, A. P. (2023). Do growth mindset interventions impact students’ academic achievement? A systematic review and meta-analysis with recommendations for best practices. Psychological Bulletin, 149(3–4), 133–173. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000352

Mesler, R. M., Corbin, C. M., & Martin, B. H. (2021). Teacher mindset is associated with development of students’ growth mindset. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 76, 101299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2021.101299

Mueller, C. M., & Dweck, C. S. (1998). Praise for intelligence can undermine children’s motivation and performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(1), 33–52. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.75.1.33

Sarrasin, J. B., Nenciovici, L., Foisy, L.-M. B., Allaire-Duquette, G., Riopel, M., & Masson, S. (2018). Effects of teaching the concept of neuroplasticity to induce a growth mindset on motivation, achievement, and brain activity: A meta-analysis. Trends in Neuroscience and Education, 12, 22–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tine.2018.07.003

Seligman, M. E., & Maier, S. F. (1967). Failure to escape traumatic shock. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 74(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0024514

Yu, J., & McLellan, R. (2020). Same mindset, different goals and motivational frameworks: Profiles of mindset-based meaning systems. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 62, 101901. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101901

External links

Developing a Growth Mindset with Carol Dweck (Youtube.com)
The Power of Yet | Carol S Dweck | Tedx (Youtube.com)

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