In this episode, Dr. Carol Dweck and I discuss the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset, and how we can help our children develop a mindset that will allow them to be successful in life.
00:04:11.300But then the child's always worried that the next time they won't look so good and you'll take back that praise.
00:04:18.160So they become more cautious and vulnerable.
00:04:21.380But when kids are given process praise, and by that it's praise for not just hard work, but also strategies, focus, improvement, that conveys the idea, hey, your abilities can be developed and this is how you do it.
00:04:41.340Okay, so you don't say your kid, oh, you're so smart.
00:04:44.620You say something like, you worked really hard on that.
00:04:48.940We tried a lot of different ways to do it and they worked.
00:04:53.140And you said earlier that we could be a mixture of both.
00:04:56.400How can we both have a fixed and growth mindset or certain situations we have a fixed mindset and other situations we're more growth mindset oriented?
00:05:07.460We can have one area in which we believe our talents can be developed and another where we think they're fixed.
00:05:13.940Or you can maybe a lot of the time be in more of a growth mindset, but then there are certain triggers that elicit a fixed mindset.
00:05:23.320For example, when you're asked to step way out of your comfort zone, then you think, uh-oh, will I show up my fixed abilities?
00:05:35.240Or when you have a serious setback or you're struggling with something, that may lead you to take a fixed mindset perspective on your abilities.
00:05:44.940Or you encounter someone who's so much better than you are at something you think you're good at.
00:10:31.760They might not hand in their paper on time.
00:10:34.120But the students who were more in a growth mindset made sure they forced themselves to get up, shower, groom, do their chores, go to their meetings, study for their tests.
00:10:52.540So this kind of growth mindset didn't let the mood overtake them.
00:10:57.740They felt they could still function, still develop, still go for it.
00:11:02.400And so that when their moods lifted, their life was intact.
00:11:11.120And so basically, if someone out there is listening to this and they tend to get in a low mood every now and then, there's that temptation, I guess, when you are in a low mood to think that things are never going to get better.
00:11:41.240When you're depressed, everything is effortful.
00:11:45.220So that adds to the feeling of incompetence.
00:11:48.840Going back to this idea of effort, it seems like our culture contributes to a fixed mindset because there's this idea that everything should be like, what's that French word?
00:12:31.500That is what people believe when they're in a fixed mindset, and that's where the culture, one way the culture contributes to that.
00:12:42.940But I ask the students in my courses to look up their hero.
00:12:48.400They always think their hero was one of these people who coasted to greatness on their enormous talent, and they coasted easily.
00:12:58.040But they always, every single time, find out that that person worked harder than anyone else, had setbacks, overcame those setbacks, and that's how they got where they got.
00:13:16.140So, I mean, what can adults do, right?
00:13:18.080If someone's listening to this right now, and they're saying, well, I'm kind of a fixed mindset kind of guy, what can you do to shift into a growth mindset?
00:13:26.400The first step is to acknowledge that you have fixed mindset moments, at least fixed mindset moments, and get in touch with them.
00:13:41.520Start figuring out when these fixed mindsets get triggered.
00:13:48.580As I said before, is it when you're trying something hard out of your comfort zone?
00:13:54.620Is it when you're struggling or have setbacks?
00:13:57.680Is it when you're comparing yourself to someone who has more ability at the moment?
00:14:03.500Is it when someone is criticizing you?
00:14:07.900So, start figuring out when does my fixed mindset get triggered.
00:14:15.940Now, my colleague in Australia named Susan Mackey has business executives not only figure out their triggers, but has them give their fixed mindset persona a name.
00:14:30.300So, you might call your fixed mindset persona Dwayne or Harriet or Yanni, whatever.
00:14:38.960So, you notice when Dwayne pops up, you notice how that makes you feel and think.
00:14:46.400You notice the impact it has on people around you.
00:14:50.240And then, little by little, you start working with Dwayne to see how maybe you can collaborate with him.
00:15:01.900Next time, maybe he'll be a little less defensive or a little less anxious, a little less defeated, a little less aggressive in these trigger situations.
00:15:15.120And then, beyond that, it's just like recognizing or acknowledging that there is a growth mindset, that you can get better.
00:15:24.660Keep setting these growth goals, how you want to improve, how you want to grow.
00:15:30.360And keep noticing when your fixed mindset person crops up and tries to prevent you from meeting those goals.
00:15:38.900Yeah, I thought it was really sad and also empowering to listen to the story about when you're talking about or teaching kids in inner city schools about the growth mindset.
00:15:51.580And there's one little boy or girl that said, you mean my brain isn't going to be broken anymore?
00:16:05.500He really pulled up those grades and worked with the teacher avidly.
00:16:12.500And so besides praising process over results, are there anything other things that parents can do and teachers or mentors can do to encourage growth mindset?
00:16:24.380We have new research showing how you react to your kids' mistakes or setbacks is crucial.
00:16:35.500That parents who react to their kids' mistakes as though they can be harmful, harmful to the child's learning, those kids are developing a fixed mindset.
00:17:10.780And I'm curious if your research has found anything where a fixed mindset, does it affect boys or girls differently?
00:17:18.640Are some more susceptible to the evil, I don't want to say evils, but the ill effects of a fixed mindset?
00:17:24.820Well, we have found – sometimes we find that girls, especially the high-achieving girls, are a little more prone to a fixed mindset.
00:17:36.060But the thing we have found consistently is that a fixed mindset is especially harmful to girls in areas where women are negatively stereotyped.
00:17:51.520Because a negative stereotype is a fixed mindset label.
00:17:55.480It says it's fixed and your group doesn't have it.
00:17:59.060So if the female herself thinks it's fixed, even at some point thinks it's fixed and I have it, if she starts struggling or doing poorly, then the stereotype rears its head and she may start thinking, ooh, maybe they're right.
00:18:17.320And we've seen in our research that females in computer science or math will really start retreating from the field when that happens if they have a fixed mindset perspective on their skills.
00:18:33.780But we have shown that if they have a growth mindset perspective or you teach them a growth mindset about math or computer skills, they don't like stereotyping, but they can survive it, they can withstand it, they can thrive.
00:18:52.920And I guess there's similar research out there that similar things happen with race as well.
00:18:59.260Research has found that having a growth mindset, teaching a growth mindset is especially important for anyone laboring under a negative stereotype.
00:19:12.980So we have found this with African-American and Hispanic students as well.
00:19:18.240Having a growth mindset, not thinking that, just rather understanding that your skills can be developed really helps them thrive in the face of academic challenges.
00:19:33.640Well, Carol, this has been a great conversation.
00:19:35.420I'm curious if there's any place where people can go to find out more information about your work or perhaps tell their teachers or schools to go check this.
00:19:42.840Do you have like a program that people can check out to learn more about the growth and fixed mindset?