Psychologycalendar_todayLast updated: Apr 2026
What is Growth Mindset?
/ˌɡrɒʊθ ˈmaɪndsɛt/
A growth mindset is the belief that intelligence, talent, and abilities can be developed through effort, good strategies, and learning from feedback — as opposed to being fixed traits.
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Everyday Example
A student who fails a maths test and thinks "I need to study differently" has a growth mindset. One who thinks "I'm just not a maths person" has a fixed mindset.
publicReal-World Application
“Schools adopting growth mindset curricula have seen improvements in academic performance, particularly among students from disadvantaged backgrounds.”
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Did you know?
The concept was developed by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck through decades of research and popularised in her 2006 book "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success."
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Key Insight
Praising effort rather than intelligence builds growth mindsets in children. "You worked so hard" is more useful than "You're so clever."
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