Abstract

Do students believe that cognitive and creative abilities can grow and develop, or do they view such abilities as relatively fixed? Prior research has shown that growth-oriented views of intelligence predict students’ academic success, perhaps because the perception of abilities as changeable leads to a stronger willingness to persist in the face of challenge. In addition, interventions aimed at encouraging growth mindsets in students have been shown to improve academic performance. Previous studies of growth mindset have most often focused on perceptions of the changeability of general intelligence or overall abilities. In contrast, this investigation will examine students’ beliefs about the capacity for growth in specific types of abilities, many of which have not been examined previously. A 24- item survey, adapted from an existing measure of fixed and growth mindsets, was administered to groups of middle school and college students. The survey assesses students’ mindsets about four domains of ability: creative (e.g., artistic ability), academic (e.g., math, reading), cognitive (e.g., working memory), and interpersonal (e.g., listening ability, empathy). Differences in student perceptions of each ability category were assessed, and middle school and college students’ views were compared. Across both age groups, abilities tended to be viewed as relatively growth-oriented, but perceptions of different abilities were quite varied. Overall, college students tended to be more growth-oriented in their views than middle school students. The findings of this research have implications for educators, who could ideally design discipline-specific pedagogical strategies to encourage growth-oriented views, thereby motivating students’ sustained effort and persistence in learning.

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