Dweck's Mindset Theory of Learning (OCR GCSE Psychology): Revision Note

Dweck’s theory of fixed & growth mindsets

• Carol Dweck is an American psychologist who researched what influences success in education

• She proposed that how people think about their abilities — their mindset — affects their motivation, effort, and achievement

• Dweck identified two types of mindset:

  • Fixed mindset: intelligence and ability are innate and cannot change

  • Growth mindset: intelligence and ability can be developed through effort, practice, and persistence

Fixed mindset

• A person with a fixed mindset believes talent or intelligence is fixed — you’re either good at something or not

• People with a fixed mindset often:

  • avoid challenges for fear of failure

  • give up easily when things get difficult

  • see effort as pointless (“If I were smart, I wouldn’t have to try”)

  • compare themselves to others and base self-worth on success

• This can lead to low resilience and a fear of failure

• In short, someone with a fixed mindset says, “I can’t do it”

Growth mindset

• A person with a growth mindset believes intelligence and skills can improve with effort and learning

• People with a growth mindset often:

  • embrace challenges and see failure as a learning opportunity.

  • show determination and perseverance (“I can’t do it yet”)

  • enjoy the process of improvement rather than just the outcome

  • believe success depends on effort, practice, and persistence, not just natural talent

• Growth mindsets can apply to some areas of life and not others — they are flexible, not fixed

  • E.g., you may have a growth mindset for playing tennis but a fixed mindset for maths

Growth mindset in school

• Teachers can encourage a growth mindset by:

  • Praising effort instead of natural ability

  • Framing mistakes as learning opportunities

  • Teaching that the brain can grow stronger through practice

Praise for effort

• Dweck’s research with Mueller (1998) found that the type of praise children receive has a direct impact on their mindset and motivation

• Praise can either support learning or undermine it, depending on whether it focuses on effort or ability

Types of praise

• Performance praise (for talent or results):

  • can reduce motivation and increase fear of failure

  • encourages a fixed mindset, as children link success to innate ability rather than effort

• Effort praise (for hard work or persistence):

  • motivates learners, boosts resilience, and improves learning behaviours

  • encourages a growth mindset, as it rewards perseverance, strategy use, and improvement over time

Examples

• A child praised for trying to solve a difficult maths problem (“You worked really hard on that!”) will keep practising, even if they fail

• A child praised only for being smart (“You’re so clever!”) may give up when the task becomes harder, as they believe their ability is fixed

Criticisms of Dweck's mindset theory

• The growth mindset theory is culturally biased, as it may not apply equally across cultures

  • This is because collectivist cultures tend to emphasise group success rather than individual effort

• There are also mixed research findings

  • The Education Endowment Foundation (2015) found no significant improvement in maths and English results after growth mindset interventions compared with a control group

• This theory has been criticised for overemphasising nurture

  • The theory assumes that effort alone can drive improvement – this can negatively affect self-esteem if learners try hard but still fail to succeed

  • This suggests that innate ability may play a larger role than Dweck recognises