TheSecrettoRaisingSmartKids

ScientificAmericanMindDecember,2007

Hint:Don'ttellyourkidsthattheyare.Morethanthreedecadesofresearchshowsthata focusoneffortnotonintelligenceorabilityiskeytosuccessinschoolandinlife.
By CarolS.Dweck Availableonlineatwww.sciam.com/article.cfm?id= thesecrettoraisingsmartkids

KeyConcepts:
GrowingPains Manypeopleassumethatsuperiorintelligenceor abilityisakeytosuccess.Butmorethanthree decadesofresearchshowsthatanoveremphasis onintellectortalentandtheimplicationthat suchtraitsareinnateandfixedleavespeople vulnerabletofailure,fearfulofchallengesand unmotivatedtolearn.

Teachingpeopletohaveagrowthmindset, whichencouragesafocusoneffortratherthanon intelligenceortalent,produceshighachieversin schoolandinlife.

Parentsandteacherscanengenderagrowth mindsetinchildrenbypraisingthemfortheir effortorpersistence(ratherthanfortheir intelligence),bytellingsuccessstoriesthatemphasizehardworkandloveoflearning,andbyteaching themaboutthebrainasalearningmachine.

Young people who believe that their intelligence alone will enable them to succeed in school are often discouraged when the going gets tough. GETTYIMAGES

Abrilliantstudent,Jonathansailedthroughgradeschool.Hecompletedhisassignmentseasilyand routinelyearnedAs.Jonathanpuzzledoverwhysomeofhisclassmatesstruggled,andhisparentstold himhehadaspecialgift.Intheseventhgrade,however,Jonathansuddenlylostinterestinschool, refusingtodohomeworkorstudyfortests.Asaconsequence,hisgradesplummeted.Hisparentstriedto boosttheirsonsconfidencebyassuringhimthathewasverysmart.Buttheirattemptsfailedtomotivate Jonathan(whoisacompositedrawnfromseveralchildren).Schoolwork,theirsonmaintained,was boringandpointless. Oursocietyworshipstalent,andmanypeopleassumethatpossessingsuperiorintelligenceorability alongwithconfidenceinthatabilityisarecipeforsuccess.Infact,however,more than30yearsof scientificinvestigationsuggeststhatanoveremphasisonintellectortalentleavespeoplevulnerableto failure,fearfulofchallengesandunwillingtoremedytheirshortcomings. TheresultplaysoutinchildrenlikeJonathan,whocoastthroughtheearlygradesunderthedangerous notionthatnoeffortacademicachievementdefinesthemassmartorgifted.Suchchildrenholdan
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implicitbeliefthatintelligenceisinnateandfixed,makingstrivingtolearnseemfarlessimportantthan being(orlooking)smart.Thisbeliefalsomakesthemseechallenges,mistakesandeventheneedtoexert effortasthreatstotheiregoratherthanasopportunitiestoimprove.Anditcausesthemtoloseconfidence andmotivationwhentheworkisnolongereasyforthem. Praisingchildrensinnateabilities,asJonathansparentsdid,reinforcesthismindset,whichcanalsoprevent youngathletesorpeopleintheworkforceandevenmarriagesfromlivinguptotheirpotential.Ontheother hand,ourstudiesshowthatteachingpeopletohaveagrowthmindset,whichencouragesafocusoneffort ratherthanonintelligenceortalent,helpsmakethemintohighachieversinschoolandinlife. TheOpportunityofDefeat Ifirstbegantoinvestigatetheunderpinningsofhumanmotivation andhowpeoplepersevereafter setbacksasapsychologygraduatestudentatYaleUniversityinthe1960s.Animalexperimentsby psychologistsMartinSeligman,StevenMaierandRichardSolomonoftheUniversityofPennsylvania hadshownthatafterrepeatedfailures,mostanimalsconcludethatasituationishopelessandbeyondtheir control.Aftersuchanexperience,theresearchersfound,ananimaloftenremainspassiveevenwhenit canaffectchangeastatetheycalledlearnedhelplessness. Peoplecanlearntobehelpless,too,butnoteveryonereactstosetbacksthisway.Iwondered:Whydo somestudentsgiveupwhentheyencounterdifficulty,whereasotherswhoarenomoreskilledcontinueto striveandlearn?Oneanswer,Isoon discovered,layinpeoplesbeliefsaboutwhytheyhadfailed. Inparticular,attributingpoorperformancetoalackofabilitydepressesmotivationmorethandoesthe beliefthatlackofeffortistoblame.In1972,whenItaughtagroupofelementaryandmiddleschool childrenwhodisplayedhelplessbehaviorinschoolthatalackofeffort(ratherthanlackofability)ledto theirmistakesonmathproblems,thekidslearnedtokeeptryingwhentheproblemsgottough.Theyalso solvedmanyoftheproblemseveninthefaceofdifficulty.Anothergroupofhelplesschildrenwhowere simplyrewardedfortheirsuccessoneasyproblemsdidnotimprovetheirabilitytosolvehardmath problems.Theseexperimentswereanearlyindicationthatafocusoneffortcanhelpresolvehelplessness andengendersuccess. Subsequentstudiesrevealedthatthemostpersistentstudentsdonotruminateabouttheirownfailure muchatallbutinsteadthinkofmistakesasproblemstobesolved.AttheUniversityofIllinoisinthe 1970sI,alongwithmythengraduatestudentCarolDiener,asked60fifthgraderstothinkoutloudwhile theysolvedverydifficultpatternrecognitionproblems.Somestudentsreacteddefensivelytomistakes, denigratingtheirskillswithcommentssuchasIneverdidhaveagoodrememory,andtheirproblem solvingstrategiesdeteriorated. Others,meanwhile,focusedonfixingerrorsandhoningtheirskills.Oneadvisedhimself:Ishouldslow downandtrytofigurethisout.Twoschoolchildrenwereparticularlyinspiring.One,inthewakeof difficulty,pulleduphischair,rubbedhishandstogether,smackedhislipsandsaid,Iloveachallenge! Theother,alsoconfrontingthehardproblems,lookedupattheexperimenterandapprovinglydeclared,I washopingthiswouldbeinformative!Predictably,thestudentswiththisattitudeoutperformedtheir cohortsinthesestudies.

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TwoViewsofIntelligence SeveralyearslaterIdevelopedabroadertheoryofwhatseparatesthetwogeneralclassesoflearners helplessversusmasteryoriented.Irealizedthatthesedifferenttypesofstudentsnotonlyexplaintheir failuresdifferently,buttheyalsoholddifferenttheoriesofintelligence.Thehelplessonesbelievethat intelligenceisafixedtrait:youhaveonlyacertainamount,andthatsthat.Icallthisafixedmindset. Mistakescracktheirselfconfidencebecausetheyattributeerrorstoalackofability,whichtheyfeel powerlesstochange.Theyavoidchallengesbecausechallengesmakemistakesmorelikelyandlookingsmart lessso.LikeJonathan,suchchildrenshuneffortinthebeliefthathavingtoworkhardmeanstheyaredumb. Themasteryorientedchildren,ontheotherhand,thinkintelligenceismalleableandcanbedeveloped througheducationandhardwork.Theywanttolearnaboveallelse.Afterall,ifyoubelievethatyoucan expandyourintellectualskills,youwanttodojustthat.Becauseslipupsstemfromalackofeffort,not ability,theycanberemediedbymoreeffort.Challengesareenergizingratherthanintimidatingthey offeropportunitiestolearn.Studentswithsuchagrowthmindset,wepredicted,weredestinedforgreater academicsuccessandwerequitelikelytooutperformtheircounterparts. Wevalidatedtheseexpectationsinastudypublishedinearly2007.PsychologistsLisaBlackwellof ColumbiaUniversityandKaliH.TrzesniewskiofStanfordUniversityandImonitored373studentsfor twoyearsduringthetransitiontojuniorhighschool,whentheworkgetsmoredifficultandthegrading morestringent,todeterminehowtheirmindsetsmightaffecttheirmathgrades.Atthebeginningof seventhgrade,weassessedthestudentsmindsetsbyaskingthemtoagreeordisagreewithstatements suchasYourintelligenceissomethingverybasicaboutyouthatyoucantreallychange.Wethen assessedtheirbeliefsaboutotheraspectsoflearningandlookedtoseewhathappenedtotheirgrades. Aswehadpredicted,thestudentswithagrowthmindsetfeltthatlearningwasamoreimportantgoalin schoolthangettinggoodgrades.Inaddition,theyheldhardworkinhighregard,believingthatthemoreyou laboredatsomething,thebetteryouwouldbecomeatit.Theyunderstoodthatevengeniuseshavetowork hardfortheirgreataccomplishments.Confrontedbyasetbacksuchasadisappointingtestgrade,students withagrowthmindsetsaidtheywouldstudyharderortryadifferentstrategyformasteringthematerial. Thestudentswhoheldafixedmindset,however,wereconcernedaboutlookingsmartwithlittleregard forlearning.Theyhadnegativeviewsofeffort,believingthathavingtoworkhardatsomethingwasa signoflowability.Theythoughtthatapersonwithtalentorintelligencedidnotneedtoworkhardtodo well.Attributingabadgradetotheirownlackofability,thosewithafixedmindsetsaidthattheywould studylessinthefuture,trynevertotakethatsubjectagainandconsidercheatingonfuturetests. Suchdivergentoutlookshadadramaticimpactonperformance.Atthestartofjuniorhigh,themath achievementtestscoresofthestudentswithagrowthmindsetwerecomparabletothoseofstudentswho displayedafixedmindset.Butastheworkbecamemoredifficult,thestudentswithagrowthmindset showedgreaterpersistence.Asaresult,theirmathgradesovertookthoseoftheotherstudentsbytheend ofthefirstsemesterandthegapbetweenthetwogroupscontinuedtowidenduringthetwoyearswe followedthem. AlongwithColumbiapsychologistHeidiGrant,Ifoundasimilarrelationbetweenmindsetand achievementina2003studyof128Columbiafreshmanpremedstudentswhowereenrolledina challenginggeneralchemistrycourse.Althoughallthestudentscaredaboutgrades,theoneswhoearned thebestgradeswerethosewhoplacedahighpremiumonlearningratherthanonshowingthattheywere smartinchemistry.Thefocusonlearningstrategies,effortandpersistencepaidoffforthesestudents.

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ConfrontingDeficiencies Abeliefinfixedintelligencealsomakespeoplelesswillingtoadmittoerrorsortoconfrontandremedy theirdeficienciesinschool,atworkandintheirsocialrelationships.Inastudypublishedin1999of168 freshmenenteringtheUniversityofHongKong,whereallinstructionandcourseworkareinEnglish, threeHongKongcolleaguesandIfoundthatstudentswithagrowthmindsetwhoscoredpoorlyontheir EnglishproficiencyexamwerefarmoreinclinedtotakearemedialEnglishcoursethanwerelowscoring studentswithafixedmindset.Thestudentswithastagnantviewofintelligencewerepresumably unwillingtoadmittotheirdeficitandthuspasseduptheopportunitytocorrectit. Afixedmindsetcansimilarlyhampercommunicationandprogressintheworkplacebyleading managersandemployeestodiscourageorignoreconstructivecriticismandadvice.Researchby psychologistsPeterHeslinandDonVandeWalleofSouthernMethodistUniversityandGaryLathamof theUniversityofTorontoshowsthatmanagerswhohaveafixedmindsetarelesslikelytoseekor welcomefeedbackfromtheiremployeesthanaremanagerswithagrowthmindset.Presumably, managerswithagrowthmindsetseethemselvesasworksinprogressandunderstandthattheyneed feedbacktoimprove,whereasbosseswithafixedmindsetaremorelikelytoseecriticismasreflecting theirunderlyinglevelofcompetence.Assumingthatotherpeoplearenotcapableofchangingeither, executiveswithafixedmindsetarealsolesslikelytomentor theirunderlings.ButafterHeslin, VandeWalleandLathamgavemanagersatutorialonthevalueandprinciplesofthegrowthmindset, supervisorsbecamemorewillingtocoachtheiremployeesandgavemoreusefuladvice. Mindsetcanaffectthequalityandlongevityofpersonalrelationshipsaswell,throughpeoples willingnessorunwillingnesstodealwithdifficulties.Thosewithafixedmindsetarelesslikelythan thosewithagrowthmindsettobroachproblemsintheirrelationshipsandtotrytosolvethem,according toa2006studyIconductedwithpsychologistLaraKammrathofWilfridLaurierUniversityinOntario. Afterall,ifyouthinkthathumanpersonalitytraitsaremoreorlessfixed,relationshiprepairseems largelyfutile.Individualswhobelievepeoplecanchangeandgrow,however,aremoreconfidentthat confrontingconcernsintheirrelationshipswillleadtoresolutions. ProperPraise Howdowetransmitagrowthmindsettoourchildren?Onewayisbytellingstoriesaboutachievements thatresultfromhardwork.Forinstance,talkingaboutmathgeniuseswhoweremoreorlessbornthat wayputsstudentsinafixedmindset,butdescriptionsofgreatmathematicianswhofellinlovewithmath anddevelopedamazingskillsengendersagrowthmindset,ourstudieshaveshown.Peoplealso communicatemindsetsthroughpraise.Althoughmany,ifnotmost,parentsbelievethattheyshouldbuild upachildbytellinghim orherhowbrilliantandtalentedheorsheis,ourresearchsuggeststhatthisis misguided. Instudiesinvolvingseveralhundredfifthgraderspublishedin1998,forexample,Columbiapsychologist ClaudiaM.MuellerandIgavechildrenquestionsfromanonverbalIQtest.Afterthefirst10problems, onwhichmostchildrendidfairlywell,wepraisedthem.Wepraisedsomeofthemfortheirintelligence: Wowthatsareallygoodscore.Youmustbesmartatthis.Wecommendedothersfortheireffort: Wowthatsareallygoodscore.Youmusthaveworkedreallyhard. Wefoundthatintelligencepraiseencouragedafixedmindsetmoreoftenthandidpatsonthebackfor effort.Thosecongratulatedfortheirintelligence,forexample,shiedawayfromachallengingassignment theywantedaneasyoneinsteadfarmoreoftenthan thekidsapplaudedfortheireffort.(Mostof thoselaudedfortheirhardworkwantedthedifficultproblemsetfromwhichtheywouldlearn.)Whenwe gaveeveryonehardproblemsanyway,thosepraisedforbeingsmartbecamediscouraged,doubtingtheir ability.Andtheirscores,evenonaneasierproblemsetwegavethemafterward,declinedascompared
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withtheirpreviousresultsonequivalentproblems.Incontrast,studentspraisedfortheireffortdidnot loseconfidencewhenfacedwiththeharderquestions,andtheirperformanceimprovedmarkedlyonthe easierproblemsthatfollowed. MakingUpYourMindset Inadditiontoencouragingagrowthmindsetthroughpraiseforeffort,parentsandteacherscanhelp childrenbyprovidingexplicitinstructionregardingthemindasalearningmachine.Blackwell, TrzesniewskiandIrecentlydesignedaneightsessionworkshopfor91studentswhosemathgradeswere decliningintheirfirstyearofjuniorhigh.Fortyeightofthestudentsreceivedinstructioninstudyskills only,whereastheothersattendedacombinationofstudyskillssessionsandclassesinwhichtheylearned aboutthegrowthmindsetandhowtoapplyittoschoolwork. Inthegrowthmindsetclasses,studentsreadanddiscussedanarticleentitledYouCanGrowYour Brain.Theyweretaughtthatthebrainislikeamusclethatgetsstrongerwithuseandthatlearning promptsneuronsinthebraintogrownewconnections.Fromsuchinstruction,manystudentsbegantosee themselvesasagentsoftheirownbraindevelopment.Studentswhohadbeendisruptiveorboredsatstill andtooknote.Oneparticularlyunrulyboylookedupduringthediscussionandsaid,YoumeanIdont havetobedumb? Asthesemesterprogressed,themathgradesofthekidswholearnedonlystudyskillscontinuedto decline,whereasthoseofthestudentsgiventhegrowthmindsettrainingstoppedfallingandbeganto bouncebacktotheirformerlevels.Despitebeingunawarethatthereweretwotypesofinstruction, teachersreportednoticingsignificantmotivationalchangesin27percentofthechildreninthegrowth mindsetworkshopascomparedwithonly9percentofstudentsinthecontrolgroup.Oneteacherwrote: Yourworkshophasalreadyhadaneffect.L[ourunrulymalestudent],whoneverputsinanyextraeffort andoftendoesntturninhomeworkontime,actuallystayeduplatetofinishanassignmentearlysoI couldreviewitandgivehimachancetoreviseit.HeearnedaB+.(HehadbeengettingCsandlower.) Otherresearchershavereplicatedourresults.PsychologistsCatherineGood,thenatColumbia,and JoshuaAronsonandMichaelInzlichtofNewYorkUniversityreportedin2003thatagrowthmindset workshopraisedthemathandEnglishachievementtestscoresofseventhgraders.Ina2002study Aronson,Good(thenagraduatestudentattheUniversityofTexasatAustin)andtheircolleaguesfound thatcollegestudentsbegantoenjoytheirschoolworkmore,valueitmorehighlyandgetbettergradesasa resultoftrainingthatfosteredagrowthmindset. WehavenowencapsulatedsuchinstructioninaninteractivecomputerprogramcalledBrainology, whichshouldbemorewidelyavailablebymid2008.Itssixmodulesteachstudentsaboutthebrain whatitdoesandhow tomakeitworkbetter.Inavirtualbrainlab,userscanclickonbrainregionsto determinetheirfunctionsoronnerveendingstoseehowconnectionsformwhenpeoplelearn.Userscan alsoadvisevirtualstudentswithproblemsasawayofpracticinghow tohandleschoolworkdifficulties additionally,userskeepanonlinejournaloftheirstudypractices. NewYorkCityseventhgraderswhotestedapilotversionofBrainologytoldusthattheprogramhad changedtheirviewoflearningandhowtopromoteit.Onewrote:MyfavoritethingfromBrainologyis theneuronspartwherewhenu[sic]learnsomethingthereareconnectionsandtheykeepgrowing.I alwayspicturethemwhenIminschool.Ateachersaidofthestudentswhousedtheprogram:They offertopractice,study,takenotes,orpayattentiontoensurethatconnectionswillbemade.

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Teachingchildrensuchinformationisnotjustaploytogetthemtostudy.Peopledodifferinintelligence, talentandability.Andyetresearchisconvergingon theconclusionthatgreataccomplishment,andeven whatwecallgenius,istypicallytheresultofyearsofpassionanddedicationandnotsomethingthatflows naturallyfromagift.Mozart,Edison,Curie,DarwinandCzannewerenotsimplybornwithtalentthey cultivateditthroughtremendousandsustainedeffort.Similarly,hardworkanddisciplinecontributemuch moretoschoolachievementthanIQdoes. Suchlessonsapplytoalmosteveryhumanendeavor.Forinstance,manyyoungathletesvaluetalentmore thanhardworkandhaveconsequentlybecomeunteachable.Similarly,manypeopleaccomplishlittlein theirjobswithoutconstantpraiseandencouragementtomaintaintheirmotivation.Ifwefosteragrowth mindsetinourhomesandschools,however,wewillgiveourchildrenthetoolstosucceedintheir pursuitsandtobecomeresponsibleemployeesandcitizens.

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