Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

How much do you agree with Dweck’s argument that human talent, ability, and intelligence are traits that can be developed over time with effort? Does this mean that with enough effort, anyone can qualify for the Olympics, play piano at Carnegie Hall, or create a life-changing invention? Why or why not?

Dweck says most people have a blend of mindsets. Describe an area of your life in which you display a growth mindset. What makes this a growth mindset, and why do you suppose your attitudes toward this aspect of your life are growth-oriented? Now describe an area of your life in which you display a fixed mindset. What makes this a fixed mindset, and why do you believe your attitudes toward this aspect of your life are fixed?

What is one talent you wish you had but have given up on pursuing? What prevents you from pursuing this talent more? After reading Mindset, do you think you might reconsider your relationship to this talent? Why or why not?

Dweck posits that mindset correlates with motivation. In particular, she says that both the fear of failure and the desire for validation in those with a fixed mindset can lead to a decrease in motivation to take on challenges and risks. Think of a time when you lacked motivation. Why do you think you didn’t want to engage? Is the belief that effort creates growth enough of a motivator for you to take on risky or challenging work? Why or why not?

Think of a time when you were good at something right away. How did you respond? How did parents, teachers, or coaches respond? How did that make you feel? Did you receive praise? Did you worry about how others might view you if you made a mistake? How did this experience impact your sense of motivation for this thing at which you showed early success?

Dweck implies that people are bombarded with fixed or growth mindset messages from a young age. Responses to failure and success are particularly revealing of fixed or growth mindsets. She even relates to her own experience in which her teacher made people sit in IQ order and only allowed those with the highest IQs to hold the flag or erase the chalkboard. Where have you come across these types of messages in your life? What were some of these messages, and how did they impact your view of the world? Do you still hold these views, or have they changed? If they changed, what prompted the change?

Dweck asserts that mindset messages can shape entire workplaces and schools. Where do you see mindsets at play at your school or place of work? In what ways do they impact factors like an individual’s motivation, their willingness to communicate or ask for help, or their response to failure? Do you think your peers would benefit from learning about mindset theory? Why or why not?

Dweck traces the fixed mindset to beliefs in human superiority and inferiority and, thus, to such behaviors as entitlement, judgment, belittling, stereotyping, bullying, and seeking revenge. How much do you agree that these behaviors stem from an underlying fear of inferiority and the desire to prove one’s superiority? What, if not mindset, might account for these beliefs and behaviors instead? How much do you agree that a shift from a fixed to a growth mindset could solve some of these adverse social behaviors? Explain your reasoning.