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2/6/2017
ED 5998/HON 3000
Mindset Essay #1
Carol Dwecks Mindset: The New Psychology of Success delves into the
difference between the growth and fixed mindsets. Within the first few
chapters, Dweck explains the growth mindset. This mindset reinforces the
idea that, with hard work, we can change and grow through application and
Conversely, the fixed mindset is the opposite of this. It embodies the idea
that an individuals skills and abilities are set in stone; regardless of how
much effort they put in, they will not succeed if their skills are not up to par.
Depending on which mindset an individual has, it can either set them up for
success or failure. Those with the growth mindset may fail, but ultimately
have the tools to recover, and are willingly to put in the effort and see where
they went wrong. This allows them to grow and adapt. However, people with
the fixed mindset are often too afraid of failure, so they do not try anything
new or challenging in the first place, and their abilities do not grow.
systems.
Its not uncommon in our society for the fixed mindset to be reinforced
into children as a result of praise and positive labels. Children are frequently
praised as intelligent and smart, rather than for their work ethic. This
becomes problematic when a child does not meet the expectations the
systems, or they themselves, have set. If they encounter failure, they do not
have the tools to recover, and their potential is not reached; these
individuals fear failure too much, that they refuse to put in the effort
the first three chapters. In one case, four-year-olds were given the choice to
redo an easy puzzle, or try a new, harder one. They noticed the children that
felt they were born smart did not try hard puzzle, for fear of failing, as
smart kids dont do mistakes (Dweck 16). This could hold true later in life,
as these children could become adults that dontt challenge themselves, and
never reach their full potential. Another example Dweck provides is within
CEO disease, as these individuals are often put on a pedestal with high
expectations and positive labels. Stuck in the fixed mindset, these individuals
do not take risks, and their companies suffer. For example, the CEO of
Chrysler would not dramatically change their car models over the years,
allowing Japanese cars (to have) rapidly swept the market (Dweck 20). Ive
also had troubling experiences with being in a fixed mindset after being
and began getting grades of Cs and Ds, which disheartened me and made
might be, did I begin to see improvements in my grades. For the many
people trapped in this fixed mindset, failure seems like the end of the road,
these girls choose to pursue a career in the STEM field, they will undoubtedly
be met with individuals that will discredit their abilities simply based on their
gender. While they may not have the abilities needed for these fields
innately, it doesnt mean they cant acquire them through hard work. But
even one encounter with an individual that discredits a girls potential could
be enough to turn the girl off from the STEM field entirely. In order to
prevent, we must reinforce the growth mindset within the girls, and explain
that their gender does limit them--they may fail, but they can use it as
Dweck, Carol S. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random