Is Effort Enough or Do I Need Strategies, Too? Growth Mind-Set Intervention Effects and Mediators

• In Event: 66.071 - Postsecondary Achievement and Dropout: Explorations and Interventions From Multiple Theoretical Perspectives

Abstract

In two experiments, we examined whether effects of a growth mindset intervention varied based on what growth mindset elements students wrote about (Study 1; N=1149) or are emphasized in intervention materials (Study 2; N=277). In Study 1, we coded essays from community college developmental math students randomly assigned to receive a growth mindset intervention. Students who wrote about both growth and strategy elements of a growth mindset received significantly higher final course grades than students in the other essay groups, and results were partially mediated by increased success expectancies. In Study 2, students randomly assigned to a growth mindset intervention endorsed greater academic-victim blaming, partially explained by free-will beliefs. Students who received a revised intervention emphasizing strategies, however, did not.

Authors

• Stephanie V. Wormington, University of Virginia

• Nick Buttrick, University of Virginia

• David Silverman, University of Virginia

• Jeff John Kosovich, Center for Creative Leadership

• Maryke Lee, Valencia College

• Chris S. Hulleman, University of Virginia