Investigating the Association of Chinese EFL Students' Growth Mindset, Grit, and Foreign Language Enjoyment: A Structural Equation Modelling Study

The importance of individual differences, personality traits, and psycho-affective factors in second language (L2) learning has been increasingly substantiated by recent research. However, the relationship between students' mindsets and positive emotions has received insufficient attention in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context. To fill this research gap, we drew on "broaden-and-build" and "control value" (CVT) theories to examine associations among L2 students' growth mindset, grit, and foreign language enjoyment (FLE). A sample of 750 Chinese students completed three formerly validated scales on each of these constructs. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and correlation analysis illustrated significant, strong, positive correlations among English as a foreign language (EFL) students' growth mindset, L2 grit, and FLE. We found that 56% of changes in Chinese students' FLE could be predicted by changes in their growth mindset and grit. We discuss the obtained results, their implications, and future research directions to highlight the contagious nature of positive emotions in L2 education.

Physical health mindsets and information avoidance

Health mindsets refer to beliefs about the malleability (growth mindset) versus stability (fixed mindset) of physical health and have gained traction as a predictor of health beliefs and behaviors. Across two studies, we tested whether health mindsets were associated with avoiding personalized health risk information. In Study 2, we also tested whether conceptually-related constructs of internal and chance health locus of control, health self-efficacy, fatalism, and genetic determinism were associated with information avoidance. Health mindsets were manipulated in Study 1 (college students, n = 284; 79.58% female; Mage = 19.74) and measured in Study 2 (participants recruited through MTurk, n = 735; 42.04% female; Mage = 35.78). In both studies, participants viewed a prediabetes infographic and were informed they could learn their prediabetes risk by completing an online risk calculator. Behavioral obligation was also manipulated in both studies to test whether an additional behavioral requirement associated with learning one's risk would exacerbate any negative impact of health mindsets on avoidance rates. All participants then indicated their interest in learning their prediabetes risk (avoidance intentions) and decided whether to complete the online risk calculator (avoidance behavior). In Study 1, there was no impact of health mindsets, behavioral obligation, or their interaction on avoidance intentions or behavior. Study 2 similarly did not provide consistent evidence for an association of health mindsets, behavioral obligation, or their interaction with avoidance intentions or behavior. However, in Study 2, internal health locus of control was consistently associated with both intentions and behavior. Health information avoidance may be a barrier to prevention and early detection of disease. To encourage individuals to learn potentially important health information, public health interventions might seek to increase people's beliefs that their own actions play a role in their health outcomes. Interventions may also seek to increase people's knowledge about and skills regarding improving their health outcomes, which may influence health locus of control beliefs.

Effect of Growth Mindset on Mathematics Achievement Among Chinese Junior High School Students: The Mediating Roles of Academic Buoyancy and Adaptability

A growth mindset is crucial for students' academic development. Many studies have demonstrated the influence of a growth mindset on mathematics achievement, but the mediating mechanisms underlying this relationship still warrant further exploration. This study investigates the mediating roles of students' academic buoyancy and adaptability in the relationship between the student growth mindset and mathematics achievement within the Chinese cultural context. The sample included 1164 junior high school students (49.4% females). Using structural equation modeling, the results showed that, after controlling for gender, school type, and family socioeconomic status, the student growth mindset was positively related to mathematics achievement. Furthermore, the student growth mindset was significantly associated with the student academic buoyancy, cognitive-behavioral adaptability, and affective adaptability, but only cognitive-behavioral adaptability further mediated the relationship between the student growth mindset and mathematics achievement. The multi-group analysis demonstrated that the model exhibited invariance across the genders, school types, and SES levels, indicating that the associations were applicable to both boys and girls, to both boarding and day students, and to students from low-, middle-, and high-SES backgrounds. We discuss the findings by considering the Chinese cultural characteristics and provide insights that may help in the development of interventions to improve students' mathematics performance.

Dimensions of Emotion Regulation as Mediators of the Relationship Between Emotion Controllability Beliefs With Stress and Well-Being

Although beliefs about the extent to which emotions are amenable versus immutable to control (i.e., implicit theories of emotion) have been linked to various mental health indices, mediators of this relationship remain unclear. This study extends prior research by examining dimensions of emotion regulation (ER) difficulties as parallel mediators in the relationship between emotion controllability beliefs and stress and well-being among university students (n = 483). Higher emotion controllability beliefs were found to be associated with fewer difficulties in emotional clarity, emotional acceptance, effective ER strategy access, impulse control, and goal-directed behaviour. Moreover, the relationship between emotion controllability beliefs and stress and well-being was mediated by emotional clarity and strategy access. Results implicate difficulties understanding one's own emotions and accessing effective ER strategies as key mechanisms through which lower emotion controllability beliefs may be associated with higher stress and lower well-being. Conversely, better emotional clarity and greater access to effective ER strategies may explain why higher emotion controllability beliefs are associated with better mental health. The present study provides support for the role of implicit theories of emotion in clarifying patterns of adaptive versus maladaptive emotional responding, and sheds light on the cognitive processes underlying individual differences in emotion regulation and mental health. Furthermore, findings offer novel insight regarding the specific emotion regulatory mechanisms through which emotion controllability beliefs may be associated with mental health.

Satisfaction of basic needs mediates relationships between incremental mindsets and well-being

Research on the extent to which people believe that people can change (incremental beliefs) suggests that incrementalist beliefs are positively related to well-being, whereas entity beliefs (people cannot change) are not. One explanation for this relationship is that incremental beliefs are associated with a mastery orientation, whereas entity beliefs are not. If this is the case, then autonomous and competence motives should mediate relationships between incrementalism and well-being because these motives reflect different aspects of mastery. The present study examined the possibility that autonomous and competence motives mediate relationships between self-theories and well-being. Participants were adult community members (n = 428) who completed the Life Engagement Test (eudaimonic well-being), the Satisfaction with life Scale (hedonic well-being), the Mental Health Continuum Scale (eudaimonic, subjective, and psychological well-being), the Basic Needs Satisfaction scale (autonomy, competence, relatedness), and a measure of implicit theories of the self (incremental and entity beliefs). Regression analyses found that incremental beliefs were significantly related (positively) to all three measures of well-being, whereas entity beliefs were not significantly related to well-being. Regression analyses also found that incremental beliefs were positively related to satisfaction of autonomy and competence needs but were not related to satisfaction of relatedness needs. Entity beliefs were not related to the satisfaction of any of the three basic needs. A series of mediational analyses found that competence and autonomy motives mediated relationships between incremental beliefs and all three measures of well-being. In all but one case, satisfaction with life, the direct effects of incremental beliefs on well-being were rendered non-significant when satisfaction of autonomy and competence needs were included as mediators. The present results confirm and extend to the general domain the supposition that a mastery orientation is responsible for relationships between well-being and incremental theories of the self. They also conform the importance of the tenants of Self-Determination Theory in understanding self-theories.

Implicit theories of health predict HPV vaccination intention among young adult Chinese women: The mediating effect of consideration of future consequences and future self-continuity

This study investigated the predicting effect of implicit theories of health on HPV vaccination intention among young adult Chinese women and its underlying mechanisms. Four-hundred and eighty-three young Chinese women adults (18-26 years old) participated this study by completing measures on implicit theories of health, consideration of future consequences, future self-continuity, and reported their HPV vaccination intention. The results demonstrated that age, whether they knew someone being diagnosed with cancer, implicit (incremental) theories of health, consideration of future consequences (CFC-Future), and future self-continuity significantly predicted young adult Chinese women's HPV vaccination intention. The predicting effect of implicit theories of health was mediated by consideration of future consequences and future self-continuity. Implications of the current research for promoting HPV vaccination among young adult women and directions for future research are discussed.

Implicit Theories of Smoking and Intention to Quit: A Serial Mediation Model

INTRODUCTION

There is growing evidence that implicit theories of smoking (ITS)-whether smokers perceive smoking behavior as malleable or fixed-are significant predictors of quitting intentions.

AIMS AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study aims to investigate the underlying mechanisms of implicit theories on smoking in predicting smokers' intentions to quit. We conducted multiple linear regression with quitting intentions as the dependent variable, ITS as the independent variable, and sociodemographic variables, quitting attempts in the past year, and receiving quitting advice in the past 12 months as the covariates. The mediating role of consideration of future consequences (CFC) and self-efficacy in the relationship between implicit theories of smoking and quitting intentions was evaluated by mediation analyses.

RESULTS

A total of 510 smokers were included in the final analyses. Smokers holding a higher incremental theory of smoking reported a higher likelihood of considering future consequences (β = 0.289, p < .001) and a weaker possibility of considering immediate results (β = -0.317, p < .001), which, in turn, enhanced their quitting self-efficacy and then led to stronger intentions to quit smoking (β = 0.261, p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

The current study enriched our understanding of the underlying mechanisms that connect smokers' ITS and their likelihood of smoking cessation such that higher incremental theories of smoking predict stronger intention to quit smoking, and the effect was serially mediated by smokers' likelihood of considering future consequences of their behavior and their perceived self-efficacy for smoking cessation.

IMPLICATIONS

This study indicated the mediating role of CFC and self-efficacy for smoking cessation on the relationship between the ITS and quitting intentions. These two psychological factors and the pathways may be important points for understanding the model of implicit theories for smoking and improving the effectiveness of implicit theories-based intervention on smoking cessation.

Growth Mindset in Veterinary Educators: An International Survey

Carol Dweck's mindset theory describes whether an individual believes that attributes, like intelligence or morality, can be honed (growth mindset) or are innate (fixed mindset). An educator's mindset impacts their approach to teaching, students' learning, participation in faculty development, and well-being. Mindset can affect faculty members' openness to curricular change, making the study of veterinary educator mindset timely and salient, as competency-based education is spurring curricular change worldwide. The purpose of this study was to examine the mindsets of veterinary educators internationally. A survey, consisting of demographic questions and mindset items (based on previously published scales), was distributed electronically to veterinary educators internationally, at universities where English is the primary instruction medium. Mindset was evaluated for the following traits: intelligence, clinical reasoning, compassion, and morality. Scale validation, descriptive statistics, and associations to demographic variables were evaluated. A total of 446 complete surveys were received. Overall, the study population demonstrated predominantly growth mindsets for all traits, higher than population averages, with some variation by trait. There was a small effect on years teaching toward growth mindset. No other associations were found. Veterinary educators internationally who participated in this study demonstrated higher rates of growth mindset than the general population. In other fields, a growth mindset in educators has had implications for faculty well-being, teaching and assessment practices, participation in faculty development, and openness to curricular change. Further research is needed in veterinary education to evaluate the implications of these high rates of growth mindset.

PhyLab - a virtual reality laboratory for experiments in physics: a pilot study on intervention effectiveness and gender differences

Introduction

New technologies have great potential to facilitate students' understanding and appreciation of one of the most abstract and challenging school subjects - physics. This study aimed to examine the effects of a game-based virtual reality teaching method on secondary school students' self-beliefs, interest, and performance in physics through a quasi-experimental design using pre- and post-test data. The evaluation is based on the systemic actiotope model that explains a person's goal-oriented actions by an interplay of their environment, action repertoire (i.e., students' performance and interest in physics), and subjective action space (i.e., students' self-efficacy, self-concept, and implicit theories regarding physics).

Method

A game-based virtual reality App to be used with Google cardboards was developed containing 10 teaching units from the secondary school physics class curriculum. Participants in the control group were taught using traditional teaching methods, while students in the experimental group went through the VR with the teacher and conducted the prepared VR experiments in addition to the traditionally presented content. Three tests measured students' physics performance during the semester. In addition, students answered questionnaires assessing their interest, self-efficacy, self-concept, and entity implicit theories regarding physics before and after the intervention, resulting in a Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design.

Results

There were no significant differences between the control and experimental group in test scores on the first and second tests but compared to the control group, the experimental group achieved higher scores on the third test. In addition, the results indicate differential effects of the game-based virtual reality teaching method on students' interest and self-efficacy regarding physics to the advantage of students identifying as male, but no effects on students' self-concept, and entity implicit theories regarding physics.

Discussion

The results of our pilot study suggest that incorporating innovative didactic methods into secondary school physics classes could potentially contribute to higher performance in and motivation for physics during this crucial period of adolescence when students develop educational and career aspirations. However, game-based virtual reality teaching methods seem to favor students identifying as male, which should be considered in their development and presentation. Other practical implications for practitioners and researchers are discussed.

Implicit Theory of Intelligence: Growth Mindset

There has been a long-standing debate among scientists as to whether intelligence is something innate, tangible, fixed, and relatively unchanging, or whether intelligence is not fixed and unchanging, but rather something that can be developed, dynamic, shaped, and strengthened with effort. Carol Dweck and her colleagues, who have focused their studies in this field, have developed the implicit theory of intelligence, which deals with this topic. According to the implicit theory of intelligence, which is based on people's beliefs about the nature of their intelligence, these beliefs are the perspectives on whether the intellectual abilities of individuals are fixed or whether they can be developed or not. Implicit theory of intelligence; expresses people's beliefs related to their intelligence as a structure consisting of two parts: the growth mindset and the fixed mindset. The implicit theory of intelligence see intelligence as ranging from either being stable, fixed, unchangeable, and innate (fixed mindset) or being improvable, dynamic, malleable, and could be changed by effort or hard work (growth mindset). This theory has been renamed as growth mindset in the recent period. Shortly, growth mindset interventions. Express that human abilities are not fixed and these abilities can be developed. However, as a result of a detailed search in the national literature, it has been determined that there is no study growth mindset. Therefore, in this study, it is aimed to introduce growt mindset, whose effectiveness has been tested by many studies and evidence-based, especially to young researchers working in the academic field and field workers in Türkiye.

Mind-over-body beliefs in sport and exercise: A driving force for training volume and performance, but with risks for exercise addiction

We assume that athletic success is associated with certain beliefs that on the one hand promote performance-enhancing behavior (training volume), but on the other hand can also be detrimental to health (sports addiction). These beliefs are succinctly characterized by the title of the 9-item "Mind-over-Body" scale presented here. They are the three beliefs that 1) athletic performance requires a high level of effort, 2) that willpower plays an important role in athletic success, and 3) that athletic success requires pain tolerance. A total of six web-survey-based studies with a total of 1121 participants (approximately gender parity), including individuals with different levels of athletic performance (no competition; amateur sport; regional, national, or international competition), examined the psychometric network and construct and criterion validity of the MoB scale. Exploratory graph analyses, which included the studies with the largest sample sizes, showed that the three belief components (effort, willpower, pain) form separable communities within the MoB network and that the MoB items form communities distinct from self-control and self-efficacy. Meta-analyzed correlations across all six studies showed low positive correlations with self-control and self-efficacy. In terms of criterion validity, MoB beliefs were positively correlated with training volume and exercise addiction. We discuss MoBs as "on the edge of unhealthy" and place MOBs within a framework of related but distinct concepts.

Free from your experiences to grow: belief in free will moderates the relationship between attachment avoidance and personal growth initiative

BACKGROUND

Attachment theory proposes that attachment security facilitates personal growth. However, attachment security origins in relationship history, and thus, how people treat their experiences may influence the outcomes of attachment security. People differ in the degree in believing that human beings have free will, and belief in free will may influence the relationship between experiences and outcomes. The present cross-sectional study investigated the relationships between attachment security, belief in free will, and personal growth initiative.

METHODS

We used the cross-sectional data of 346 Chinese college students for data analysis, including correlational analyses, regression, and moderation analyses. The nine-item Chinese version of the Experiences in Close Relationships-Relationship Structures Scale, the sixteen-item Chinese version of the Personal Growth Initiative Scale-II, and the seven-item Free Will subscale of the Chinese version of the Free Will and Determinism Plus Scale were utilized.

RESULTS

Results showed attachment avoidance and belief in free will, not attachment anxiety, was associated with personal growth initiative. Belief in free will moderated the association between attachment avoidance and personal growth initiative. When the centered score of belief in free will was higher than 0.64, attachment avoidance was no longer associated with personal growth initiative. 85.84% of our data were below this Johnson-Neyman significance region, and 14.16% were above. In other words, only those who scored higher than 0.64 on free will beliefs were able to pursue personal growth despite their high attachment avoidance.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that when believing in free will, avoidantly attached people may believe in their ability to pursue personal growth and think their future has more possibilities, not influenced by other factors like social support, which they think they lack.

Personal qualities are malleable and fixed: Ambivalent mindset, capability ranking reinforcement, and parent–child relationship among Hong Kong Chinese parents

Past research showed that people may hold contradictory ideas about something or someone. Mindset ambivalence refers to the psychological state in which a person holds contradictory beliefs about the malleability of a valued attribute and spontaneously expresses agreement with both the fixed and growth mindsets. Our past findings showed that a sizable proportion of Hong Kong Chinese adults possess the ambivalent mindset. In the present study, 101 Hong Kong Chinese parents completed a survey during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings provided further support for the prevalence of the ambivalent mindset. In addition, we found that parents with the ambivalent mindset tended to support several parental practices that would reinforce the relative ability rankings of their children. These practices included person praise, mobilization of effort to compensate for low ability, and lowering of expectation to avoid future failures. Finally, the use of these parental practices was accompanied by deterioration of parent–child relationship when children displayed undesirable self-regulatory behaviors. We discuss these findings’ implications for growth mindset interventions in Chinese societies.

Growth mindset predicts teachers’ life satisfaction when they are challenged to innovate their teaching

Teaching innovations can improve the quality of education and facilitate adaptation to environmental shifts caused by global shocks such as the COVID pandemic. However, the pressure to innovate and change may also cause erosion of teachers’ life satisfaction, especially when job resources are insufficient and support for the changes is inadequate, or when teachers lack confidence in mastering new teaching technology. In the present research, we showed that compared to those who did not, teachers who presented a growth mindset—the belief that one's abilities can grow by mobilizing effective effort—had a greater tendency to accept a new initiative in teaching and had higher life satisfaction, particularly when they perceived resources and support for the change were insufficient (Study 1). In addition, when schools needed to switch to online teaching because of school closure during the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers who presented a growth mindset, compared to those who did not, felt more self-efficacious in mastering online teaching and had higher life satisfaction (Study 2). We discuss these findings in terms of their implications on the management of teacher well-being and teachers’ professional development during significant environmental shifts.

A Developmental System Perspective to Interpret the Link between Parental Fixed Mindset and Youth Mental Health: A Moderated Mediation Model

From a developmental system perspective, the present study constructed a moderated mediation model to examine whether youth core self-evaluation (individual factor) served as a mediator and peer support (peer system) served as a moderator in the effect of parental fixed mindset (family system) on youth mental health symptoms. In total, 658 pairs of emerging adults and their parents participated in this study. Youth completed measurements on core self-evaluation, peer support, and mental health symptoms, while their parents filled in the questionnaire on fixed mindset. Mediation analysis indicated that parental fixed mindset was related to increased youth mental health symptoms, and youth core self-evaluation partially mediated this relationship. Moderated mediation analysis suggested that peer support mitigated the mediating process with the direct pathway from parental fixed mindset to youth mental health symptoms and the indirect pathway from parental fixed mindset to youth core self-evaluation being weaker at a high level of peer support. This study highlights how and when a family system, peer system, and individual factors combine to influence youth mental health. The findings suggest it is the interaction of these factors that has to be addressed in efforts to reduce the prevalence of youth mental health symptoms.

Creating Extraordinary From Ordinary: High Resource Efficiency of Underdog Entrepreneurs and Its Mechanism

Existing theory has not documented the potential benefits of facing the challenges of underdog entrepreneurs, who may succeed unexpectedly. This research explains why, and under what circumstances, the underdog status of entrepreneurs can promote entrepreneurial success rather than just hinder it. We predict that the underdog effect has the potential to boost entrepreneurial resource efficiency when entrepreneurs hold an incremental (vs. entity) theory, enter a low-barrier (vs. high-barrier) industry, and are in a favorable (vs. unfavorable) business environment. Study 1 provides support for the positive relationship between underdog status and resource efficiency through an ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis, which is accompanied by a moderating effect of the implicit theory, industry context, and business environment. The data was obtained from two nationwide surveys. By extending a qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) of multiple case studies, Study 2 reveals support for a synergistic effect of the above factors. Our research results examine the assumption that perceiving underdog status is detrimental and offer meaningful insights into why and when underdog entrepreneurs have good performance in entrepreneurial resource efficiency. We provide a psychological and behavioral explanation for the underdog effect, extending the underdog effect theory to the field of entrepreneurship for the first time from the perspective of the actors. Finally, theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed by indicating the limitations of the research.

Belief in biological origin of race (racial essentialism) increases sensitivities to cultural category changes measured by ERP mismatch negativity (MMN)

The dynamic multicultural view explains culture-specific effects on cognition that cultural knowledge is organized in multiple knowledge systems which are specific to each culture and differentially activated when exposed to related objects or scenes. This view predicts automatic categorizations of environmental information according to the culture-specific knowledge systems. This study investigated whether cultural information could be spontaneously categorized, and the modulation of this process by the belief in the biological origin of race (i.e., racial essentialism) with an event-related brain potential, the visual Mismatch Negativity (vMMN). Deviant pictures of Eastern (Western) culture were randomly presented in a stream of standard Western (Eastern) pictures while participants were playing a video game. Participants who endorse racial essentialism (high group) showed vMMNs to the deviants with high relevance to the Eastern or Western culture and the deviant with low Eastern relevance; while participants with low racial essentialism showed vMMN to the deviant with high Eastern relevance only. These results revealed spontaneous cultural categorization with vMMN and the top-down modulation of spontaneous categorization by personal belief. In addition, this is the first demonstration of MMNs to cultural deviance and the potentials in applying MMNs to study psychological essentialism and social categorization.

Risk Perception, Self-efficacy, Lay Theories of Health, and Engagement in Health-Protective Behaviors Among Hospital Pharmacists During the COVID-19 Pandemic

BACKGROUND

Risk perception is an important predictor of health-protective behaviors during pandemics. However, the underlying mechanism connecting risk perception and health-protective behaviors is not well understood. The current study investigates how risk perception predicts hospital pharmacists' engagement in health-protective behaviors during the peak period of COVID-19 pandemic in China and the mediating effects of lay theories of health and self-efficacy.

METHOD

A cross-sectional study on risk perception and engagement in health-protective behaviors was conducted among hospital pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. A total of 4121 hospital pharmacists completed the study.

RESULTS

Risk perception, self-efficacy, and lay theories of health were significant predictors of health-protective behaviors among pharmacists. Lay (entity) theories of health and self-efficacy mediated the relationship between risk perception and engagement in health-protective behaviors among hospital pharmacists.

CONCLUSION

Risk perception, self-efficacy, and lay theories (entity versus incremental) of health significantly predicted hospital pharmacists' engagement in health-protective behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic in China.

Incremental theory of personality attenuates the effect of environmental uncertainty on intertemporal choices

To examine the impact of environmental uncertainty on individuals’ intertemporal choices and the moderating effect of implicit personality theory, two studies were conducted. Study 1 investigated the moderating role of implicit personality theory in the influence of environmental uncertainty on intertemporal choice using questionnaires. Study 2 examined whether priming incremental personality theory could change entity theorists’ intertemporal preference in an uncertain environment. The results showed that implicit personality theory plays a moderating role in the influence of environmental uncertainty on intertemporal choice. For entity theorists, the delay discounting rate was positively correlated with environmental uncertainty. In contrast, for incremental theorists, the delay discounting rate was not significantly correlated with environmental uncertainty. After priming incremental personality theory, entity theorists’ delay discounting decreased significantly. Thus, we conclude that incremental personality theory buffers the effect of environmental uncertainty on intertemporal choice.

Implicit theories of body weight and engagement in healthy lifestyles among young adults: The mediating effect of self-control

Engaging in a healthy lifestyle could be helpful to decrease lifestyle-related health risks and bring long-term health benefits. This research investigated how implicit theories of body weight influence people's engagement in healthy lifestyle among young adults in China. The results suggested that implicit theories of body weight significantly influence people's engagement in heathy eating behaviors and physical activity. Self-control mediated the effect of implicit (incremental) theories of body weight on people's engagement in healthy eating. Implications of the current research for understanding how to promote engagement in healthy lifestyle and directions for future research are discussed.

Connecting the Dots Between Mindset and Impostor Phenomenon, via Fear of Failure and Goal Orientation, in Working Adults

This study aims to investigate the relationship between mindset and impostor phenomenon, via the explanatory role of fear of failure and goal orientation in the work domain. Only one known study has previously connected mindset and impostor phenomenon in the scientific literature among females in a university setting. Data was collected from 201 working adults, with a roughly equal male-female ratio, from a range of sectors in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and United States. Participants completed an online survey comprising the Implicit Theories of Intelligence Scale, the Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory, Work Domain Goal Orientation Instrument, and the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS). We tested a serial-parallel mediation model using structural equation modeling. The results suggest that people with a fixed mindset tend to experience more impostor phenomenon at work and this relationship is predominantly explained by their fear of failure. Further, when employees are also motivated by a performance avoid goal orientation, the relationship increases in strength. This indirect relationship suggests that staff training, and coaching interventions designed to increase people's belief that they can develop their abilities results in a reduction of their fear of failure and in their motivation to want to avoid showing their inability at work. The results also suggest cultivating environments that promote a growth mindset and learning goal orientation, alongside the safety to fail, could lessen the negative effects of having a fixed mindset, reduce fear of failure, and alleviate impostor phenomenon's negative impact on employee career development and wellbeing.

Longitudinal associations between emotion malleability beliefs and avoidance in college students

Emotion malleability beliefs, or beliefs that emotions are changeable versus fixed, may be an important and modifiable determinant of emotion regulation strategy employment and psychological distress. The present study evaluated the prospective relationship between college students' emotion malleability beliefs, depression and anxiety symptom severity, cognitive and behavioural avoidance, social engagement, and cognitive reappraisal. Participants were college students (N = 177) who completed a battery of questionnaires at the beginning of the academic year and again at a 6-month follow-up. Linear regression analyses indicated that emotion malleability beliefs predicted anxiety and depression, although this effect was not found when controlling for baseline symptom severity. Increases in emotion malleability beliefs were associated with more cognitive reappraisal and less cognitive and behavioural avoidance at follow-up when controlling for baseline levels of each variable. To the extent that emotion malleability beliefs predicted less avoidance at follow-up, anxiety and depression symptom severity was lower. Results suggest that emotion malleability beliefs predict avoidance and related psychological outcomes across the academic year.

Implicit theories of health, consideration of future consequences, and engagement in health protective behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic in China

This research investigated how implicit theories of health and consideration of future consequences influence people's engagement in health-protective behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Three hundred and ninety Chinese completed the study during the peak period of COVID-19 pandemic in China. Gender, education level, implicit theories of health, and consideration of future consequences were significant predictors of people's engagement in health-protective behaviors. Consideration of future consequences mediated the effect of implicit (incremental) theories of health on people's engagement in health-protective behaviors. Implications of the current research for promoting engagement in health-protective behaviors during pandemics of infectious diseases and directions for future research are discussed.

Growth mindset, delayed gratification, and learning outcome: evidence from a field survey of least-advantaged private schools in Depok-Indonesia

Indonesian students perform poorly compared with students in other countries, despite education taking a significant portion of the national budget. Although poor infrastructure is often blamed for this failure, several reports show that it may not be the sole determinant of learning outcomes. Using the concepts of a growth mindset and delayed gratification as proxies for human behavior, we conducted a field survey of four highly disadvantaged private schools in Depok, West Java, Indonesia to observe how human behaviors affect learning outcomes. We use a self-administered mathematics test to measure learning outcomes, and construct a questionnaire based on Dweck's Implicit Theory of Intelligence to measure students' growth mindset. Delayed gratification is measured using a Convex Time Budget (CTB) questionnaire. Controlling for various student characteristics, our estimations show that a more pronounced growth mindset is associated with better math scores. Meanwhile, delayed gratification has mixed effects on learning outcomes: it has no significant effect when the relationship is estimated using an Interval Censored Regression (ICR), but has some statistical significance when an Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression is used. These results imply that a student's beliefs on a growing intelligence can affect their academic achievement, whereas the ability to resist temptation has inconclusive effects on academic achievement. This difference may be caused by several factors such as the developmental stage of students. Interestingly, satisfactory teaching practices do not necessarily lead to better math scores. Our findings, therefore, suggest that future education policy design must consider aspects of human behavior in order to more optimally benefit students.

Effect of Intelligence Mindsets on Math Achievement for Chinese Primary School Students: Math Self-Efficacy and Failure Beliefs as Mediators

This study examined the relationship of intelligence mindsets to math achievement for primary school students in the Chinese educational context, as well as the mediating function of math self-efficacy and failure beliefs in this relationship. Participants included 466 fifth graders (231 boys and 235 girls) from two Chinese primary schools. Results indicated that boys had significantly higher mean levels of growth mindsets and math self-efficacy than girls, whereas boys had no statistically significant differences to girls on failure beliefs and math grade. Further, intelligence mindsets had a significant positive effect on math achievement, and failure beliefs and math self-efficacy played a full mediating role in the relationship between intelligence mindsets and math achievement. Moreover, intelligence mindsets affected math achievement through the chain mediating role of failure beliefs and math self-efficacy. These above findings contribute to advance our knowledge about the underlying mechanisms through which intelligence mindsets affect math achievement, which are of great significance to students' growth and current educational practice.

Set your mind on it: The mediating role of mindset in the relationship between a learning-from-error climate and work-related flow

This study aims to investigate whether and how a learning-from-error climate is associated with work-related flow experiences by employees. Drawing on the tenets of Job Demands-Resources theory, we propose that this relationship is mediated by a work-related growth mindset. The study tests a mediation model by conducting structural equations modelling. Data were gathered in two waves from 159 employees within a Dutch financial organization. Results demonstrate that work-related mindset significantly mediates the relationship between a learning-from-error climate and work-related flow. In this study, we address the call for studies that empirically assess the influence of organizational climate on work-related flow in a multiwave study design. Specifically, we highlight the relevance of understanding how individual dispositions can shape the effects of a learning-from-error climate on work-related flow.

Do intuitive ideas of the qualities that should characterize involuntary and voluntary memories affect their classification?

It is assumed that the difference between voluntary and involuntary autobiographical memories lies in the intentionality to retrieve a memory assigned by the experimenter. Memories that are retrieved when people are instructed to do so in response to cues are considered voluntary (VAMs), those that pop up spontaneously are considered involuntary (IAMs). VAMs and IAMs so classified are also found to differ in terms of phenomenological characteristics, such as perceived accessibility, vividness etc. These differences are assumed to be due to differences in intentionality and the different retrieval processes at play. It is possible, however, that these differences (which are subjective attributions of phenomenological characteristics) are the result of metacognitive beliefs of what IAMs and VAMs should be. In two experiments, we investigated the possible role of these metacognitive beliefs. Participants rated IAMs and VAMs on a number of phenomenological characteristics in two conditions, when these memories were presented in blocks that specified whether they were retrieved in a voluntary or involuntary task, or when presented in a mixed list with no information provided. If metacognitive beliefs influence the reporting of memory properties, then the block presentation would increase the differences between the characteristics of the two types of memories. The results showed that, besides replicating the characteristics of IAMs and VAMs already observed in the literature, there were almost no differences between the blocked and the mixed lists. We discuss the results as supporting the idea that the difference in characteristics attributed to IAMs and VAMs reflect a genuine difference in the nature of the retrieval and is not the result of pre-existing metacognitive belief on what a voluntary and an involuntary memory should be.

An enhanced psychological mindset intervention to promote adolescent wellbeing within educational settings: A feasibility randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE

This randomized controlled trial feasibility study aimed to investigate a single-session mindset intervention, incorporating third-wave constructs, within educational settings as a universal tool to promote emotional wellbeing.

METHOD

Eighty adolescents (age M = 16.63) were randomized to the 30-min computer intervention or a usual curriculum waitlist. Outcome measures were administered at baseline, posttreatment, 4-week, and 8-week follow-ups.

RESULTS

Student feedback about the intervention and trial procedure was mainly positive. Participants engaged with the intervention content and data were suggestive of possible small-large intervention effects for targeted mechanisms of personality mindset and psychological flexibility. Between-group differences over time across wellbeing outcomes of self-compassion, self-esteem, low mood, and anxiety also yielded some promising results, though assessments of reliable change were less clear. No harm was reported.

CONCLUSIONS

The intervention and study design were deemed feasible, though areas for improvement were noted. A full-scale trial to determine effectiveness is warranted.

Profiles of Parents' Beliefs About Their Child's Intelligence and Self-Regulation: A Latent Profile Analysis

This study examined parents' implicit theories of intelligence and self-regulation from a person-centered perspective using latent profile analysis. First, we explored whether different belief profiles exist. Second, we examined if the emergent belief profiles (1) differ by demographic variables (e.g., age, education, child's self-regulation) and (2) are related to parents' failure beliefs, goal orientation (i.e., learning goals, performance-approach goals, performance-avoidance goals), and co-regulatory strategies (i.e., mastery-oriented and helpless-oriented strategies). Data were collected from N = 137 parents of preschoolers who answered an online survey comprising their implicit theories about the malleability and relevance of the domains (a) intelligence and (b) self-regulation. We identified three belief profiles: profile 1 (9% of the sample) displayed an entity theory, profile 2 (61% of the sample) showed a balanced pattern of both domains of implicit theories, and profile 3 (30% of the sample) was characterized by high incremental self-regulation theories. Analyses showed that parents differed significantly in education and their perception of child self-regulatory competence depending on profile membership, with parents in profile 1 having the lowest scores compared to parents of the other profiles. Differences in parents' failure beliefs, goal orientation, and co-regulatory strategies were also found depending on profile membership. Parents in profile 3 reported failure-is-enhancing mindsets, and mastery-oriented strategies significantly more often than parents in profiles 1 and 2. The results provide new insights into the interplay of important domains of implicit theories, and their associations with parents' failure beliefs, goal orientation, and co-regulatory strategies.

Causal explanations of depression and treatment credibility in adults with untreated depression: Examining attribution theory

OBJECTIVES

Understanding depression as biologically caused has been shown to impact both treatment preferences and prognostic pessimism. Attribution theory has been posited as an explanation for this relationship. Given that evidence-based psychotherapy is effective yet often not delivered to individuals with depression, the present study sought to determine factors that impact treatment credibility.

DESIGN

Non-treatment-seeking, depressed individuals (n = 229) were randomly assigned to read a psychoeducation article about depression that consisted of a biological causal explanation, psychosocial causal explanation, or a non-causal control.

METHODS

Attributional dimensions of locus, stability, and control were examined as mediating the relationship between causal explanation and treatment credibility and prognostic pessimism.

RESULTS

Individuals in the biological condition were more likely to find antidepressant medication a credible treatment for depression. The manipulation had no direct effect on preference for psychotherapy or prognostic pessimism. Attributional dimensions of locus, stability, and control did not mediate the relationship between causal explanation and treatment credibility. To the extent that the psychosocial article increased perceived instability of the depression cause, however, prognostic pessimism was reduced.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study has implications for framing education about depression in mental health literacy programs and public awareness campaigns.

PRACTITIONER POINTS

This study found that conceptualizing depression as biologically caused increased the credibility of medication but not psychotherapy Participants reading a biological explanation of depression demonstrated an increase on some aspects of stigma and prognostic pessimism Emphasizing the person-environment interaction rather than biological causes decreased the perceived stability of depression which was associated with a decrease in prognostic pessimism.

Lay Theories of the Wandering Mind: Control-Related Beliefs Predict Mind Wandering Rates in- and outside the Lab

People often fail to keep their mind from wandering. Here, we examine how the tendency to mind wander is affected by people's beliefs, or lay theories. Building on research on lay theories and self-regulation, we test whether differences in people's beliefs about the extent to which mind wandering is controllable affect thought control strategies and mind-wandering rates in daily life and the laboratory. We develop a new scale to assess control-related beliefs about mind wandering. Scores on the scale predict mind wandering (Study 1) and intrusive thoughts (Study 2) in everyday life, thought control strategies and dysfunctional responses to unwanted thoughts (Study 2), and mind wandering during reading in the laboratory (Studies 3-6). Moreover, experimentally induced lay theories affect mind-wandering rates during reading (Studies 4 and 5). Finally, the effectiveness of strategies people can use to reduce their mind wandering depends on their lay theories (Studies 2 and 6).

A two-study validation of a single-item measure of relationship satisfaction: RAS-1

Research addressing relationship satisfaction is a constantly growing area in the social sciences. The aim of the present investigation was to examine the similarities and differences between the seven-item Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS) and the single-item measure of relationship satisfaction (RAS-1), using proximal and distal constructs as correlates. Two studies using two independent samples were conducted, assessing more proximal constructs, such as love and sex mindset in Study 1 (N = 380; female = 195) and more distant ones, such as loneliness and problematic pornography use in Study 2 (N = 703; female = 360). Structural equation modeling revealed that love (βRAS-1 = .55; p < .01; βRAS = .71; p < .01), sex mindset beliefs (βRAS-1 = .18; p < .01; βRAS = .13; p < .01) and loneliness (βRAS-1 = −.35; p < .01; βRAS = −.37; p < .01) had significant positive and negative associations with RAS and RAS-1, respectively; while problematic pornography use did not. These results suggest that RAS-1 may be an equally adequate instrument for measuring relationship satisfaction as the RAS with respect to proximal and distal correlates. Thus, RAS-1 is recommended to be used in large-scale studies when the number of items is limited.

Teachers' mindsets in medical education: A pilot survey of clinical supervisors

Purpose: Current medical education models maintain that competencies such as professionalism and communication can be taught; however, some argue that certain attributes that make up these competencies, such as empathy, are fixed. Teachers' implicit theories, or mindsets (beliefs about the fixed versus learnable nature of human attributes) have been shown to impact their teaching and assessment practices; but little work has explored mindsets in medical education. We examined clinical supervisors' mindsets of two cognitive attributes (intelligence and clinical reasoning) and two affective attributes (moral character and empathy).Methods: Clinical supervisors (n = 40) from three specialities completed a survey designed to measure mindsets using two existing instruments for intelligence and moral character and 18 new items for clinical reasoning and empathy. Participants completed the survey twice for test-retest reliability (n = 25).Results: New items had satisfactory psychometric properties. Clinical supervisors' mindsets were mixed. Only 8% of participants saw clinical reasoning as fixed while more saw empathy (45%), intelligence (53%), and moral character (53%) as fixed - running counter to current educational models that characterize these attributes as learnable.Conclusion: This study provides evidence supporting the use of these new tools to measure mindsets that may help to better understand the impact of mindsets on medical education.

Cultural Variation in the Effectiveness of Feedback on Students' Mistakes

One of the many things teachers do is to give feedback on their students’ work. Feedback pointing out mistakes may be a key to learning, but it may also backfire. We hypothesized that feedback based on students’ mistakes may have more positive effects in cultures where teachers have greater authority over students, which we assume to be cultures that are high on power distance and religiosity. To test this hypothesis we analyzed data from 49 countries taking part in the 2015 wave of the TIMSS assessment, in which students in the 4th and 8th grades were asked whether their teachers in mathematics and science told them how to do better when they had made a mistake. For each country we could then estimate the association between the reported use of mistake-based feedback and student achievement. Consistent with our hypothesis, the estimated effect of mistake-based feedback was positive only in certain countries, and these countries tended to be high on power distance and religiosity. These results highlight the importance of cultural values in educational practice.

Domain Specificity or Generality: Assessing the Chinese Implicit Theories Scale of Six Fundamental Psychological Attributes

Implicit theories have been widely studied in different domains; however, it is still debatable whether these theories are domain-specific or domain-general. Using the Implicit Theories Scale (ITS) about six fundamental psychological attributes, i.e., intelligence, personality, cognition, feeling, behavior, and emotion, we examined domain specificity versus generality using a factor analytic approach; in addition, we investigated associations between implicit theories about these domains and related psychological attributes. In four sequential studies, we translated a Chinese version of the ITS (Study 1), tested inter-item correlations within and between subscales (Studies 1-4), and conducted exploratory factor analysis (Studies 2 and 3) and confirmatory factor analysis (Studies 3 and 4). We tested associations between implicit theory domains and coping, resilience, grit, and school performance (Studies 3 and 4). Results showed that the six ITS subscales were independent, while the implicit theories about cognition, feeling, behavior, and emotion shared a common component. The implicit theories of intelligence and personality were independent and did not share a common component. The six domains presented different patterns of association with psychological variables. Overall, our results suggest that implicit theories are both domain-specific and domain-general. Future studies are needed to examine the mechanism underlying the domain specificity and generality of implicit theories.