The Neuroscience of Growth Mindset and Intrinsic Motivation

Ng, Boon Chong

doi:10.3390/brainsci8020020

Cited by 151 publications

(110 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Prior studies of NCS among high school students have also reported mixed findings for change in grit and growth mindset over the course of an academic year (Donohoe et al, 2012). Other reports suggest that the relationship between mindset and grit is bi-directional (Ng and Ng, 2018) and mutually reinforcing (Bedford, 2017). In contrast to our expectations, students reporting intrinsically-motivated reasons for joining debate did not significantly differ, either initially or over time, in grit or growth mindset as compared to the students with more extrinsic reasons.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Grit, growth mindset and participation in competitive policy debate: Evidence from the Chicago Debate League

Kalesnikava¹,

Ekey²,

Ko³

et al. 2019

Educ. Res. Rev.

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Non-cognitive skills (NCS) contribute to variation in how students respond to challenges inside the classroom and beyond. Competitive policy debate is a co-curricular activity that both encourages cooperative learning and is hypothesized to promote NCS. The goal of this pilot was to examine the relationship between debate participation and change in four NCS among high school students over the course of an academic year. Two surveys (Fall and Spring) were administered during the 2017/18 academic year to students who participated in the Chicago Debate League (n=102). Surveys assessed demographic factors, characteristics of debate participation, and four indicators of NCS each measured using established scales: Growth mindset, grit, mood, and civic engagement. Paired t-tests were used to quantify change in NCS over time. Linear regression was used to assess the relationship between characteristics of debate participation and change in NCS. In the Fall, median length of debate participation was 6.2 months. Average age was 16, most (82%) participants were non-White and 52% were female. Over the academic year, growth mindset increased (Δ=0.29 (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.10, 0.48) while grit declined (Δ= -0.17, 95% CI: -0.34, -0.01). Civic engagement and mood were unchanged. Duration of participation was associated with increased change in grit (β=0.04, p≤0.01), but was unrelated to the other NCS. Motivation for joining debate did not explain variation in any NCS. Debate participation is associated with improvement in some NCS. Findings have implications for scalable interventions to promote NCS in the context of cooperative learning.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Grit, growth mindset and participation in competitive policy debate: Evidence from the Chicago Debate League

Kalesnikava¹,

Ekey²,

Ko³

et al. 2019

Educ. Res. Rev.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…interesting) to students. They should also be designed to allow some degree of choice and autonomy by students [48].…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, there is some neurophysiological research studying observed differences in neural activity between persons with a growth mindset and a fixed mindset. For example, individuals with a growth mindset have been reported to have a higher Pe (error positivity) waveform response in their EEG than individuals without a growth mindset [46] (also see the review [48]).…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, to date there is very little evidence to suggest that MM problems actually encourage students to be more motivated during the activity. There is also very little evidence exploring the neural mechanisms underlying changes in motivation levels that underpin the theory of MM based pedagogy [48]. Furthermore, the majority of existing studies explicitly make participants aware of mindset theory.…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, we set out to understand whether problems formulated according to MM theory affect learner motivation. We explore this through an investigation into the underlying neural mechanisms underpinning MM interventions [48]. Our study uses psychological and neurophysiological methods to examine the immediate reaction to MM problems as the participants attempt a random selection of standard mathematical problems and MM problems.…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mathematical mindsets increase student motivation: Evidence from the EEG

Daly

Bourgaize

Vernitski

2019

Trends in Neuroscience and Education

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Mathematical mindset theory suggests learner motivation in mathematics may be increased by opening problems using a set of recommended ideas. However, very little evidence supports this theory. We explore motivation through self-reports while learners attempt problems formulated according to mindset theory and standard problems. We also explore neural correlates of motivation and felt-affect while participants attempt the problems. Notably, we do not tell participants what mindset theory is and instead simply investigate whether mindset problems affect reported motivation levels and neural correlates of motivation in learners. We find significant increases in motivation for mindset problems compared to standard problems. We also find significant differences in brain activity in prefrontal EEG asymmetry between problems. This provides some of the first evidence that mathematical mindset theory increases motivation (even when participants are not aware of mindset theory), and that this change is reflected in brain activity of learners attempting mathematical problems.

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Can growth mindset always promote students' math achievement? Perspectives from Chinese university students

He,

Hua,

Liang

et al. 2024

Psychology in the Schools

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Although the growth mindset is essential to students' math achievement, its mechanism of influence remains uncertain, particularly for college students. Accordingly, this study explored the relationship between college students' growth mindset and their math achievement, as mediated by their self‐efficacy and reasoning ability. The study data were gathered by surveying 576 undergraduates taking various undergraduate programs at a Chinese university. Our results showed that (1) students' growth mindset did not directly predict their math achievement; (2) self‐efficacy mediated the relationship between students' growth mindset and their math achievement; and (3) the growth mindset affected students' math achievement through the chain‐mediation of self‐efficacy and reasoning ability. Overall, the finding that the growth mindset indirectly benefits Chinese college students' math achievement provides invaluable guidance to higher education professionals aiming to develop more effective math programs. Moreover, the mediating effects of self‐efficacy and reasoning ability were also theoretically important to better understand the potential influence mechanism of the growth mindset on college students' math achievement.

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The Neuroscience of Growth Mindset and Intrinsic Motivation

Cited by 151 publications

References 44 publications

Grit, growth mindset and participation in competitive policy debate: Evidence from the Chicago Debate League

Grit, growth mindset and participation in competitive policy debate: Evidence from the Chicago Debate League

Mathematical mindsets increase student motivation: Evidence from the EEG

Can growth mindset always promote students' math achievement? Perspectives from Chinese university students

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