You can do anything – or can you?

There is hardly any psychological theory that has been marketed as successfully as the «mindset» theory developed by the American psychologist Carol Dweck. This theory explores how we explain the origins of performance and success, and posits that people adopt one of two perspectives in this regard.

With a fixed mindset, we assume that talent, innate abilities or intelligence play the decisive role. Typical statements include: «Everything just falls into his lap – he's just a clever little thing!», «That's just the way I am; there's nothing I can do about it» or «She's always been a real sports star!».

In contrast, people with a growth mindset believe that it is, above all, their willingness to make an effort and their commitment that make the difference, and that skills can be developed through practice. Typical statements include: «I can't do that yet – but I can learn it!», «That went really well – my training has paid off!» or «If you tried a bit harder, you could do it!».

3 gold medals – despite being paralysed

In her international bestseller *Mindset*, Dweck illustrates the power of a dynamic self-concept using numerous examples. Her core belief is this: those who adopt a growth mindset embrace challenges with confidence, see mistakes as opportunities for improvement, do not give up in the face of failure, use external feedback to identify courses of action for the future, and can thus achieve remarkable things.

Take, for example, the American Wilma Rudolph, who contracted polio as a child. Although one of her legs was paralysed for a time and she had to wear a brace for years, she managed, through physiotherapy, hard training and an unyielding will, to win three gold medals as a runner.

You just have to try hard enough

Anyone who reads Dweck's book soon feels inspired: anything seems possible if you believe in your own potential for growth and really put your heart into it. Or, as one online reviewer puts it: «The book uses excellent examples to show how ordinary people can achieve great things if they only set their minds to it.»

Perhaps a quiet voice in the back of your mind stirs, whispering: «Look at what all these people, who started out in far more difficult circumstances, have made of themselves. It's actually rather pathetic how little you're achieving. If you tried harder, you could achieve so much more!» This conclusion may well be entirely intentional in the book, in keeping with the motto: No more excuses! It's entirely up to you and your commitment what you make of your life.

Researchers who stood to gain financially from positive study results were particularly likely to report significant effects.

However, according to Dweck, with the right approach, it is possible not only to change one's own attitude, but also the mindset of one's own children, pupils or work team. In an early study, Dweck demonstrated that a dynamic self-concept can be developed in children simply through the right kind of feedback.

A pupil hasn't been able to solve a maths problem? Then you say to them: «If you'd tried harder, you could have done it!» The aim is for the child to understand that they aren't too stupid or untalented, but simply need to try harder. And indeed, the children's maths performance improved in Dweck's study.

The power of «not yet»

These and many other studies have played a key role in the rise of mindset theory. Carol Dweck has repeatedly reported that fostering a growth mindset in children leads to greater tolerance of frustration and mistakes, as well as better grades. In her TED Talk «The Power of Yet», she also talks about classes that have worked their way up from being the weakest in their district to the top of the rankings. And all this simply by changing their mindset!

A thirteen-year-old schoolboy even wrote Dweck a thank-you letter about her research: thanks to her, he realised how much he could achieve, and he came to realise that he had wasted his whole life up to that point.

A look at the latest research

In recent years, however, there has been a growing chorus of criticism. Various researchers have scrutinised a large number of studies on mindset theory. A recent meta-analysis by Brooke Macnamara and Alexander Burgoyne, for example, concluded that many studies reporting positive effects of mindset interventions are flawed.

In studies with high methodological quality, the effects are much smaller; in some cases, they even disappear altogether. The latter applies in particular to studies that were actually intended to demonstrate that one's mindset can indeed be changed and that this, in turn, has an impact on learners’ performance. A striking finding is that it was primarily researchers who stood to gain financially from positive study results who reported large effects.

Many children and young people believe they simply need to try even harder, even though they are already pushing themselves to the limit and have reached the end of their tether.

A healthy approach to mindset theory

Personally, I would like to give the mindset movement credit for raising awareness amongst many people of just how much influence one's inner attitude can have on one's own life. This finding is supported by a wide range of research fields, including self-efficacy, attribution styles, locus of control and cognitive behavioural therapy.

It is important to teach children and young people that they can make a difference through their own efforts and that progress is possible even when starting from a difficult position. After all, how often do we come across children who lack self-belief and give up at the slightest obstacle? And who would undoubtedly benefit from adults who show them that hard work pays off and that obstacles can be overcome?

A dynamic mindset has its advantages, provided it does not blind us to our own limitations and those of the people around us.

However, we should be wary of viewing the «right mindset» as a panacea. In my day-to-day work, I'm increasingly coming across children and young people who believe they simply need to try harder, even though they ’re already pushing themselves to the limit and are running on empty. Or adults who are clearly facing very stressful circumstances, but think they can compensate for it all through a positive attitude and good stress management.

A dynamic mindset has its advantages, as long as it does not blind us to our own limitations and those of the people around us. Positive examples can inspire us, but we must take care that they do not make us too hard on ourselves or others. For every Wilma Rudolph, there are countless others who also trained hard but never won gold medals. And that is perhaps not solely because they did not want success enough, did not believe enough in their own potential for growth, or did not work hard enough on themselves.