Dweck's Mindset Theory

Question 1

Mindset

Answer 1

A set of beliefs someone has that guides how someone responds to or interprets a situation.

Question 2

Ability

Answer 2

What someone can do, such as maths ability or ability to play tennis.

Question 3

Effort

Answer 3

When you try to do better using determination.

Question 4

Fixed Mindset

Answer 4

Believing your abilities are fixed and unchangeable.

Question 5

Growth Mindset

Answer 5

Believing practice and effort can improve your abilities.

Question 6

What is a strength of Dweck’s Mindset Theory?

Answer 6

it has practical applications because teachers or parents can focus on praising effort rather than ability in order to encourage children.

Question 7

What is a further strength of Dweck’s Mindset Theory?

Answer 7

There is evidence to support the theory from Yeager and Dweck (2012).

This study found that adolescents could deal better with not fitting in if they had a growth mindset. This means that believing that people can change led to better school performance.

Question 8

What is a weakness of Dweck’s Mindset Theory?

Answer 8

Many of the studies that look into mindset have been experiments and so have artifical settings. This is a weakness because the results may not represent real life and therefore the data about mindset may lack validity.

Question 9

What is a further weakness of Dweck’s Mindset Theory?

Answer 9

Studying the mindset of a child may result in the child becoming the focus if there are problems with their progress, rather than the quality of what is being taught. This can affect the usefulness of the theory.