Discussion 4

Why might praising innate ability promote a fixed mindset while praising effort promote a growth mindset?

Dweck’s research indicates that mindset has significant effects on behavior and performance, particularly in the face of challenging tasks. Her work has shown that most people who have fixed mindsets avoid challenging situations when given the choice because they are very concerned about failing. From the perspective of a fixed mindset, failure indicates a lack of ability, and therefore a lack of capability or intelligence. People who have a growth mindset, however, view struggle or failure as a natural part of the learning process and an opportunity to improve. The 5^th grader who was rewarded with intelligence praise over half wanted to take the easy route. The group who was praise for their effort wanted another test that was much more challenging. Consider this example: a student completes a challenging mathematics problem successfully and her teacher offers praise by saying, “Great job! Clearly, you are very good at math.” What effect might this feedback have on the student’s beliefs? Dweck’s research indicates that this type of feedback—praising innate ability—reinforces the fixed mindset and the belief that people are born either with mathematics skills or without them. Further, she has shown that praise that reinforces this belief undermines students’ motivation and future learning, leading them to avoid more challenging tasks to protect themselves from failure. Now consider an alternative: when the student completes the challenging mathematics problem, the teacher responds by saying, “Great job! You must have worked hard at that problem! Nice effort!” How might this feedback have a different effect on the student’s beliefs? Dweck has demonstrated that this response—praising effort instead of intelligence—reinforces the belief that success is developed through persistent effort. Dweck’s research also shows that even when a student fails at a task, this type of feedback indicates that struggle and failure are normal, and that effort is a crucial part of eventual success.