Growth Mindset Theory: What's the Actual Evidence?

Growth mindset is often talked about as though it's the greatest thing since sliced bread (especially among educators). But what does the evidence actually say? And isn't there a bigger picture?

Dec 28, 2023

Do you believe your intelligence is relatively stable, or do you think you can constantly grow your intelligence? According to Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, holding a growth mindset about your intelligence “profoundly affects the way you lead your life” and can create “entire psychological worlds”.

Those are some hefty claims! There’s no doubt that a growth mindset is popular. I remember seeing a survey that found that more teachers had heard of growth mindset than Freud! Over the past decade or so, millions of dollars in funding have been given to researchers to create interventions to help students in K-12 with their grades. But what does the evidence actually say!?

It turns out that the answer to that question is more complicated than you might think. Let me state upfront that I have absolutely no horse in this race. I like to go where the evidence leads. At the bottom of this article, I made a list of the most recent (since 2020) high-quality studies and commentaries on the evidence for growth mindset theory, along with my brief summary of each paper and a link to the full papers for free (not behind a paywall).

But if you just want the Cliffs Notes version right now, the latest evidence clearly shows that simply holding a growth mindset isn’t as impactful as it has been made out to be, and that context matters a lot. We can quote David Yeager and Carol Dweck in their 2020 paper “What Can Be Learned from Growth Mindset Controversies”:

With increasing emphasis on replication and generalizability has come an increased attention to questions of when, why, and under what conditions growth mindset associations and intervention effects can be expected to appear.

This is for sure a more measured and conditional statement than Dr. Dweck’s original claims about growth mindset! With that said, I do find it interesting that in my exclusive interview with Dr. Dweck (see below) she stuck to her guns that growth mindset effects are in general large and that growth mindset interventions are extremely impactful.

Look: I want you to be able to judge for yourself. That’s why I wrote this post and put as much information in it as possible so that you can make up your own mind with evidence!

“Yea, great story bro. But what do YOU think Scott?!”

I thought you’d never ask. Let me briefly tell you where my head is about growth mindset theory.

First of all, I think the general concept of a growth mindset, in which you believe that you can improve, learn, and grow in your abilities and characteristics (not just your intelligence), is a pretty good thing. BUT… with caveats.

…know when to grit and know when to quit.

You don’t want to be delusional. You definitely want to know when to grit and know when to quit. Don’t get me wrong, it’s super important to not give up too soon. I am a BIG BELIEVER in going after your dreams with passion and dedication, and not giving up due to momentary setbacks. BUT, I am also a BIG BELIEVER in reality and choosing the right goals for you.

In my view, it’s much better to have a growth motivation than a growth mindset. (In fact, we focus on growth motivation rather than growth mindset in self-actualization coaching). Sure, you can use your growth mindset to achieve a goal like getting into a more prestigious college than your friend Johnny or becoming a breakdancing chef, but were those even the right goals for you? And were they even worthy goals?

Then there’s also the issue on how growth mindset is measured in the psychological literature. The typical growth mindset test asks people to rate themselves on these sort of statements:

"No matter who I am, I can significantly change my intelligence level."
"I can always substantially change how intelligent I am."
"No matter how much intelligence I have, I can always change it quite a bit."
"I can change even my basic intelligence level considerably."

Something that strikes me when I look at actual growth mindset tests is that Dr. Dweck's growth mindset really isn't a mindset. It's a set of beliefs, specifically about intelligence.

Perhaps as a result of how growth mindset has typically been measured in psychology— focusing on beliefs about intelligence— there has been an inordinate focus on education outcomes, and within education, standardized test scores. Honestly, I’m exhausted with all the research focus on growth mindset and standardized tests scores. Come on people, isn’t there a bigger picture?! (Please tell me there is!!!)

I have argued elsewhere that it’s time for a personal growth mindset. The psychologist Carol Ryff argues that the person with a high drive for personal growth “has a feeling of continued development, sees self as growing and expanding, is open to new experiences, has a sense of realizing his or her potential, sees improvement in self and behavior over time, [and] is changing in ways that reflect more self-knowledge and effectiveness."

Imagine that instead of asking children their beliefs about intelligence, we instead asked them the following questions about their personal growth mindset:

Are you interested in activities that will expand your horizons?
Do you think it's important to have new experiences that challenge how you think about yourself and the world?
Do you feel as though you have really improved yourself as a person over the years?
Do you have the sense that you have developed a lot as a person over time?
Do you enjoy being in new situations that require you to change your old familiar ways of doing things?
Has life been a continuous process of learning, changing, and growth for you?

I think these sort of questions more directly get at what educators really like about Dr. Dweck's theory. In my view, a shift from an academic growth mindset to a personal growth mindset offers the opportunity for schools to cultivate the whole person, not just our beliefs about intelligence.

In my view, each one of us has our own unique set of potentialities, and our current standardized testing climate is squelching all children from becoming who they really could be because of our school’s obsessive focus on intelligence (and growth mindset research isn’t helping with that in my humble opinion)!!

Also, why are growth mindset researchers so exclusively focusing their research on school outcomes? Not just in school, but in life, one of the most important things we can all cultivate for optimal well-being and success is a personal growth mindset. How many of us are truly open to new experiences and are courageous in pursuing challenging activities that make us feel alive and that make us feel like we are contributing to the actualization of our most creative potential?

A personal growth mindset theory has deep implications not just for school but for every single human on this planet and their own sacred self-actualization journey.

A personal growth mindset theory has deep implications not just for school but for every single human on this planet.

Let me be clear: Dr. Dweck is a legend in the field of psychology and her growth mindset theory has been incredibly influential in education. I just see so many more possibilities. Not just for education, but for all of us.

My Exclusive Interview with Carol Dweck

Whatever the evidence for growth mindset theory, Carol Dweck is a boss.

I now present to you my exclusive interview with Carol Dweck, which was originally published on March 12, 2020 on my podcast (The Psychology Podcast). Dr. Dweck does not conduct many interviews, which is why I was honored she took the time to speak with me. I think she respects how fair-minded I am about the research and how much I genuinely respect her work and career.

In this episode we discuss:

Dr. Dweck’s earliest research on “incremental” vs. “entity” beliefs
Dr. Dweck'’s dream of “bottling” the mindsets that lead people to persevere
The limitations of Carol’s earlier studies
The two big developments in studying growth mindset
Growth mindset exercises
The “Big Mama” of growth mindset studies
The underwhelming effect size of educational interventions
How lower-achieving students benefit more from growth mindset interventions
The conditions under which growth mindset interventions don’t work
The role of teacher mindset on teaching effectiveness
The relationship between growth mindset and other outcomes in life
How growth mindset doesn’t invalidate the existence of giftedness
Why every child should be challenged
Why we shouldn’t cut out gifted and talented programs
How praising gifted students for effort can backfire
The relationship between mindsets and IQ
How having a fixed mindset can sometimes lead to increased performance
Cross-cultural differences in mindsets
Criticism that growth mindset claims have been overblown
Dr. Dweck’s dream of improving the sustainability of growth mindset interventions (Dweck’s “next big Mount Everest”)
Why mindset is not a “miracle maker”
What Dr. Dweck is most excited about in terms of future directions

Watch the episode here:

Bio

Dr. Carol Dweck is a leading researcher in the field of motivation and is the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford. Her research examines the role of mindsets in personal achievement and organizational effectiveness. Dr. Dweck has also held professorships at Columbia and Harvard Universities, has lectured to education, business, and sports groups around the world, has addressed the United Nations, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, and has won 12 lifetime achievement awards for her research. Her best-selling book Mindset has been widely influential and has been translated into over 25 languages.

***Summary of recent studies***

“What is Meant by ‘Growth Mindset’? Current Theory, Measurement Practices, and Empirical Results Leave Much Open to Interpretation: Commentary on Macnamara and Burgoyne (2023) and Burnett et al. (2023)” (2023)

Researchers give recommendations for a productive way forward, such as developing better measures of growth mindset, rethinking what outcomes should be more important to investigate, fleshing out the theory of a “meaning-systems” approach, and developing even broader spectrum interventions that integrate science of learning finding with socio-motivational interventions to more strongly enhance learning outcomes.

“A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Growth Mindset Interventions: For Whom, How, and Why Might Such Interventions Work?” (2022)

This paper sought out to provide a comprehensive overview of effects of growth mindset interventions with a focus on contextual affordances and mediating variables.

“Why Meta-Analyses of Growth Mindset and Other Interventions Should Follow Best Practices for Examining Heterogeneity” (2022)

This paper calls for a “hetereogeneity-attuned approach” which focuses on the extent to which growth mindset effects vary across procedures, participant groups, or contexts. Using best practices for examining heterogeneity they found meaningful, significant effects of growth mindset in at-risk groups.

“Do Growth Mindset Interventions Impact Students’ Academic Achievement? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis with Recommendations for Best Practices” (2022)

Re-examing a large number of studies on growth mindset theory, researchers “found major shortcomings in study design, analysis, and reporting, and suggestions of researcher and publication bias. Authors with a financial incentive to report positive findings published significantly larger effects than authors without this incentive. Across all studies, we observed a small overall effect… which nonsignificant after correcting for potential publication bias.”

“Measuring Growth Mindset: Validation of a Three-Item and a Single-item Scale in Adolescents and Adults” (2022)

Using a briefer scale of growth mindset, findings “did not support some of the central tenets of mindset theory, such as that a growth mindset is positively linked to goal regulation and achievement.”

“Students’ Growth Mindset: Relation to Teacher Beliefs, Teaching Practices, and School Climate” (2022)

Students had a stronger growth mindset when teachers used guided inquiry whereas students had a stronger fixed mindset when teachers differentiated tasks by ability. Also, students had a stronger growth mindset in schools that valued holistic development.

“Towards Fostering Growth Mindset Classrooms: Identifying Teaching Behaviors that Signal Instructors’ Fixed and Growth Mindsets Beliefs to Students” (2022)

“Even after controlling for students’ personal mindset beliefs and the warmth of the teaching behavior, when instructors suggest everyone can learn, offer opportunities for feedback, respond to struggling students with additional support and attention, and place value on learning it signals to students that their instructor endorses more growth mindset beliefs. Conversely, when instructors suggest that some students are incapable, fail to provide opportunities for feedback, respond to students’ struggle with frustration and/or resignation, and place value on performance and brilliance it signals to students that their instructors endorses fixed mindset beliefs.”

“The Mindsets x Social Norm Effect Across 78 Cultures: Growth Mindsets are Linked to Performance Weakly and Well-Being Negatively in Societies with Fixed-Mindset Norms” (2022)

The findings of this study suggests that growth mindset theory might not be equally as effective in all societies, and can even be detrimental in societies with fixed-mindset norms “because such societal norms could suppress the potential of students with growth mindsets and undermines their well-being.” Researchers make a call to take societal norms into consideration in their efforts to understand and foster students’ growth.

“Teacher Mindsets Help Explain Where a Growth-Mindset Intervention Does and Doesn’t Work” (2021)

Can students independently implement their growth mindsets in virtually any classroom culture, or must students’ growth mindsets be supported by their teacher’s own growth mindsets? This study found that sustaining growth-mindset might require contextual supports that allow growth mindset to take rout and flourish.

“How Firm Are the Foundations of Mind-Set Theory? The Claims Appear Stronger Than the Evidence” (2020)

Researchers examine the evidentiary strength of six key premises of growth-mindset theory and found no support most premises (!). All associations were weaker than .20. The strongest association with mind-set theory was opposite from the predicted direction. According to the researchers, “The results suggest that the foundations of mindset theory are not firm and that bold claims about mind-set appear to be overstated.”

“What Can Be Learned From Growth Mindset Controversies” (2000)

Big-time growth mindset researchers David Yeager and Carol Dweck attempt to respond to their critics. In particular, this article seeks to answer recent questions about growth mindset, such as: Does a growth mindset predict student outcomes? Do growth mindset interventions work, and work reliably? Are the effect sizes meaningful enough to merit attention? And can teachers successfully instill a growth mindset in students? Surprise, surprise: After exploring the important lessons learned from these questions, the article concludes that large-scale studies, including pre-registered replications and studies conducted by third parties (such as international governmental agencies), “justify confidence in growth mindset research.” They do admit, however, that mindset effects are meaningfully heterogeneous across individuals and contexts.

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