4.4 Assignment. Growth vs. Fixed Mindset
Getting Started
Let’s say that you are given a task at your workplace that your boss has called “simple.” He says it shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours to complete. But after looking over the details of the task, you conclude that the task is beyond your knowledge and training. So, you go to your boss and ask him to give it to another person in the company. Your boss assures you that this is a “simple” problem to solve and that you have the ability to complete the task given the training you’ve received. During the first hour on the task, you are getting nowhere. By the end of the second hour, you are beginning to seriously question yourself. Your self-talk goes like this: What’s wrong with me? This is supposed to be a “simple” task. Maybe I’m in the wrong job. Worse yet, maybe I’m just not smart enough to figure this out.
What this scenario depicts is what Stanford University social science researcher Carol Dweck calls a “mindset.” Dweck says that people tend to approach their life challenges with one of two mindsets. The first she calls a “fixed mindset,” which is the belief that our basic abilities, such as intelligence, are inherent to our person. We either have the trait of intelligence or we don’t. In other words, if you were truly intelligent, you could have easily and quickly solved the problem of the assigned task.
The other mindset Dweck identified she calls the “growth mindset,” which is the belief that abilities, such as intelligence, are developed with effort, practice, and persistence. The self-talk of a person with a growth mindset who is trying to figure out the task in our scenario might go something like this: I’m obviously not looking at this problem in the correct way, so I need to find another angle that could give me more insight.
You can clearly see the difference between these two mindsets. The person with the fixed mindset is ready to give up because they’ve concluded that they aren’t smart enough to figure it out. So why keep trying? The growth mindset concludes that a new angle is needed. The lack of a solution is seen as a tough problem to solve instead of a statement of intelligence. The assumption is “If I give it more effort and persistence, I can solve this problem.”
Much of Dweck’s research has involved children but her findings have far-reaching implications for all age groups. And the concepts of the fixed vs. growth mindset have been embraced in many ways in various life coaching methods.
In this assignment, you will have the opportunity to read about and do a brief assessment of how you view learning and how this might reflect on the type of mindset you bring to the learning process, especially when you encounter adversity. The assigned chapter from the textbook speaks about mindset as does the article.
Upon successful completion of this assignment, you will be able to:
· Compare the fixed mindset against the growth mindset.
Background Information
To get the most out of this assignment, first read Chapter 7 in Positive Psychology in Coaching and then take the one-page Mindset Quiz. It is suggested that you print out the quiz, answer the 10 questions, self-score the assessment, and then read the assigned article that discusses the growth mindset and the fixed mindset in much greater detail. It’s preferable that you take the quiz first so you will not be biased in answering the quiz questions.
Instructions
1. Read Chapter 7, “Applying the Latest Research on Goal Setting and Mindset” in your textbook Positive Psychology in Coaching: Applying Science to Executive and Personal Coaching.
2. Assess yourself by completing the Mindset Quiz(new tab).
3. Read “Growth Mindset vs. Fixed + Key Takeaways from Dweck’s Book(new tab)” to review in greater detail what factors constitute a growth or a fixed mindset.
4. After completing these steps, respond to the following questions using at least four substantive paragraphs:
a. What was your final score and category in the score chart?
b. In what ways might you be able to improve your growth mindset in your schoolwork and job? Suggest at least one strategy for each.
c. How will awareness of growth and fixed mindsets help you in coaching individuals? Be specific.
5. Be specific in your responses and use concrete examples from the textbook, supplemental readings, outside sources, and personal experiences to frame your writing.
6. Use at least two scholarly resources in addition to the readings assigned in this workshop.
a. Use in-text citations and APA format for direct quotations and references to the readings.