Exploring the Behaviors Associated With Undergraduate STEM Students' Perceptions of Their Peers' Mindsets About Intelligence

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Three
  In Roundtable Session: Parent and Peer Socialization of Students' Motivational Beliefs (Table 13)

Abstract

Building on prior research demonstrating the motivational benefits of students perceiving their peers to have growth mindsets, in the present two studies (N1 = 274, N2 = 197), we explore what peer behaviors signal growth mindsets to undergraduate STEM students. In Study 1 we asked students what behaviors indicated peer mindsets, and coded their open-ended responses using a bottom-up, iterative process. In Study 2, we developed a scale and quantitatively examined associations between these perceived peer behaviors and students’ perceptions of their peers’ mindsets. Across both studies, (un)willingness to help and (non)competitiveness were most strongly associated with perceived peer mindsets. These findings can inform the design of interventions that address mindset beliefs among peers.

Authors

• Yiqiu Yan, University of Texas at Austin
  Presenting Author

• Katherine M. Muenks, University of Texas at Austin
  Non-Presenting Author