Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

This exercise is designed to introduce business students to the concept of implicit theories, a foundational concept for individuals and organizations interested in developing more effective learners. This easy-to-implement exercise can be used in any type of management course, with any level of student; it is best positioned at the beginning of the semester. This exercise engages students cognitively and emotionally at the individual, team, and class levels. Personal reflection and storytelling are used to identify mindsets in practice. A brief video introduces content about mindsets via a shared experience. Small-group discussions facilitate peer teaching about mindsets in action. Class discussion is used to showcase meaningful stories, explore connections between student experiences and mindset concepts, and allow students to share how their thinking about learning has evolved. A reflection assignment helps students consolidate their learning.

Keywords

implicit theories growth mindset incremental theory learning to learn learning fixed mindset learning beliefs learning practices motivation success

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

AACSB. (2018a). AACSB industry brief: Lifelong learning and talent management. https://www.aacsb.edu/publications/researchreports/lifelong-learning-and-talent-management

AACSB. (2018b). A collective vision for business education. https://www.aacsb.edu/vision

Ambrose

S. A.

Bridges

M. W.

DiPietro

Lovett

M. C.

Norman

M. K.

(2010). How learning works: 7 research-based principles for smart teaching. Jossey-Bass.

Aronson

Fried

C. B.

Good

(2002). Reducing the effects of stereotype threat on African American college students by shaping theories of intelligence. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38(2), 113-125. https://doi.org/10.1006/jesp.2001.1491

Birkinshaw

Bouquet

Barsoux

J. L.

(2011). The 5 myths of innovation. MIT Sloan Management Review, 52(2), 43-50. http://ezp.lndlibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=57750730&site=ehost-live

Blackwell

L. S.

Trzesniewski

K. H.

Dweck

C. S.

(2007). Implicit theories of intelligence predict achievement across an adolescent transition: A longitudinal study and an intervention. Child Development, 78(1), 246-263. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.00995.x

Broda

Yun

Schneider

Yeager

D. S.

Waltom

G. M.

Diemer

(2018). Reducing inequality in academic success for incoming college students: A randomized trial of growth minset and belonging interventions. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 11(3), 317-338. https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2018.1429037

Burnette

J. L.

O’Boyle

E. H.

VanEpps

E. M.

Pollack

J. M.

Finkel

E. J.

(2013). Mind-sets matter: A meta-analytic review of implicit theories and self-regulation. Psychological Bulletin, 139(3), 655-701. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029531

Caniëls

M. C. J.

Semeijn

J. H.

Renders

I. H. M.

(2018). Mind the mindset! The interaction of proactive personality, transformational leadership and growth mindset for engagement at work. Career Development International, 23(1), 48-66. https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-11-2016-0194

10.

Chopra-McGowan

(2019, September 24). How companies and governments can advance employee education. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2019/09/how-companies-and-governments-can-advance-employee-education

11.

Claro

Paunesku

Dweck

C. S.

(2016). Growth mindset tempers the effects of poverty on academic achievement. PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113(31), 8664-8668. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1608207113

12.

Cury

Da Fonseca

Zahn

Elliot

(2008). Implicit theories and IQ test performance: A sequential mediational analysis. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44(3), 783-791. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2007.07.003

13.

Dweck

(2014). Talent: How companies can profit from a “growth mindset.” Harvard Business Review, 92(11), 28-29.

14.

Dweck

(2016, January 13). What having a “growth mindset” actually means. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2016/01/what-having-a-growth-mindset-actually-means

15.

Dweck

Hogan

(2016, October 7). How Microsoft uses a growth mindset to develop leaders. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2016/10/how-microsoft-uses-a-growth-mindset-to-develop-leaders

16.

Dweck

C. S.

(1999). Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and development. Taylor & Francis.

17.

Dweck

C. S.

(2007). The perils and promises of praise. Educational Leadership, 65(2), 34-39. http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/oct07/vol65/num02/The-Perils-and-Promises-of-Praise.aspx

18.

Dweck

C. S.

(2008a). Can personality be changed? The role of beliefs in personality and change [Article]. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17(6), 391-394. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2008.00612.x

19.

Dweck

C. S.

(2008b). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Ballantine Books.

20.

Dweck

C. S.

(2009). Mindsets: Developing talent through a growth mindset. Olympic Coach, 21(1), 4-7.

21.

Dweck

C. S.

(2010). Even geniuses work hard. Educational Leadership, 68(1), 16-20. http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept10/vol68/num01/Even-Geniuses-Work-Hard.aspx

22.

Dweck

C. S.

(2012). Mindsets and human nature: Promoting change in the Middle East, the schoolyard, the racial divide, and willpower. American Psychologist, 67(8), 614-622. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029783

23.

Dweck

C. S.

Yeager

D. S.

(2019). Mindsets: A view from two eras. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 14(3), 481-496. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691618804166

24.

Good

Aronson

Inzlicht

(2003). Improving adolescents’ standardized test performance: An intervention to reduce the effects of stereotype threat. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 24(6), 645-662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2003.09.002

25.

Good

Rattan

Dweck

C. S.

(2012). Why do women opt out? Sense of belonging and women’s representation in mathematics. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(4), 700-717. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026659

26.

Hong

Y.-y.

Chiu

C.-y.

Dweck

C. S.

Lin

D. M. S.

Wan

(1999). Implicit theories, attributions, and coping: A meaning system approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(3), 588-599. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.77.3.588

27.

Keating

L. A.

Heslin

P. A.

(2015). The potential role of mindsets in unleashing employee engagement. Human Resource Management Review, 25(4), 329-341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2015.01.008

28.

Kerr

W. R.

Palano

(2020). Modern automation (A): Articial intelligience. Harvard Business Publishing.

29.

Knowledge@Wharton. (2019). Will Amazon’s plan to “upskill” its employees pay off? https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/amazon-retraining-employees/

30.

Lederman

(2019, July 17). Is Amazon training its workers or creating a college alternative? Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2019/07/17/perspectives-field-amazons-big-dollar-entry-training-workers

31.

Lin-Siegler

Dweck

C. S.

Cohen

G. L.

(2016). Instructional interventions that motivate classroom learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108(3), 295-299. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000124

32.

Murphy

M. C.

Dweck

C. S.

(2016). Mindsets shape consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 26(1), 127-136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2015.06.005

33.

Mueller

C. M.

Dweck

C. S.

(1998). Praise for intelligence can undermine children’s motivation and performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(1), 33-52. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.75.1.33

34.

Myers

C. A.

Cheng

Black

J. M.

Bugescu

Fumiko

(2016). The matter of motivation: Striatal resting-state connectivity is dissociable between grit and growth mindset. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 11(10), 1521-1527. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsw065

35.

Navera

(2020, January 13). Nationwide launching $160M initiative to retain and retain employees. Columbus Business First. https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2020/01/13/nationwide-launching-160m-initiative-to-retrain.html

36.

Nussbaum

A. D.

Dweck

C. S.

(2008). Defensiveness versus remediation: Self-theories and modes of self-esteem maintenance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(5), 599-612. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167207312960

37.

Paunesku

Walton

G. M.

Romero

Smith

E. N.

Yeager

D. S.

Dweck

C. S.

(2015). Mind-set interventions are a scalable treatment for academic underachievement. Psychological Science, 26(6), 784-793. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615571017

38.

Robins

R. W.

Pals

J. L.

(2002). Implicit self-theories in the academic domain: Implications for goal orientation, attributions, affect, and self-esteem change. Self and Identity, 1(4), 313-336. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298860290106805

39.

Sarrasin

J. B.

Nenciovici

Foisy

L.-M. B.

Allaire-Duquette

Riopel

Masson

(2018). Effects of teaching the concept of neuroplasticity to induce a growth mindset on motivation, achievement, and brain activity: A meta-analysis. Trends in Neuroscience & Education, 12, 22-31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tine.2018.07.003

40.

Sawchuck

(2017). Learning how to learn could be a student’s most valuable skill. Education Week, 37(6), 16-18. https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/09/27/learning-how-to-learn-could-be-a.html

41.

Sisk

V. F.

Burgoyne

A. P.

Sun

Butler

J. L.

Macnamara

B. N.

(2018). To what extent and under which circumstances are growth mind-sets important to academic achievement? Two meta-analyses. Psychological Science, 29(4), 549-571. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617739704

42.

Stipek

Gralinski

J. H.

(1996). Children’s beliefs about intelligence and school performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 88(3), 397-407. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.88.3.397

43.

Uzialko

A. C.

(2019, April 22). How artificial intelligience will transform business. Business News Daily. https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/9402-artificial-intelligence-business-trends.html

44.

Vroman

Kovacich

(2002). Computer-mediated interdisciplinary teams: Theory and reality. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 16(2), 159-170. https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820220124175

45.

Yeager

D. S.

Romero

Paunesku

Hulleman

C. S.

Schneider

Hinojosa

Lee

H. Y.

O’Brien

Flint

Roberts

Trott

Greene

Walton

G. M.

Dweck

C. S.

(2016). Using design thinking to improve psychological interventions: The case of the growth mindset during the transition to hgh school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108(3), 374-391. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000098

46.

Yeager

D. S.

Walton

G. M.

Brady

S. T.

Akcinar

E. N.

Paunesku

Keane

Kamentz

Ritter

Duckworth

A. L.

Urstein

Gomez

E. M.

Markus

H. R.

Cohen

G. L.

Dweck

C. S.

(2016). Teaching a lay theory before college narows achievement gaps at scale. PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113(24), E3341-E3348. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1524360113

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.37 MB

4.37 MB

0.02 MB

Embracing A Growth Mindset: An Experiential Exercise to Explore Beliefs About Learning

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References

Supplementary Material