Dweck's Mindset Theory of Learning (AQA GCSE Psychology)
Revision Note
Written by: Claire Neeson
Reviewed by: Lucy Vinson
Fixed mindset
Having a fixed mindset means not allowing yourself to learn, try, grow, make mistakes and eventually succeed at a task/skill/accomplishment
Einstein, Jane Austen, Taylor Swift, (Dame) Laura Kenny, Marcus Rashford, Oprah Winfrey, Ed Sheeran: what unites all of these people is not necessarily innate talent (although they are of course the best in their field) but determination to be ‘the best they can be’ - and this would be impossible with a fixed mindset!
A fixed mindset assumes that you either have ‘it’ (‘it’ being sporting ability, musical talent, creativity etc.) or you don’t i.e. it is a biological assumption, based on genetic inheritance as the key determinant of success in a specific field
A fixed mindset attitude would include attitudes such as:
What’s the point, I wasn’t made for dancing so why even take ballet lessons?
It’s a waste of time trying to get me to study Psychology, I’ll never understand it
My sister plays the piano well, she doesn’t even have to try but I’m not like her so there’s no point in me even trying
Some people are just born to win races but that’s not me
People with a fixed mindset may only feel good about themselves when they are doing well at a task/skill - when the going gets tough they are likely to give up i.e. they don’t understand that failing is part of succeeding
A fixed mindset may result in someone being so goal-oriented that they forget to enjoy the journey plus they are likely to blame themselves and feel down about their lack of progress or perceived failures
In short, a fixed mindset says, ‘I can’t do it’
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Use your own personal experience of trying to learn or improve in a skill to help you understand how sometimes everyone may fall into fixed-mindset thinking
Growth mindset
Having a growth mindset means that you are open to trying, failing, and trying again until you achieve what you set out to do
Having a growth mindset means that you are willing to push yourself to keep aiming for improvement
If you have a growth mindset you may not even care about being the best or improving massively; you enjoy the journey, you relish challenges, and you like working hard - the end goal is not hugely important to you
A growth mindset means that failing at a task is not the end of the world, it presents a new challenge and opportunities for learning
Each type of mindset is not set in stone: it is possible to change from a fixed to a growth mindset and it is also possible to have a fixed mindset for some areas of life and a growth mindset for others
In short, a growth mindset says, ‘I can’t do it yet’
Evaluation of application of Dweck’s mindset theory of learning
Strengths
The theory has good application: there is anecdotal evidence from sportspeople, musicians, scientists etc. who have gone on record outlining the extent to which early rejections and failures spurred them on to improve and to try harder
Yeager et al. (2019) found that having only one hour’s instruction in growth mindset improved the Maths grades of low-ability secondary students in the USA
Weaknesses
The concept of a growth mindset may not be cross-culturally popular: collectivist cultures focus on the group rather than the individual so Dweck’s theory may not be acceptable or appropriate for them
Some people may simply be unable to adopt a growth mindset due to their mental health e.g. someone with depression may find it impossible to believe that failure is part of success which limits the theory’s validity
Worked Example
Here is an example of a question you might be asked on this topic - for AO1, AO2 and AO3.
AO1: You need to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key concepts, ideas, theories and research.
AO2: You need to apply your knowledge and understanding, usually referring to the ‘stem’ in order to do so (the stem is the example given before the question)
AO3: You need to analyse and evaluate key concepts, ideas, theories and research.
After each featured question there is a ‘model’ answer i.e. one which would achieve top marks in the exam.
Nancy and Tonya are trying to execute a triple toe-loop which they will need to demonstrate in a competition in six months.
Nancy: ‘This toe-loop is so difficult, I don’t know how the coach expects us to be ready for competition in six months. I feel like giving up.’
Tonya: ‘I know what you mean but I think if we just keep practising one day we’ll get it and then we’ll feel so good about ourselves and we’ll be ready for the competition’.
Question: Use your knowledge of both negative schemas as an explanation for depression and Dweck’s Mindset theory of learning to explain why these two skaters responded in different ways.
Briefly evaluate both negative schemas as an explanation for depression and Dweck’s Mindset theory [9]
AO1 = 3 marks
AO2 = 3 marks
AO3 = 3 marks
AO1:
Model answer:
People with a fixed mindset believe that success is due to innate factors like genes which means that there is nothing you can do to change your ability or talent.
People with a growth mindset believe that ability and success is due to hard work and perseverance.
Negative schemas lead people to interpret events in a biased way. They tend to interpret things in pessimistic ways and often ignore more positive ways of viewing events.
AO2:
Model answer:
Nancy’s comments suggest that she has a fixed mindset as she thinks that the toe-loop jump is too difficult and that it’s not within her capabilities to achieve it.
Tonya’s comments suggest that she has a growth mindset as she is determined to practice what she thinks she is capable of achieving and so increases the likelihood of competing successfully.
Nancy’s comments suggest that she may have negative schemas because she has a ‘doom and gloom’ attitude about the toe-loop, believing that she’ll never nail it. Tonya’s comments show that she is not allowing negative schemas to interfere with her practice.
AO3:
Model answer:
One strength of mindset theory is that people can change their mindset and this can be used to improve performance in different contexts such as at school, in sports or the workplace.
Knowledge and understanding of negative schemas have led to effective treatments for mental health disorders like depression by helping people to identify and challenge their negative patterns of thinking.
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