The Effects of Ambiguous Mindset Messages From College Faculty

• In Event: Teachers' Motivation Matters: Exploring the Influence of Teacher Motivation for Teacher, Student, and Classroom Outcomes

Abstract

Recent research has demonstrated the psychological and cognitive benefits of university faculty communicating growth mindsets to their students. However, work on “false growth mindset” suggests that faculty may sometimes send ambiguous mindset messages. In an experiment with 281 undergraduate students, we presented a hypothetical email from a professor that either contained unambiguous growth mindset messages, ambiguous mindset messages (i.e., communicating both a growth and fixed mindset simultaneously), or no mindset messages. Students in the unambiguous growth condition perceived the professor more positively and anticipated experiencing more motivation and less fear help seeking compared to students in the ambiguous condition or the control condition (which generally did not differ). Findings highlight the importance of getting the growth mindset message right.

Authors

• Katherine M. Muenks, University of Texas at Austin

• Elizabeth A. Canning, Washington State University