Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature | Paraphrase

TOPIC : Mindset as Underlying Factor of Success

WORKING TITLE : The Relationship of Mindset to Success Rate Growth of Entrepreneurs

Mindsets are a set of assumptions that help you distill complex worldviews into digestible

information and then set expectations based on this input. In her book, "Mindset," renowned

Stanford researcher and professor Carol Dweck says that it's not intelligence, talent or

education that sets successful people apart. It's their mindset, or the way that they approach

life's challenges. Dweck's idea of mindset, how a "fixed mindset" can hold you back, and

how a "growth mindset" can help you to reach your goals had motivated the researchers to

pursue this topic. Research by Claro and Paunesku (2014) revealed that students who

demonstrate a growth mindset perform better than students with a fixed mindset, significantly

outscoring them in the areas of maths and literacy. Students are more likely to recognize the

importance of effort and academic success. Students will seek out challenging academic tasks

to enhance learning and value critical feedback (Claro & Paunesku, 2014).

The ideas of The New Psychology of Success, written by psychologist Carol Dwec are still

relevant today. It is a study of two contrasting mindsets that she terms fixed mindset and

growth mindset. She explained how our perceptions of our abilities can significantly affect

our chances of success in almost every area of human endeavour, including work, school,

sports, the arts, and the arts. People who believe that abilities can be developed—those who

have a growth mentality—are more likely to succeed than those who have a fixed mindset,
which maintains that abilities are fixed. People with a fixed mindset believe that they're born

with certain intelligence, skills and abilities that cannot change. As a result, when they fail at

a task or face a challenge, their fear that they might not succeed often stops them from

progressing. People with a growth mindset, however, embrace challenges because they

believe that they can learn from experiences, develop their skills, and improve with practice –

all of which can lead to greater achievement. It is not only interesting but also beneficial to

understand using statistical analysis whether or not endeavours are realised if you set your

mind into it and understand the product of underlying mindset behind success.

Dweck (2016) offered new viewpoints on her now-famous and widely accepted theory in

this version. She discusses the issue of the "false growth attitude" and provides guidance on

how to cultivate a more profound, real growth mindset. She extends the idea of mindset

beyond the individual and applies it to the cultures of groups and organizations. If you have

the right attitude, you might inspire the people you lead, teach, and love to make changes in

their lives as well as your own. Our attitudes have a big impact on how we live. She claims

that people with fixed mindsets frequently go to tremendous measures to avoid issues and are

constantly looking for confirmation of their skill, ability, or intelligence. In contrast, persons

with a growth (or learning) mindset welcome difficulties since they believe that learning is

the only way to improve. Failure is irreversible for someone with a set mentality and can lead

to depression, but for a "learner," failure is only a cue that something needs to be done more

effectively.

Dweck (2006) developed the term growth mindset after researching motivation, personality,

and development. Dweck (2006) suggests that a growth mindset evolves from an attitude of

hard work, learning, training, and perseverance. Growth mindset is learning, growing, and
hard work despite setbacks. Students with a growth mindset view failures as potential

chances for instructive feedback and are more likely to learn from mistakes (Dweck, 2006). A

growth mindset is viewed as changeable and can be developed through work ethic and

perseverance. The mindset held in any domain has a great influence on how gritty an

individual will be in the pursuit of accomplishments. Children today are faced with many

challenges and pressures, as a society the understanding of rigor and hard work should be

instilled in individuals as they progress through the business world Yeager, D. S., & Dweck,

C. S. (2012).

One influential non-cognitive factor is students’ beliefs about the degree to which intelligence

is a stable trait, termed “mindset” (Dweck, 1999). Students who believe that intelligence is a

stable, unchangeable trait are described as holding a “fixed mindset” and are likely to

interpret struggle or failure as an indication that they are not intellectually capable of

succeeding (Dweck, 1999). Thus, students with a fixed mindset tend to avoid challenges, quit

when they encounter challenges, and ultimately achieve less academic success (Dweck, 1999;

Smiley, Buttitta, Chung, Dubon, & Chang, 2016). Conversely, students who believe that

intelligence is a changeable trait that they can improve with effort and guidance are described

as holding a “growth mindset.” These students are more likely to take on challenging tasks

and persist through challenges by trying new strategies or increasing effort, ultimately

achieving greater academic success (Dweck, 1999; Smiley et al., 2016).

Students’ mindsets are influential because they affect a variety of other non-cognitive factors,

such as the types of goals students set (Dweck & Leggett, 1988; Hoyert & O’Dell, 2008),

how students attribute their successes and struggles (Dweck, 1999; Smiley et al., 2016), and

how they cope with challenges they encounter (Heine et al., 2001). Given the far-reaching
influence of mindsets, it is important to understand how and why students’ mindsets develop

and change over time.

Growth mindset is defined as a belief that construes intelligence as malleable and improvable.

Students with a growth mindset are likely to learn by a mastery approach, embrace challenges

and put in effort to learn. For instance, growth-minded individuals perceive task setbacks as a

necessary part of the learning process and they “bounce back” by increasing their

motivational effort. One recent study on elementary students showed that leveraging an

online educational game (the BrainPOP website) with in-game rewards can promote a growth

mindset by directly incentivizing effort and encouraging persistence in low performing

students. Learners fostering a growth mindset tend to embrace lifelong learning and the joy of

incremental personal growth. In addition, they do not see their intelligence or personality as

fixed traits. They will mobilise their learning resources without being defeated by the threat

of failure.

Growth mindset relates to brain processes, and brain processes relate to motivated

behaviours. Likewise, motivated behaviours can affect cognition as motivation shapes what

and how people think. As such, individuals’ goals and needs may be exemplified when they

steer their thinking towards desired outcomes. Research has shown that a growth mindset has

an impact on children’s behavior, particularly in terms of effort, motivation and resilience.

When individuals have intrinsic motivation for performing a task at work or school, their

work or educational performance will improve [45,46]. With the inculcation of a growth

mindset, individuals will perceive the intrinsic value of a given task and self-regulate their

behaviours to perform the task. Through internalisation, individuals will generate intrinsically

motivated behaviours at work or school.

growth mindset are receptive to corrective feedback, exhibiting a higher error positivity

response, which is correlated with a heightened awareness of attention to mistakes. A 2016

national study of over 600 teachers conducted by Education Week Research Center states that

98% of teachers believe that integrating growth mindset will lead to improved student

learning. Cultivating a growth mindset is about closing the achievement gap, not about

making low-achieving students feel good in the moment, but not truly learning in the end

(Dweck, 2008). While the fixed mindset and growth mindset both are still commonly held

among individuals, neuroscience research shows that the brain’s architecture continually

adapts as we learn, this concept indicates the belief in a growth mindset is scientifically

accurate, whereas the belief in a fixed mindset is a misconception (OECD, 2007).

Mindset theory claims that mindsets play a critical role in academic success (Rattan et al.,

2015). More specifically, entity theory is claimed to be a negative predictor of achievement,

whereas incremental theory positively predicts academic success (Cury et al., 2006). Some

studies reported that mindsets directly predict achievement (Claro et al., 2016; Hong et al.,

1999; Muller & Dweck, 1998; Romero et al., 2014; Zhao & Wang, 2014). Other studies have

found that mindsets directly predict personal characteristics such as goal orientations, beliefs

about effort, and strategies for self-regulation, which in turn predict academic success

(Blackwell et al., 2007; Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Müllensiefen et al., 2015; Robins & Pals,

2002). Some studies have found that mindsets have no predictive power in terms of

achievement (Li & Bates, 2019). A recent meta-analysis on mindsets revealed that mindsets

were a weak predictor of academic success (Sisk et al., 2018). In another meta-analysis,

Costa and Faria (2018) found that mindsets were “positively related to academic success at a
low magnitude” (p. 5) and stated that there might be some discipline-related differences,

arguing “incremental theorists are more likely to have higher grades in specific subjects

(verbal and quantitative academic domains) and in overall achievement” (Costa & Faria,

2018, p. 1).

As our brain is plastic, it is able to undergo reorganisation and development. Brain plasticity

or neuroplasticity refers to the ability of our brain to change throughout our life. It is thereby

important to understand how our brain changes if we undergo growth mindset intervention

and whether there are changes in our intrinsic motivation as well. (Charness, Feltovich, &

Hoffman, 2006). Whether it is ultimately true or untrue that our intelligence quotients (IQs)

and qualities are carved in stone seems to matter very little. What matters is how we think of

ourselves and our beliefs about our capabilities and limitations. Research on adolescent

students shows that even if two students have equal intellectual ability, the students’ mindsets

determine how they respond to challenges (Blackwell et al., 2007). Their beliefs about their

own intellectual abilities or limitations lead to students measuring their own ability, or lack of

ability, which results in the student either giving up (fixed) or pushing through (growth). The

reality is that “mindsets are just beliefs” (Dweck, 2016, p. 16)— beliefs that lead us more

toward a fixed mindset or more toward a growth mindset.

We all hold a combination of fixed and growth mindsets; we tend to have different mindsets

in different areas (Dweck, 2016). It is simpler to think of ourselves as only having one or the

other. However, having a purely growth mindset—or a strictly fixed mindset in every

facet—is altogether unlikely. Holding to the idea that mindsets are beliefs, mindsets in

different areas can change, but that change is not simply switching out a fixed mindset with a

growth mindset or vice versa. Dweck (2016) describes the change as new beliefs being held
side by side with old beliefs, “and as [the new beliefs] become stronger, they give you a

different way to think, feel, and act” (p. 224). So at least for a period of time it seems possible

to hold both mindsets at once even within the same area, but one of the mindsets will

eventually take over, determining how we view ourselves and respond to adversity. Dweck

(2016) describes research conducted with children in which praise was offered in very

different ways. With one group of children, praise was offered on ability (fixed); for the other

group, praise was offered based on effort (growth). Ability praise included statements such as

“that’s a really good score. You must be smart at this” (p. 71), whereas effort praise included

statements such as “that’s a really good score. You must have worked really hard” (p. 72).

These groups, equal at the beginning of the study, began to differ post-praise. After

experiencing more difficult problems that both groups struggled with, the effort- praised

students excelled because they seemed to enjoy the learning experience, whereas the

ability-praised students’ performance plummeted. Presumably, the method of praise can

impact IQ in a measurable way. Blackwell et al. (2007) conducted research on changing

mindsets via a 2- year study with 373 middle schoolers to test the impact that implicit

theories of intelligence have on mathematics achievement. These researchers found that

having a growth mindset is positively associated with stronger learning goals, positive beliefs

about effort, and a constructive learning response to failure (that is, “fewer ability-based,

‘helpless’ attributions” [p. 258]). These results are consistent with Dweck’s (2016) assertion

that growth mindset-minded people see failure as “a problem to be faced, dealt with, and

learned from” (p. 33). Blackwell et al. (2007) also found quantitative evidence for the value

of growth mindset. Over the two-year study, the students with an initial framework of growth

mindset increased their mathematics grades relative to the students with a fixed mindset.
It is difficult to measure a growth mindset and factors such as effort and motivation. It is also

challenging to account for extenuating circumstances and uncontrollable factors. Thus,

research on growth mindset and its real-life impact is inconsistent. Some research shows no

positive correlation between growth mindset and better academic achievement (Bahník &

Vranka, 2016). In fact, Bahník and Vranka’s study looked at 5653 university applicants and

found a negative correlation between growth mindset and scholastic aptitude. McCabe et al.

(2020) found similar discouraging results in a self-reported assessment from

undergraduate-age students. Other research shows growth mindset has a positive correlation

with learning outcomes, student achievement, facing failure and learning from it, giving

maximum effort, and sustaining motivation (Dweck, 2016; Blackwell et al., 2007; Dweck,

2012).

It is argued that mindsets determine how individual learners approach learning (Lou & Noels,

2019). This is important because it is believed that how a learner approaches learning

regulates the setting of goals, the use of strategies, and the deployment of effort in a specific

field (Ryan & Mercer, 2012). These in turn might then have a direct impact on a students’

academic success (Dweck & Leggett, 1988). Empirical research has shown that a growth

mindset tends to contribute to academic success both directly (see Muller & Dweck, 1998)

and indirectly (see Blackwell et al., 2007). However, some studies claim that mindsets do not

have any predictive power in terms of students’ academic achievement (Bahník & Vranka,

2017). These contradictory findings illustrate a need for further research into the relationship

between mindsets and academic achievement. It is believed that there are cross-cultural

differences in the conceptualization of mindsets. Succinctly, mindsets are thought to be

culturally shaped (Dweck & Leggett, 1988). In their study, Ryan and Mercer (2012) report

how students in Austria and Japan have different mindsets that may be rooted in “scripted
social discourse” (p. 6) in Japan. Scripted social discourse refers to the participants' responses

in a questionnaire or interview, which might be grounded in “a schema or scripted discourse

about the nature of language learning” (p. 16) popular in that culture rather than participants’

actual beliefs about the topic. Lou and Noels (2019) also include contextual influences on

language mindsets in their research of mindsets in language learning and teaching. These

factors include how experiences impact participants’ mindsets in situations such as transition

to higher education, study abroad and when students’ experience new challenges.

Recently, a meta-analysis conducted by Costa and Faria (2018) revealed different

relationships between mindsets and achievement in various settings. For example, studies

from Eastern continents such as Asia and Oceania reported a positive link between growth

mindset and achievement, but conversely, studies from Europe presented a positive

association between entity mindset and achievement. Quite differently, studies from North

America found negative correlations between entity mindsets and achievement.

Dweck’s theory of Growth Mindsets gained credibility because, unlike most educational

‘fads,’ it did emerge from some sound initial research into brain plasticity and was tested in

case studies with students in the schools. Leading education researcher Dylan Wiliam, a

renowned student assessment expert, lent his support to the Growth Mindset movement when

he embraced Dweck’s findings and applied them to building ‘feedback’ into student

assessment. He adopted this equation: Talent = Hard Work + Persistence (A Growth

Mindset) and offered this endorsement: “The harder you work, the smarter you get. Once

students begin to understand this “growth mindset” as Carol Dweck calls it, students are

much more likely to embrace feedback from their teachers.” (Paul W. Growth Mindset: Is the

Theory Flawed or Has GM Been Debased in the Classroom? 2017).

minds in education research began to probe more deeply into the theory, follow-up studies,

and the supposed evidence of student success. An early sceptic, Disappointed Idealist, hit a

nerve with a brave little commentary, December 5, 2014, wondering whether the Growth

Mindset described a world as we wanted it to be, rather than one as it is, and likened it to

“telling penguins to flap harder (and they would be able to fly like other birds). Self-styled

‘education progressives’ have taken their cue from American writer Alfie Kohn who weighed

in with a widely-read Salon commentary in which he argued that Dweck’s research had been

appropriated by “conservative” educators trying to “fix our kids'' when we should be “fixing

the system.” (Paul W., 2017).

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