Wadler's Blog

 Carol Dweck, a Stanford psychologist famous for her research on growth mindset, is coauthor of a new study.

To test the theory, the researchers asked student participants six questions and asked them to rate themselves on a 1 (never) to 5 (always) scale.

• When you are stuck on something, how often do you ask yourself, "What are things I can do to help myself?"
• Whenever you feel like you are not making progress, how often do you ask yourself, "Is there a better way of doing this?"
• Whenever you feel frustrated with something, how often do you ask yourself, "How can I do this better?"
• In moments when you feel challenged, how often do you ask yourself, "What are things I can do to make myself better at this?"
• When you are struggling with something, how often do you ask yourself, "What can I do to help myself?"
• Whenever something feels difficult, how often do you ask yourself, "What can I do to get better at this?"

What happened? Higher scores predicted higher grades.

And in subsequent studies, higher scores predicted greater success in a professional challenge and in a health and fitness goal.