Beyond intelligence: Exploring the role of growth mindsets in the domain of social-emotional skills.

Purpose Consumers subscribe to different mindsets or implicit theories of personality malleability, namely, fixed and growth mindsets. This study aims to investigate how and why consumers’ mindsets can influence their word-of-mouth (WOM) intentions toward a brand and the consequent implications for a brand’s personality. Design/methodology/approach Three mall-intercept studies and one online study demonstrate the influence of consumers’ fixed and growth mindsets on their WOM intentions. The first two mall-intercept studies identify motivations underlying consumers’ WOM intentions as a function of their mindset orientations. The third mall-intercept study examines the implications of such mindset-oriented WOM intentions for a brand’s personality dimension and the underlying psychological mechanism. The fourth study tests the link between WOM intent and behavior. Findings Results show that fixed (growth) mindset individuals exhibit greater WOM intentions than growth (fixed) mindset individuals for motives of “impression management” (“learning and information acquisition”). Findings further demonstrate that brands that exhibit dual personality dimensions simultaneously, one salient and the other non-salient at any instant, garner equivalent WOM intentions from both fixed and growth mindset individuals, contingent on the fit between the salient brand personality dimension and the dominant consumer mindset. Finally, using a real brand, it can be seen that WOM intentions actually translate into behavior. Research limitations/implications The study measures offline WOM intent but not offline WOM behavior. Practical implications This study sheds new light on branding strategy by demonstrating how and why dual-brand personalities may attract consumers with both kinds of implicit self-theory orientations. Relatedly, it also demonstrates a technique of framing ad-appeals that support the dual-brand personality effect. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to propose and demonstrate the use of simultaneous dual-brand personalities as an optimal branding strategy.

This study aimed to examine the mental health and social-emotional skills of individuals with mathematics difficulties (MD), reading difficulties (RD), and comorbid difficulties (MDRD) in China. Students with MD (n = 35), RD (n = 27), MDRD (n = 43), and typically-developing peers (TD, n = 167) completed the Children's Depression Inventory, the Children's Loneliness Questionnaire, the Social Anxiety Questionnaire, and the Survey on Social Emotional Skills (SSES). In regard to mental health, results showed that MDRD experienced significantly higher levels of loneliness compared to TD, while MD had significantly higher levels of depression than TD. No significant differences were found in mental health outcomes between the MD, RD, and MDRD groups. In regard to social-emotional skills, the results showed that MD had significantly lower levels of persistence, responsibility, self-control, emotional control, curiosity, and energy compared to TD. MDRD also showed significantly lower curiosity compared to TD. There were no significant differences in task performance, emotional regulation, collaboration, and open-mindedness among the MD, RD, and MDRD groups. These findings suggest that different learning difficulties are associated with distinct profiles of mental health and social-emotional skills.

The objective of this study was to examine the predictive roles of self-compassion and growth mindset in coping with performance failure among professional athletes. This study employed a correlational descriptive design involving 396 professional athletes from Turkey. Participants were selected according to the Morgan and Krejcie (1970) table and completed standardized questionnaires measuring self-compassion, growth mindset, and coping with performance failure. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS-27. Pearson correlation was utilized to assess the relationships between coping with performance failure and each independent variable separately, and multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the predictive power of self-compassion and growth mindset on coping with performance failure. Pearson correlation analysis indicated that coping with performance failure was positively and significantly correlated with self-compassion (r = .54, p < 0.01) and growth mindset (r = .48, p < 0.01). Multiple linear regression results revealed that self-compassion and growth mindset together significantly predicted coping with performance failure (R = .58, R² = .34, F(2, 393) = 101.63, p < 0.01). Both self-compassion (β = .44, t = 8.91, p < 0.01) and growth mindset (β = .29, t = 7.09, p < 0.01) were significant positive predictors, with self-compassion emerging as the stronger predictor. The findings highlight the critical roles of self-compassion and growth mindset in facilitating more adaptive coping with performance failure among professional athletes. Enhancing both emotional regulation through self-compassion and cognitive beliefs through growth mindset may contribute to improved resilience and performance outcomes in competitive sports settings.

The study examined the predictive effect of cultural orientations on Chinese gifted students’ growth mindsets. This study encompassed 378 gifted students from universities in mainland China. Gifted students’ growth mindset beliefs and cultural orientations were assessed by using Dweck’s growth mindset inventory and Hofstede’s cultural value scale, respectively. Data analysis mainly leveraged Pearson correlation analysis and hierarchical multiple regression analysis to test the hypothesize role of gifted students’ cultural orientations in predicting their growth mindsets. Pearson correlation analysis was used to assess the bivariate correlation between growth mindset and cultural orientations. Subsequently, Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to test the predictive effects of cultural orientations on growth mindset beliefs of gifted students. The results revealed that the cultural dimensions of long-term orientation can positively predict gifted students’ growth mindset, but power distance and uncertainty avoidance negatively predict their growth mindsets. Collectivism (or individualism) and femininity (or masculinity) cannot predict growth mindsets. Theoretically, this study underscores the necessity of accounting for cultural contexts when applying the growth mindset framework. Practically, it highlights the need to incorporate cultural factors into growth mindset interventions targeted at gifted students.

This study investigates the moderating effects of several contextual factors (i.e., teachers' growth mindset, perceived school climate, and perceived parental autonomy support) on the relationship between students' growth mindset and academic achievement. Drawing on Dweck's growth mindset theory and recent research findings that highlight the context sensitivity of the growth mindset, we hypothesize that supportive environments strengthen the positive impact of students' growth mindset on academic outcomes. A sample of 358 middle school students (53.8% female; Mage = 13.38 years, SD = 2.20) from public schools in Shanghai City, mainland China, was assessed via three validated instruments: (1) the Growth Mindset Inventory, which is used to measure students' and teachers' beliefs about intelligence; (2) the Delaware School Climate Survey for Students, which is used to assess students' perceptions of the school climate; and (3) the Perceived Parental Autonomy Support Scale, which is used to evaluate students' perceived parental autonomy support. Academic achievement was measured by district-level final exam scores. The results of hierarchical regression analyses revealed that teachers' growth mindset, perceived school climate support (e.g., teacher-student and student-student relations, fairness of rules, school safety, liking of school), and the perception of positive parental autonomy support (e.g., choice, rationale, acknowledgment) positively moderated the relationship between students' growth mindset and academic achievement. In contrast, the perception of negative parental autonomy factors (e.g., punishment threats, performance pressure, guilt-inducing criticism) negatively moderated this relationship. These results indicate that the relationship between students' growth mindset and academic achievement may vary depending on contextual factors, highlighting the importance of considering both positive and negative influences when designing educational strategies.

Marketing students often engage in complex, project-based work such as strategic planning, presentations, and real-world client interaction that demands persistence, adaptability, and performance under pressure. This research examines how cultivating psychological resources such as a growth mind-set and cognitive reappraisal contributes to the academic success and the mental well-being of marketing and business students. Using a mixed-method approach, the study draws on qualitative insights from marketing students (n = 18) and survey data (n = 303) from undergraduate marketing and business students. Findings reveal that a growth mind-set is positively related to academic performance and negatively related to impostor syndrome. Furthermore, impostor syndrome is inversely associated with flourishing mental health, while flourishing mental health is positively related to academic performance. The results also demonstrate that the use of cognitive reappraisal as an emotion regulation strategy results in an important boundary condition by enhancing the relationship between a growth mind-set and mental wellness. This research offers practical implications for curriculum design and instructional strategies that promote cultivating a growth mind-set orientation and enlisting adaptive emotion regulation. By integrating growth mind-set principles and cognitive reappraisal techniques into educational interventions, institutions can enhance both academic engagement and mental well-being in student populations.

This study aims to explore the learning strategies employed by students in response to web-based teaching during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Data collected from 373 students from the southern part of India were analysed using the Hayes’ PROCESS macros. The results suggest that learning strategies significantly predict (a) academic performance and (b) growth mindset. The findings also indicate the positive relationship between students’ growth mindset and academic performance. Most importantly, students’ self-efficacy has strengthened the positive association between learning strategies and a growth mindset. As the global pandemic has created stressful situations for the students by suddenly switching to web-based teaching, the study found that emotion regulation is an essential moderator in the relationship between learning strategies and a growth mindset. The conceptual model developed, based on the achievement goal theory, was tested in the Indian context. The theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.

This study aimed to examine the predictive effect of cultural orientation and perceived school climate on the formation of teachers’ growth mindsets. A total of 811 middle school teachers (26.88% females; mean age = 29.77) from Shanghai City, mainland China, participated in the study. The growth mindset inventory, Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, and the school-level environment questionnaire were used to assess teachers’ growth mindset beliefs, cultural orientations, and perceptions of school climates, respectively. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were applied to test the hypothesized roles of teachers’ cultural orientations and perceived school climates in predicting the formation of their growth mindsets. Two interesting findings were obtained. First, regarding the effect of cultural orientation, teachers’ growth mindset belief was positively predicted by the Confucian dimension of cultural value in relation to long-term orientation but negatively predicted by the dimensions of power distance and uncertainty avoidance. Second, regarding the predictive effect of school climate, growth mindset was positively predicted by three school climate factors: school resources, decision-making, and instructional innovation. These findings provide empirical evidence for the perspectives of social cognitive theory and cultural and ecological psychology by highlighting the contextual sensitivity of growth mindset formation. These findings also have practical implications because they highlight the need to consider cultural and school climate factors in the promotion of teachers’ growth mindsets.

BackgroundThe transition from childhood to adolescence is a uniquely sensitive period for social and emotional learning in the trajectory of human development. This transition is characterized by rapid physical growth, sexual maturation, cognitive and behavioral changes and dynamic changes in social relationships. This pivotal transition provides a window of opportunity for social emotional learning that can shape early adolescent identity formation and gender norms, beliefs and behaviors. The objective of this study is to evaluate the potential of a social emotional learning intervention for very young adolescents (VYAs) to improve social emotional mindsets and skills.MethodsDiscover Learning is a social emotional learning intervention designed for VYAs (10-11 years of age) to support development of social emotional mindsets and skills from four primary schools in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The intervention delivered three different packages of learning experiences to three arms of the study. 528 VYAs were randomized to each of the three study arms (A-Content learning, B-Content learning and reflection, and C-Content learning, reflection and experiential practice). A quantitative survey was administered to all participants before and after the intervention to capture changes in social emotional mindsets and skills. A discrete choice experiment measured changes in gender norms, beliefs and behaviors.Results528 VYAs were included in the analysis. Participants in all three arms of the study demonstrated significant improvements in social emotional mindsets and skills outcomes (generosity, curiosity, growth mindset, persistence, purpose and teamwork). However, Group C (who received experiential social learning opportunities in small, mixed-gender groups and a parent and community learning components demonstrated larger treatment effects on key outcomes in comparison to Groups A and B. Results indicate Group C participants had greater change in gender equity outcomes (OR = 1.69, p = <0.001) compared to Group A (OR = 1.30, p = <0.001) and Group B (OR = 1.23, p = 0.004).ConclusionThese findings provide evidence that social emotional learning interventions targeting VYAs can improve social emotional mindsets and skills and gender equity outcomes. The findings indicate the importance of experiential learning activities in mixed-gender groups during the unique developmental window of early adolescence. The study also provides support for the inclusion of parental/caregiver and community engagement in programs designed for VYAs.Trial registrationRetrospectively registered on July 7th, 2020. NCT0445807

This qualitative study with an abductive approach explores how lower secondary school students perceived a school-based social-emotional learning intervention, referred to as ROBUST, in relation to their academic engagement. The intervention, spanning from September 2021 to April 2022, targeted five competencies: relationship skills, problem-solving, emotional regulation, growth mind-set, and mindfulness. Thematic analysis of data from six focus group interviews (N = 56) in September 2022 suggests that students perceived learning about these competencies, particularly problem-solving and growth mind-set, as supportive of academic engagement. Relationship skills were perceived to foster relationships and collaboration, while emotional regulation and mindfulness were considered helpful concerning academic-related stress, leading them to experience confidence in their ability to master schoolwork. Furthermore, some students found mindfulness, growth mind-set, and relationship skills somewhat challenging to learn during the intervention. Taken together, findings contribute to knowledge regarding how social-emotional learning can be perceived as helpful for students’ academic engagement.

Socio-emotional skills are critical to life outcomes such as achievement, well-being and job success. However, existing research has mostly focused on the consequences of socio-emotional skills, with less attention devoted to the role of school climate in the deployment of these skills. This study investigated the role of school climate in socio-emotional skills. More specifically, we investigated whether cooperative or competitive school climates are associated with students' socio-emotional skills. Our study utilized data from the OECD Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, collected from 10 cities across nine countries. Participants were 60,985 students, including 31,187 10-year-olds (49.70% females) and 29,798 15-year-olds (51.6% females). We conducted multilevel structural equation modelling to test whether cooperative and competitive climates were associated with socio-emotional skills. These skills include five broad domain skills and 15 more specific skills: task performance (self-control, responsibility and persistence), emotion regulation (stress resistance, emotional control and optimism), collaboration (empathy, trust and cooperation), open-mindedness (tolerance, curiosity and creativity) and engaging with others (sociability, assertiveness and energy). Our findings indicated a positive relationship between a cooperative climate and socio-emotional skills. In contrast, the relationship between a competitive climate and socio-emotional skills was primarily negative. This study highlights the contrasting roles of cooperative and competitive climates in students' socio-emotional skills.

The concept of growth mindset—an individual’s beliefs that basic characteristics such as intelligence are malleable—has gained immense popularity in research, the media, and educational practice. Even though it is assumed that teachers need a growth mindset and that both teachers and their students benefit when teachers adopt a growth mindset, systematic syntheses of the potential advantages of a growth mindset in teachers are lacking. Therefore, in this article, we present the first meta-analysis on teachers’ growth mindset and its relationships with multiple outcomes (50 studies, 81 effect sizes; N = 19,555). Multilevel analyses showed a small effect across outcomes. Statistically significant small-to-typical positive associations between teachers’ growth mindset and their motivation in terms of self-efficacy and mastery goals were observed in subgroup analyses. No statistically significant relationships were found with teachers’ performance-approach goals, teachers’ performance-avoidance goals, teachers’ performance on achievement tests, or student achievement. Teachers’ growth mindset was related to instructional practices in terms of mastery goal structures but unrelated to performance goal structures. Moderator analyses indicated that the dimensionality of the mindset measure (recoded from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset measure vs. assessed as a growth mindset), item referent and content of the mindset measure, publication status (published vs. unpublished), world region, educational level, and study quality influenced the strengths of some of the relationships. Overall, our findings extend knowledge about teachers’ mindset and add to the evidence base on teacher characteristics and their links to relevant outcomes.

Establishing the criterion validity of Zoo U's game-based social emotional skills assessment for school-based outcomes

The aim of the present study was to investigate the multiple roles of social-emotional skills in the educational, psychological, and social outcomes of Chinese primary and secondary students, using an ordinary least squares (OLS) regression method based on the 2019 Survey on Social and Emotional Skills (SSES) data. A two-stage stratified probability sampling design (sampling schools at the first stage and students at the second stage) was administered to gain a representative sample, and the final sample contained 7,141 participants across both 10-year-old and 15-year-old cohorts. The results indicated that task performance, collaboration, and engaging with others are stronger contributors to student educational outcomes than emotional regulation and open-mindedness; that emotional regulation and collaboration are stronger contributors to student psychological outcomes than task performance, open-mindedness, and engaging with others; and that emotional regulation, collaboration, and engaging with others are stronger contributors to student social outcomes than task performance and open-mindedness. Generally, open-mindedness embodied a relatively weaker effect on student educational, psychological, and social outcomes. The findings suggest that social-emotional skills function differently across student educational, psychological, and social outcomes, which may provide some effective guidance to proceed with social-emotional education in Chinese primary and secondary schools.

ObjectivesThe consequences of long-lasting restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic have become a topical question in the latest research. The present study aims to analyze longitudinal changes in adolescents’ social emotional skills, resilience, and behavioral problems. Moreover, the study addresses the impact of adolescents’ social emotional learning on changes in their resilience and behavioral problems over the course of seven months of the pandemic.MethodsThe Time 1 (T1) and Time 2 (T2) measuring points were in October 2020 and May 2021, characterized by high mortality rates and strict restrictions in Europe. For all three countries combined, 512 questionnaires were answered by both adolescents (aged 11-13 and 14-16 years) and their parents. The SSIS-SEL and SDQ student self-report and parent forms were used to evaluate adolescents’ social emotional skills and behavioral problems. The CD-RISC-10 scale was administered to adolescents to measure their self-reported resilience. Several multilevel models were fitted to investigate the changes in adolescents’ social emotional skills, resilience, and behavioral problems, controlling for age and gender. Correlation analysis was carried out to investigate how changes in the adolescents’ social emotional skills were associated with changes in their resilience and mental health adjustment.ResultsComparing T1 and T2 evaluations, adolescents claim they have more behavioral problems, have less social emotional skills, and are less prosocial than perceived by their parents, and this result applies across all countries and age groups. Both informants agree that COVID-19 had a negative impact, reporting an increment in the mean internalizing and externalizing difficulties scores and reductions in social emotional skills, prosocial behavior, and resilience scores. However, these changes are not very conspicuous, and most of them are not significant. Correlation analysis shows that changes in adolescents’ social emotional skills are negatively and significantly related to changes in internalized and externalized problems and positively and significantly related to changes in prosocial behavior and resilience. This implies that adolescents who experienced larger development in social emotional learning also experienced more increase in resilience and prosocial behavior and a decrease in difficulties.ConclusionDue to its longitudinal design, sample size, and multi-informant approach, this study adds to a deeper understanding of the pandemic’s consequences on adolescents’ mental health.