Did you solve it, yet? Yeah, I thought so. It's so easy that I almost didn't share it because I didn't want to insult your intelligence. [1]
This demonstration is meant to help you diagnose your own personal theory of intelligence. Do you believe that you were born with a fixed intelligence that does not change over the course of your life? Or do you instead believe that intelligence is something that changes due to the various experiences in your life?
Share and Enjoy!
Dr. Bob
[1] If you want to see the solution, just send me a message.
Whether you solved the puzzle or not:
- What thoughts (if any) were going through your head that weren't task related? Did you think about your ability to solve this problem?
- Did you think about your innate intelligence and what the implication of solving (or not solving!) this problem had?
What makes you think you're so smart?
Psychologist Carol Dweck refers to these two theories of intelligence as opposing mindsets. The first theory is held by those with a fixed mindset. Those who have a fixed mindset believe their intelligence will not change. It's something that you are born with, like the color of your eyes. Engaging in a challenging task is uncomfortable because the difficulty of it could mean that you are not smart. Thus, people who have a fixed mindset gravitate toward easier tasks that they know they can solve. It also means that they tend to stay away from challenges because failing at something might reveal that they are not smart (or that they are a "loser").
The second theory of intelligence is held by those with a growth mindset. Those who have a growth mindset see intelligence as malleable. You can expand your intelligence through experience. A difficult problem isn't seen as a threat; instead, it is seen as a challenge. It might even be perceived as a chance to learn something new. According to a growth mindset, you can get smarter by trying hard, not giving up, and learning from your mistakes.
In a previous post, I mentioned the importance of being well-calibrated in terms of your meta-cognitive awareness. An individual who rightly knows what he does not know is at a supreme advantage because that person is better able to target gaps in his understanding. If you have a fixed mindset, it might be be uncomfortable to admit that you're not knowledgeable or highly skilled. But if you have a growth mindset, then admitting a lack of knowledge is a source of strength and not a weakness.
What if, at the beginning of this post, you held tightly to a fixed mindset? Is it possible to change your mindset?
Second, an individual might hold different mindsets about different domains. So far we have focused strictly on mindsets about intelligence, but you can have mindsets for any skill or characteristic. For example, you might hold a fixed mindset about artistic vision and creativity. Maybe you think that people are born artists. However, you might also have a growth mindset with respect to athletic ability. Maybe you were terrible at baseball the very first time you played. But after you joined a team and practiced with your friends, you became quite good. Not only are mindsets malleable, but they are also domain-specific.
Probably the easiest change to make is to praise students for their effort instead of their intelligence. I realize it is fairly common for a teacher to say, "Well done, Bethany. You are extremely smart!" However, the recommendation from the mindset research is to praise the student's effort. So, instead, one should say, "Well done, Bethany. I noticed that you struggled at first. But you never gave up, and that was important because you eventually solved the problem and learned from the mistakes you made along the way."
In addition, teachers should model problem-solving tenacity for their students. Even though it might be uncomfortable at first (and it goes against the idea that "teacher knows best"), teachers should let their students give them problems that cause them to struggle. I can see an advantage to admitting defeat and coming back another day with the solution. The goal is not to appear to have the right answers. The goal is to show that you don't back down from challenges and that you don't give up until you have tried every approach you can think of to solve a problem.
It is tempting to think of kids as smart (or not). But we need to overcome that temptation and see them, instead, as starting at out at different baselines and trying hard to progress beyond what they already know. I would much rather see a student struggle and succeed than to fly through a task. Wouldn't you?
Mindset Characteristics
I think it's worth noting a couple of features of mindsets. First, they can change over time. If you grew up thinking that intelligence was a fixed trait, and later become convinced that they are not, then you can switch to a different mindset. In other words, a fixed or growth mindset is not itself a fixed trait. People can change their mindset at any time.Second, an individual might hold different mindsets about different domains. So far we have focused strictly on mindsets about intelligence, but you can have mindsets for any skill or characteristic. For example, you might hold a fixed mindset about artistic vision and creativity. Maybe you think that people are born artists. However, you might also have a growth mindset with respect to athletic ability. Maybe you were terrible at baseball the very first time you played. But after you joined a team and practiced with your friends, you became quite good. Not only are mindsets malleable, but they are also domain-specific.
The STEM Connection
What are the educational implications of a fixed vs. growth mindset? Which mindset do you think educators want their students to adopt? If we surveyed educators, we would probably find that they want their students to gravitate toward challenging tasks, not to feel stupid if they can't solve a problem on the first try, and to learn from their mistakes. All those behaviors are aligned with having a growth mindset in the classroom. On the flip side, educators would probably also agree that the fixed mindset is prevalent in our society. So what can be done to foster the growth mindset in the classroom?Probably the easiest change to make is to praise students for their effort instead of their intelligence. I realize it is fairly common for a teacher to say, "Well done, Bethany. You are extremely smart!" However, the recommendation from the mindset research is to praise the student's effort. So, instead, one should say, "Well done, Bethany. I noticed that you struggled at first. But you never gave up, and that was important because you eventually solved the problem and learned from the mistakes you made along the way."
In addition, teachers should model problem-solving tenacity for their students. Even though it might be uncomfortable at first (and it goes against the idea that "teacher knows best"), teachers should let their students give them problems that cause them to struggle. I can see an advantage to admitting defeat and coming back another day with the solution. The goal is not to appear to have the right answers. The goal is to show that you don't back down from challenges and that you don't give up until you have tried every approach you can think of to solve a problem.
It is tempting to think of kids as smart (or not). But we need to overcome that temptation and see them, instead, as starting at out at different baselines and trying hard to progress beyond what they already know. I would much rather see a student struggle and succeed than to fly through a task. Wouldn't you?
Share and Enjoy!
Dr. Bob
