Carol Susan Dweck is an American psychologist who is well known for her research on mindset and motivation. Her major contribution to social psychology pertains to the idea of “implicit theories” of personality and intellect, which she first presented in her 1988 paper. It was not until 2006, with the publication of her non-academic book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, that Dweck went on to promote the idea (“Carol Dweck”). According to the SPP Team, Dweck’s book entitled Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (2006) looks at how individuals view their abilities by categorizing people into two categories: individuals with a fixed mindset and others with a growth mindset. To distinguish between these two concepts, an individual with a fixed mindset is described as believing that their skills, capability, and intelligence are inherent and immutable. For example, someone with this mindset tends to give up easily; they avoid challenges and view failures as an indication of their innate weakness. On the other side, those with a growth mindset think that learning, hard work, and perseverance are the keys to developing and improving their skills. These writers continue by stating that they typically view obstacles as chances for personal development, are resilient in the face of failure, and view work as a means of advancing (SPP Team).
Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset and Its Impact in Educational Settings
Since the application of the growth mindset in school settings has played a catalytic role, educators and educational institutions across the world are embracing more strategies to help students develop a growth mindset. By educating students to accept challenges and looking at failures as opportunities for learning, teachers are motivating more adaptive learning attitudes. Some of the applicable ways teachers can use to encourage a growth mindset are as follows: (1) “Praising effort rather than talent;” (2) “Encouraging risk-taking;” and (3) “Emphasizing learning over grades” (SPP Team). In another article that goes into more detail on Dr. Dweck’s research and how it applies to the classroom is from Mindset Work. According to this article, Fiske Elementary School integrated growth mindset teaching into their educational environment. The student demographic in this case study consisted of students from a variety of backgrounds, which included students with special education needs and English language learners. In the first year of implementation, teachers participated in a Mindset book study, and in the second year, they finished the MindsetMaker™ online professional development. The result of this case study indicates that while the state test scores for math stayed “stagnant,” Fiske Elementary witnessed incredible growth, which they credited to a change in culture and a growth mindset teacher uses. While these two articles were written by two different authors, both seem to suggest that Carol Dweck’s growth mindset theory provides a strong framework for becoming the person we want to be by shifting from a fixed mindset to a more growth one; that is, by shifting our old way of thinking to a new and improved mindset. This means finding strength in adversaries, viewing life challenges as lessons to be learned, realizing that overcoming adversaries requires action, no matter how big or small the action is, just to mention a few.
Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset and Its Effects on the Workplace
The implementation of the growth mindset is not only effective in the classroom but also has a significant influence in the workplace. SPP Team goes on to say that people with a growth mindset in business environments are likely to be more flexible, imaginative, and productive team players. Therefore, businesses that foster a growth mindset in their workplace tend to have more creative and resilient staff members. To illustrate, the following are some strategies the SPP Team mentions in their article for encouraging a growth attitude at work: (1) “Encouraging lifelong learning;” (2) “Normalizing failures as part of innovation;” and (3) “Providing constructive feedback.” These strategies may seem like common sense, yet they reveal a lot about the person and provide opportunities for personal growth. For instance, strategy number 1 can be interpreted as the process of learning new knowledge and skills throughout our lives, usually to help us perform our jobs better. With regard to strategy number 2, rather than viewing failures as something to be feared, instead view failures as opportunities for growth. The best way to normalize failures is to speak about one’s own experiences of setbacks and how they promote progress. Lately, offering helpful criticism is another best way to foster growth in the workplace because it can be interpreted as improvement-oriented rather than seen as personal attacks if you leverage criticism to move forward or make progress.
Dr. Dweck came up with the words “fixed mindset” and “growth mindset” as a result of her studies on how pupils view failure. Her growth mindset theory provides an excellent example of the power of our mind when we perceive things differently. For example, by embracing a growth mindset, you’ll be able to view failure as a lesson to be learned rather than as something to be feared; that is, you can transform what appears to be a barrier to success into a motivational experience or situation. An individual with a fixed mindset, on the other hand, would perceive mistakes as a sign of ineptitude rather than as a chance to improve their approach toward success. What’s great about her theory is that one can argue that this framework can be applied to everyday life, not just in the workplace or in a school setting.
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