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Research papers on Growth mindset interventions

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  1. A national experiment reveals where a growth mindset improves achievement

    David S. Yeager, Paul Hanselman, G. Walton, et al. · 2019 · Nature · 1,477 citations

    A global priority for the behavioural sciences is to develop cost-effective, scalable interventions that could improve the academic outcomes of adolescents at a population level, but no such interventions have so far been evaluated in a population-generalizable sample. Here we show that a short (less than one hour), online growth mindset intervention—which teaches that intellectual abilities can be developed—improved grades among lower-achieving students and increased overall enrolment to advanced mathematics courses in a nationally representative sample of students in secondary education in the United States. Notably, the study identified school contexts that sustained the effects of the gr

  2. Building Grit: The Longitudinal Pathways between Mindset, Commitment, Grit, and Academic Outcomes

    Xin Tang, Ming‐Te Wang, Jiesi Guo, et al. · 2019 · Journal of Youth and Adolescence · 284 citations

    Despite academics' enthusiasm about the concept of grit (defined as consistency of interest and perseverance of effort), its benefit for academic achievement has recently been challenged. Drawing from a longitudinal sample (N = 2018; 55.3% female; sixth-nineth grades) from Finland, this study first aimed to investigate and replicate the association between grit and achievement outcomes (i.e., academic achievement and engagement). Further, the present study examined whether growth mindset and goal commitment impacted grit and whether grit acted as a mediator between growth mindset, goal commitment, and achievement outcomes. The results showed that the perseverance facet of grit in the eighth

  3. Do growth mindset interventions impact students' academic achievement? A systematic review and meta-analysis with recommendations for best practices.

    B. Macnamara, Alexander P. Burgoyne · 2022 · Psychological bulletin · 261 citations

    According to mindset theory, students who believe their personal characteristics can change-that is, those who hold a growth mindset-will achieve more than students who believe their characteristics are fixed. Proponents of the theory have developed interventions to influence students' mindsets, claiming that these interventions lead to large gains in academic achievement. Despite their popularity, the evidence for growth mindset intervention benefits has not been systematically evaluated considering both the quantity and quality of the evidence. Here, we provide such a review by (a) evaluating empirical studies' adherence to a set of best practices essential for drawing causal conclusions a

  4. Leveraging Mindsets to Promote Academic Achievement

    Aneeta Rattan, Krishna Savani, Dolly Chugh, et al. · 2015 · Perspectives on Psychological Science · 242 citations

    The United States must improve its students' educational achievement. Race, gender, and social class gaps persist, and, overall, U.S. students rank poorly among peers globally. Scientific research shows that students' psychology-their "academic mindsets"-have a critical role in educational achievement. Yet policymakers have not taken full advantage of cost-effective and well-validated mindset interventions. In this article, we present two key academic mindsets. The first, a growth mindset, refers to the belief that intelligence can be developed over time. The second, a belonging mindset, refers to the belief that people like you belong in your school or in a given academic field. Extensive r

  5. Growing Growth Mindset with a Social Robot Peer

    Hae Won Park, Rinat B. Rosenberg‐Kima, Maor Rosenberg, et al. · 2017 · 137 citations

    Mindset has been shown to have a large impact on people's academic, social, and work achievements. A growth mindset, i.e., the belief that success comes from effort and perseverance, is a better indicator of higher achievements as compared to a fixed mindset, i.e., the belief that things are set and cannot be changed. Interventions aimed at promoting a growth mindset in children range from teaching about the brain's ability to learn and change, to playing computer games that grant brain points for effort rather than success. This work explores a novel paradigm to foster a growth mindset in young children where they play a puzzle solving game with a peer-like social robot. The social robot is

  7. Improving general chemistry performance through a growth mindset intervention: selective effects on underrepresented minorities

    Angela Fink, Michael J. Cahill, M. McDaniel, et al. · 2018 · Chemistry Education Research and Practice · 126 citations

    Women and minorities remain underrepresented in chemistry bachelor's degree attainment in the United States, despite efforts to improve their early chemistry achievement through supplemental academic programs and active-learning approaches. We propose an additional strategy for addressing these disparities: course-based, social-psychological interventions. For example, growth-mindset interventions are designed to support students during challenging academic transitions by encouraging them to view intelligence as a flexible characteristic that can be developed through practice, rather than a fixed ability. Previous research has shown that such interventions can improve the overall performance

  8. An Online Growth Mindset Intervention in a Sample of Rural Adolescent Girls

    J. Burnette, M. Russell, Crystal L. Hoyt, et al. · 2017 · The British journal of educational psychology · 119 citations

    Background Students living in rural areas of the United States exhibit lower levels of educational attainment than their suburban counterparts. Innovative interventions are needed to close this educational achievement gap. Aims We investigated if an online growth mindset intervention could be leveraged to promote academic outcomes. Sample We tested the mindset intervention in a sample of 222 10th grade adolescent girls (M age=15.2; 38% White, 25% Black, 29% Hispanic) from four rural, low-income high schools in the Southeastern United States. Methods We conducted a randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy the growth mindset intervention, relative to a sexual health program. We used ra

  10. A values-aligned intervention fosters growth mindset–supportive teaching and reduces inequality in educational outcomes

    Cameron A. Hecht, Christopher J. Bryan, D. Yeager · 2023 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 47 citations

    Significance Large socioeconomic inequalities have long persisted in the US education system. We tested a method to reduce this inequality by motivating high-school teachers to adopt classroom practices that demonstrate a belief in students’ capacity to learn and improve. The intervention successfully encouraged teachers to adopt these practices and thereby improved academic achievement in classes with higher proportions of students facing socioeconomic disadvantages. This study provides evidence for a method to help address socioeconomic inequality in educational outcomes by targeting teachers with scalable interventions. This method is a promising alternative to existing approaches that pl

  11. The Power of Believing You can Get Smarter: The Impact of a Growth-Mindset Intervention on Academic Achievement in Peru

    I. Outes-Leon, Alan Sánchez, Renos Vakis · 2020 · 39 citations

    This paper evaluates the academic impact of a growth-mindset intervention on students starting the secondary level in public schools in urban Peru. iExpande tu Mente! is a 90-minute school session aimed at instilling the notion that a person's own intelligence is malleable. Students in schools randomly assigned to treatment showed a small improvement in math test scores and educational expectations, with a large and sustained impact in test scores among students outside the capital city. At a cost of $0.20 per pupil, iExpande tu Mente! was highly cost-effective. The results show the potential that brief growth-mindset interventions have for developing countries.

  12. Growth mindset intervention among French university students, and its articulation with proactive coping strategies

    Sacha Parada, J. Verlhiac · 2021 · Educational Psychology · 37 citations

    Abstract The aim of this work is to examine the effects of a growth mindset intervention amongst first-year university students during a longitudinal study spanning over 1 month and to develop a model linking well-being and achievement variables. Growth mindset interventions, by teaching malleable instead of fixed self-conceptions, would allow students to be better equipped to face academic challenges. While previous research has focussed on academic achievement, we propose to examine the articulation between mindset and proactive coping strategies, and their impact on well-being, as well as achievement during the transition period that starting higher education, represents. Results showed a

  14. Growth Mindset Intervention Improves Performance of Highly Nontraditional Introductory Psychology Students at a Community College

    Angela Fink, Paul S. Mattson, Michael J. Cahill, et al. · 2022 · Teaching of Psychology · 17 citations

    Background Research suggests growth mindset interventions can support student achievement, particularly among students at risk of academic struggle, but it remains underspecified which at-risk populations will benefit from such interventions. Objectives This study aimed to experimentally evaluate whether highly (vs. moderately or minimally) nontraditional community college students would benefit from a growth mindset intervention and whether their performance differed at baseline and after the intervention. Method A sample of 155 students in introductory psychology at a 2-year community college was randomly assigned to complete a growth mindset or control intervention, and all participants c

  15. Whether and how can a growth mindset intervention help students in a non-western culture? Evidence from a field experiment in China

    Zhentu Huang, Xiangdong Wei, R. Lu, et al. · 2022 · Educational Psychology · 16 citations

    Abstract An increasing amount of research has indicated that the effectiveness of growth mindset (GM) intervention is sensitive to population characteristics. However, few studies have investigated whether GM interventions can be leveraged to promote academic performance among non-westerners such as Chinese students. Attuning to the Chinese background, we developed an extended GM intervention by incorporating both the malleability of intelligence and that of emotion. We examined the effect of the intervention in 11 schools across 48 classes in China and found that the intervention significantly improved students’ maths achievement with intrinsic motivation playing a partial mediating role. D

  16. Helping students to face academic failures: Evaluation of a growth mindset intervention among primary school students in China.

    Shan Zhao, Cheng Yu, Ling Jin, et al. · 2023 · Applied psychology. Health and well-being · 14 citations

    Students commonly struggle with academic failure. Innovative interventions aimed at improving the essential components of academic success are therefore needed. The aim of this study was to test whether teaching a growth mindset of intelligence (the belief that intelligence is malleable and can be developed) could improve students' attitudes towards failure and academic outcomes. In particular, we explored whether students' perceived parental beliefs about failure influenced the effect of a growth mindset intervention. We tested the 8-session growth mindset intervention in a sample of 1766 Chinese primary school students (age M = 10.61; SD = .99). Measures of mindset of intelligence, failure

  17. Why Does a Growth Mindset Intervention Impact Achievement Differently across Secondary Schools? Unpacking the Causal Mediation Mechanism from a National Multisite Randomized Experiment

    Xu Qin, S. Wormington, Alberto Guzman-Alvarez, et al. · 2020 · Journal of research on educational effectiveness · 14 citations

    Abstract The growth mindset or the belief that intelligence is malleable has garnered significant attention for its positive association with academic success. Several recent randomized trials, including the National Study of Learning Mindsets (NSLM), have been conducted to understand why, for whom, and under what contexts a growth mindset intervention can promote beneficial achievement outcomes during critical educational transitions. Prior research suggests that the NSLM intervention was particularly effective in improving low-achieving 9th graders’ GPA, while the impact varied across schools. In this study, we investigated the underlying causal mediation mechanism that might explain this

  18. Mindset and Academic Achievement

    Nicole A. Buzzetto-Hollywood, Leesa Thomas-Banks, Leslie L West · 2026 · Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology · 13 citations

    Aim/Purpose This paper presents the findings of a study that explores whether growth mindset, self-efficacy, and goal-setting skills impact student performance and/or are interrelated. It also examined students’ perceptions of the efficacy of a mindset intervention program at a minority-serving institution. Background A mindset intervention was custom-created at a United States Historically Black College or University (HBCU) that included self-assessment instruments designed to measure self-efficacy, growth mindset, and goal setting. Methodology Self-assessment instruments were collected, and a satisfaction survey was ad-ministered. Descriptive analysis was performed to calculate the m

  19. The Impact of Growth Mindset Interventions on Students’ Motivation, Resilience, and Academic Achievement

    Ahmed Madey Mohamoud · 2024 · Multidisciplinary Journal of Horseed International University (MJHIU) · 11 citations

    This study focuses on the impact of growth mindset interventions on students’ motivation, resilience and academic achievement. The specific objectives of the study entail: to assess the impacts of growth mindset interventions on student motivation, resilience, and academic performance in educational settings, to examine the practical strategies employed by educators to implement growth mindset interventions effectively and to identify potential challenges and limitations of growth mindset interventions in fostering a growth mindset culture in schools. The study employed qualitative research approach and used documentary review to collect data of the study. The findings of the study on the im

  20. Differentiating mathematical mindset, growth mindset, and self-efficacy through intervention research: a neuroplasticity approach

    Xiaoyu Xu, Jack Dieckmann · 2025 · Frontiers in Psychology · 4 citations

    Mathematical Mindset (MM), Growth Mindset (GM), and Self-Efficacy (SE) are critical psychological constructs that shape students' mathematical achievement by influencing cognitive flexibility, problem-solving strategies, and motivational persistence. This study, based on data derived from Xu et al., extends prior research by examining the distinct contributions of MM, GM, and SE in response to an intervention among university students. To better understand how neuroplasticity, MM, and GM manifest in this study, thematic analysis was applied to qualitative interview data, providing deeper insights into the cognitive and behavioral changes induced by the intervention. Using a mixed-methods app

  21. Can growth mindset interventions improve academic achievement? A structured review of the existing evidence

    Carolina Gazmuri · 2025 · Review of Education · 2 citations

    Abstract Encouraging the idea of a growth mindset in which students believe that they can improve their ability, as opposed to a fixed mindset, has been suggested as an effective and relatively cheap approach to improving student attainment at school. This paper offers a comprehensive review of the evidence from growth mindset interventions. After a rigorous search, screening and evaluation, the inclusion criteria led to 24 studies. All were randomised control trials (RCTs) focused on growth mindset of intelligence interventions for school‐age children and included output measures for academic performance assessment. Their findings reveal that the stron

  22. Developing a Short-Term Online Growth Mindset Intervention for University Students and Testing Its Effects

    Sooyeon Han, Eunyeoung Kim, Yonghan Park · 2025 · Korean Educational Research Association

    The purposes of this study were to develop a short-term online program designed to enhance a growth mindset for university students and to explore its effects on students’ mindset, self-regulated learning (SRL), self-esteem, motivational characteristics related to learning, and academic achievement. After developing the program, 145 undergraduate students from 24 four-year universities were recruited and randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 71) or a control group (n = 74). The experimental group participated in the short-term online growth-mindset program across two sessions. To explore the effectiveness of the program, independent samples t-tests, repeated-measures ANOVA, ANCOVA,

  23. Rational Emotive Behavior Counseling as an Intervention to Strengthen Grit, Growth Mindset, and Academic Resilience in Higher Education

    Galuh Adji Pratama, M. Dagang, G. S. Sugara · 2026 · Salud, Ciencia y Tecnología

    University students frequently encounter substantial academic pressures that may lead to stress, mental fatigue, and procrastination—conditions that negatively affect both academic achievement and psychological well-being. Psychological capacities such as grit, growth mindset, and academic resilience are essential in helping students navigate these challenges; however, structured interventions designed to strengthen these traits remain limited, particularly within the Indonesian higher education context. Therefore, this pilot study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of a structured group counseling intervention aimed at enhancing grit, growth mindset, and academic resilience among first-ye

  24. Reducing academic cheating through growth mindset: an intervention study and a mechanism analysis.

    Song Chang, Yinghua Bao, Chengyou Zhang, et al. · 2026 · Frontiers in psychology

    Academic dishonesty remains a persistent challenge in higher education, highlighting the need for scalable and cost-effective interventions that target internal motivation. Building on mindset theory, the present research tests the impact of a brief growth-mindset intervention on exam cheating and examines the mindset meaning system as a hypothesized mechanism. Growth mindset refers to beliefs about the malleability of one's abilities, whereas the mindset meaning system refers to the broader system of meanings organized by individuals' mindsets, shaping how they interpret effort, performance, and failure in achievement contexts. Study 1 employed a randomized controlled trial (N = 120) to eva

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