Implicit Theories Research Articles

Lay theories of place effects

AbstractCombining research in political geography and social psychology, this article investigates lay theories of “place effects”—that is, ordinary citizens' beliefs about the effects that urban or rural places have on the individuals who live in them. We do so using a novel survey vignette embedded in a large‐scale survey of the Canadian public. Our results suggest that (1) citizens see rural identities as less malleable than urban identities, (2) lay theories of place effects depend on citizens' own place identities, and (3) lay theories of place effects are stronger for nonpolitical than for political place‐based characteristics. We also find that lay theories of place effects are associated with individual‐level characteristics that are connected to cosmopolitan‐communitarian divides, such as ideology and postsecondary education. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our findings for the growing literature on urban–rural divides and for research on citizens' implicit theories of places and their political consequences.

PhyLab - a virtual reality laboratory for experiments in physics: a pilot study on intervention effectiveness and gender differences.

New technologies have great potential to facilitate students' understanding and appreciation of one of the most abstract and challenging school subjects - physics. This study aimed to examine the effects of a game-based virtual reality teaching method on secondary school students' self-beliefs, interest, and performance in physics through a quasi-experimental design using pre- and post-test data. The evaluation is based on the systemic actiotope model that explains a person's goal-oriented actions by an interplay of their environment, action repertoire (i.e., students' performance and interest in physics), and subjective action space (i.e., students' self-efficacy, self-concept, and implicit theories regarding physics). A game-based virtual reality App to be used with Google cardboards was developed containing 10 teaching units from the secondary school physics class curriculum. Participants in the control group were taught using traditional teaching methods, while students in the experimental group went through the VR with the teacher and conducted the prepared VR experiments in addition to the traditionally presented content. Three tests measured students' physics performance during the semester. In addition, students answered questionnaires assessing their interest, self-efficacy, self-concept, and entity implicit theories regarding physics before and after the intervention, resulting in a Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design. There were no significant differences between the control and experimental group in test scores on the first and second tests but compared to the control group, the experimental group achieved higher scores on the third test. In addition, the results indicate differential effects of the game-based virtual reality teaching method on students' interest and self-efficacy regarding physics to the advantage of students identifying as male, but no effects on students' self-concept, and entity implicit theories regarding physics. The results of our pilot study suggest that incorporating innovative didactic methods into secondary school physics classes could potentially contribute to higher performance in and motivation for physics during this crucial period of adolescence when students develop educational and career aspirations. However, game-based virtual reality teaching methods seem to favor students identifying as male, which should be considered in their development and presentation. Other practical implications for practitioners and researchers are discussed.

Do you believe Red Bull gives wings? When implicit theories of creativity impair creative performance

Everyone seems to have something to say about creativity, thus participating in the reproduction of persistent myths about creativity that may influence creative behaviour. This research explores the influence of Laypeople's Implicit Theories of Creativity (LIToCs) regarding the drivers of creativity on creative performance, to ascertain whether having strong convictions about the drivers of creativity either enhances or hinders creative productivity when these convictions align with the actual methods of stimulating creativity. An experiment randomly involved 69 subjects who were invited to drink the exact same fruit juice before performing a creative task. In one condition, they were told this was indeed juice; in the other condition, they were told that it was mixed with Red Bull. Analyses showed an interaction effect with the subjects' LIToC, such that among subjects displaying strong LIToC, individual creative performance was lower when they perceived the conditions to stimulate creativity were activated, than otherwise. These results suggest that having strong beliefs in the effects of some creativity drivers might then trigger a complacent attitude and reduce the invested effort in generating creative ideas. This research contributes to rethinking how we use specific drivers to stimulate creativity, as strong LIToCs about those drivers may have a counterproductive effect on creative performance.

An implicit measure of growth mindset uniquely predicts post-failure learning behavior

Research on implicit theories of intelligence (a.k.a. intelligence mindset) has shown that endorsing a stronger growth mindset (the belief that intelligence can be improved) is adaptive in the face of difficulties. Although the theory presumes implicit processes (i.e., unaware beliefs, guiding behaviors and actions automatically), the concept is typically assessed with self-reports. In this project we brought together research on intelligence mindset with research on implicit social cognition. Harnessing recent innovations from research on implicit measures, we assessed intelligence mindsets on an implicit level with a mousetracking Propositional Evaluation Paradigm. This measure captures the spontaneous truth evaluation of growth- and fixed-mindset statements to tap into implicit beliefs. In two preregistered laboratory studies (N = 184; N = 193), we found that implicitly measured growth mindsets predicted learning engagement after an experience of failure above and beyond the explicitly measured growth mindset. Our results suggest that implicit and explicit aspects of intelligence mindsets must be differentiated. People might be in a different mindset when making learning-related decisions under optimal conditions (i.e., with ample time and capacity) or under suboptimal conditions (i.e., when time pressure is high). This advancement in the understanding of implicit theories of intelligence is accompanied with substantial implications for theory and practice.

Cultural Values as Moderators of the Relationship between Destructive Leadership and Followers’ Job Satisfaction

Prior organizational research has shown that destructive leadership adversely affects followers’ job satisfaction. However, we still have an incomplete understanding of why the strength of this relationship varies across contexts. In this study, we leverage implicit leadership theory to explain why cross-national differences in cultural values moderate this relationship. First, drawing on implicit leadership theory, we develop theory-based predictions about why the cultural value dimensions from the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) study explain differences in the strength of this relationship across countries. Then, we aggregate findings from 51 primary studies ( k = 51, N = 16,870) conducted across 12 countries to test our hypotheses. Our results indicate that the negative relationship between destructive leadership and job satisfaction weakens in magnitude as uncertainty avoidance, future orientation, power distance, and assertiveness values increase. Conversely, the negative relationship between destructive leadership and job satisfaction strengthens in magnitude as institutional collectivism, in-group collectivism, humane orientation, performance orientation, and gender egalitarianism values increase. We also demonstrate the independent, relative, and collective predictive validity of GLOBE’s cultural values as moderators of the relationship between destructive leadership and followers’ job satisfaction. Collectively, our findings (1) indicate that cross-national differences exist in the relationship between destructive leadership and followers’ job satisfaction and (2) highlight the need to consider destructive leadership in light of the broader cultural context in which it is being examined.

An exploratory study of the relation between teachers’ implicit theories and teacher noticing

An exploratory study of the relation between teachers’ implicit theories and teacher noticing

Growth mindset and positive work reflection for affective well-being: a three-way interaction model

The affective well-being of employees is significant in today’s fast-paced lifestyle in the post-pandemic era, as it results in many benefits, including work-related and health-related benefits. It is known that the positive reflection of work predicts the affective well-being of employees. However, the optimal ways of strengthening the relationship between these variables in contemporary working conditions are yet to be explored. Drawing on border theory and implicit theories, this research analyzes the role of work contact and growth mindset in the relationship between positive work reflection and affective well-being. In addition, this study proposes a three-way interaction among positive work reflection, work contact, and growth mindset in predicting the affective well-being of employees. Responses were collected from employees working in IT firms. After screening, 309 valid samples were obtained. From the analysis, it was found that a higher level of work contact moderates the relationship between positive work reflection and the affective well-being of employees with a growth mindset. Alternatively, a medium level of work contact moderates the above relationship for both types of mindset (growth and fixed mindset) among employees.

The impact of parents’ implicit theories of intelligence on young children’s approaches to learning: The serial-mediating roles of children’s achievement motivations and goal orientations

The impact of parents’ implicit theories of intelligence on young children’s approaches to learning: The serial-mediating roles of children’s achievement motivations and goal orientations

Stable destabilising? Rethinking images of temporality

This article explores our sense of stability and instability. For example, is contemporary life governed by uncertainty, fluidity and sociotechnical acceleration, or do relative stability or inertia still represent the predominant experience in many domains? In particular, can stabilities and instabilities represent symbiotic processes, the one interwoven with the other? Furthermore, are theories conventionally treated as antagonistic more intimately related than we tend to consider, such as those favouring historical sedimentation over performativity and the assembly of the ‘new’? In comparing stabilisation and destabilisation, the article considers divergent theses of temporality, such as acceleration and refeudalisation, and the way that social theory appears peppered with images of stability and instability. To explore the symbiosis between stabilising and destabilising processes, it considers the social science disciplines of economics and accounting. In so doing, it addresses debate surrounding critical realism, historical sedimentation, governmentality and performativity, with attention to the argument of Abbott, Bourdieu, Callon, Elias, Neckel and Rosa. It also examines micro–macro relations, and the implicit theories of the self that inform the macroanalytical portrayal of stabilisation and destabilisation. Rather than seeing stability and instability as ‘opposites’, it argues that we should be open to the possibility that they may often be closely interrelated.

The effect of implicit theories of human beauty and perceived pressure on cosmetic consumption.

The effect of implicit theories of human beauty and perceived pressure on cosmetic consumption.

A study on Taiwan's vocational senior high school teachers' teaching identity and teaching transformation when facing a new competency-based curriculum.

The competency of education is advocated in the 2023 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. UNESCO encourages countries to provide inclusive, equitable, competency education and lifelong learning opportunities for all. Starting from 2019, 12-Year-Basic-Education, a new curriculum, was fully implemented in Taiwan to conform to the competency education strategy. For the teachers on site, teachers' understanding of the new curriculum and teaching practice has a direct impact on the competency of the implementation of this new policy. The main purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between vocational senior high school teachers' competency-oriented teaching, teaching identity and teaching transformation regarding this new curriculum. In order to effectively expand teachers' understanding of competency-oriented teaching identity, this study put forward 6 hypothetical approaches based on the implicit theory of teaching transformation. The 747 valid questionnaires accounted for 97.1% of the total recovered questionnaires. The reliability and validity analyses, as well as overall model fitting analysis and research model validation were performed on these valid questionnaires. The results of the study showed: (1) With the background of Competency-oriented teaching, teachers' teaching attitude and teaching willingness has a positive impact on teaching identity; (2) teachers' teaching identity has a positive impact on teaching preparation, teaching practice, further study, three types of teaching transformation. In summary, three conclusions from this study were concluded on the aspects of teaching preparation, teaching practice and further study on practical competency-oriented teaching, teaching identity and teaching transformation in the educational field. Three conclusions were derived for the relationships among these six constructs: (1) Teachers with a "good attitude" and "strong willingness" to teach, a "high sense of identification" acceptance and full implement of "teaching preparation" are considered as teachers with a "foresight and a visionary predictive style"; (2) Teachers with a high sense of self-awareness who can fully practice "teaching practice" are teachers with a "pragmatic teaching by example style"; (3) Teachers with a "good attitude," a "strong willingness" to teach, a "high sense of identification" acceptance and who are able to fully practice "advanced research" are considered as teachers with an "empowerment-enhancing coaching style".

A systematic review of theories, models and frameworks used for youth engagement in health research.

Youth engagement in research, wherein youth are involved in the research beyond mere participation as human subjects, is growing and becoming more popular as an approach to research. However, systematic and deliberate theory-building has been limited. We conducted a systematic review to identify and synthesize theories, models and frameworks that have been applied in the engagement of youth in health research, including mental health. Six academic databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL) and the grey literature were searched for relevant studies. Citation tracking was conducted through ancestry and descendancy searches. The final search was completed on 7 February2023. Findings were summarized in a narrative synthesis informed by principles of hermeneutic analysis and interpretation. Reporting of results is in accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) 2020 Statement. Of the 1156 records identified, 16 papers were included, from which we extracted named theories (n = 6), implicit theories (n = 5) and models and frameworks (n = 20) used for youth engagement in health research. We identified theories that were explicitly stated and surfaced theories that were more implicitly suggested. Models and frameworks were organized into four categories based on their principal features: power-focused (n = 8), process-focused (n = 7), impact-focused (n = 3) and equity-focused (n = 2). Few frameworks (n = 5) were empirically tested in health-related research. The state of theoretical development in youth engagement in research is still evolving. In this systematic review, we identified theories, models and frameworks used for youth engagement in health research. Findings from this systematic review offer a range of resources to those who seek to develop and strengthen youth engagement in their own research. Youth engaged as patients in the research were not involved in planning or conducting the systematic review. However, youth researchers in their early to mid-20s led the planning, implementation and interpretation of the review. As part of subsequent work, we formed a youth advisory board to develop a youth-led knowledge mobilization intended for an audience of youth with lived experience of being engaged as patients in research.

An implicit leadership theory examination of cultural values as moderators of the relationship between destructive leadership and followers’ task performance

Destructive leadership and its effects on followers all over the world have been emphasized in cross-cultural research in recent years. Despite continued scholarly and practitioner interest in both destructive leadership and job performance due to its implications for cross-cultural research, we have an incomplete understanding of the impact of cultural context on the relationship between destructive leadership and followers’ task performance. We advance international business research by building and testing implicit leadership theory predictions about the impact of country-level cultural values as moderators of the relationship between destructive leadership and followers’ task performance. We test our hypotheses and research question with a meta-analytic dataset that includes respondents from 12 countries (k = 72, N = 20,878). Our results demonstrate that several of the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) framework’s cultural value dimensions moderate the relationship between destructive leadership and followers’ task performance across countries. The findings are driven by the strong predictive validity of the performance orientation, in-group collectivism, gender egalitarianism, and humane orientation cultural value dimensions. Our contributions are important because we generate nuanced knowledge about the independent, relative, and collective predictive validity of cultural values in explaining the strength of the relationship between destructive leadership and followers’ task performance across countries.

Followership in British Christian churches: A comparative study

AbstractEmerging research on followership has overwhelmingly been focused on for‐profit organizations. This research investigates four British congregations from different Christian denominations to explore how differing contexts shape the understanding of followership in nonprofit organizations. Using implicit followership theory, we analyze the value sets deriving from theological‐ideological, institutional, and local contexts and explore informants' perceptions of ideal followership attributes. By conducting 26 semi‐structured interviews with three different types of actors, we found that church members found themselves in a dialectic relationship between institutional norms and local settings, which shape the way followership is perceived. In terms of follower attributes, we identified faith‐related and ethical as well as relational attributes to be prevalent. With this research, we advance current understandings of how effective leader‐follower relationships in nonprofit organizations can be formed highlighting the importance of differing contexts for perceiving the role of followers.

The impact of future self‐continuity on college students' online learning engagement: A moderated mediation model

AbstractOnline learning is becoming more and more common, so how to maintain learners' online learning engagement is very important. This study aims to explore the impact of future self‐continuity on college students' online learning engagement and its underlying mechanism of action. We utilized the Future Self‐Continuity Questionnaire, the Learning Self‐regulation Questionnaire, the Implicit Theories of Intelligence Scale, and the Online Learning Engagement Scale to measure the corresponding variables of a sample with 476 college students. The results revealed that future self‐continuity, autonomous motivation, and implicit theories of intelligence were significant positive predictors of student's online learning engagement. The positive association between future self‐continuity and student's online learning engagement was mediated by the autonomous motivation. Moreover, the mediating effect of autonomous motivation was moderated by the implicit theories of intelligence. Relation to the individual endorsing entity theorists, the mediating effect of autonomous motivation was stronger for individual holding increment theorists. Future self‐continuity has an impact on college students' online learning engagement levels directly or indirectly through autonomous motivation. Attention should be paid to the cultivation training of learners' future scenario imagination and autonomous motivation to facilitate their maintenance of focused online learning engagement.

Examining Students’ Perceptions of Giftedness, Need for Cognition, and Goal Orientations

We employed a mixed methods research design using survey data to examine gifted students’ perceptions of implicit theories of intelligence, giftedness, need for cognition, and goal orientations. Eighty-one gifted middle-school students completed the Mindset Assessment Profile (MAP) plus open-ended questions concerning giftedness, expectations, challenges, and personal goals. Results indicated that giftedness and intelligence were viewed as somewhat related ( r = .19, r = .31), but gifted students also perceived giftedness as less malleable than intelligence ( g = −.39) on some MAP items. Many perceived both intelligence and giftedness as malleable constructs that could develop through effort and opportunity. The majority expressed preference for making a good grade rather than being challenged, though many also reported a need for cognition, supported by participation in gifted programming. Participants not only provided positive connotations of giftedness, understanding its connection to challenging curricular opportunities, but also conveyed limited descriptors of giftedness such as “being smart,” providing a need to communicate domain-specific giftedness from a talent development perspective.

Implicit Theories on Teaching, Learning, and Evaluating Flamenco Dance in the Classroom: Demographic Comparison of Spain and Japan

Flamenco dance is present not just in many regions of Spain but also throughout the world, including places as far as Japan. These diverse teaching contexts have led to disparate studies on flamenco teaching and learning processes. However, most of these studies differ from general theories of education; for example, there is no record of studies of flamenco applying implicit learning theories. Much like music and physical education, flamenco dance entails a type of procedural learning that can be based on different theories depending on whether the focus is on learning, teaching or educational evaluation. This study aims to disclose the presence of implicit theories (direct, interpretive and constructive) in these processes, and determine Spanish and Japanese dancers’ educational preferences in the classroom in connection with these theories, while exploring geographical and demographic characteristics. The results show that the situations extracted from the theories are present in the classroom, and that there is a clear connection between the country where dancers train professionally, and their age and gender. There are statistically significant differences that reveal the importance of the country with respect to the latter two characteristics. Overall, participants preferred constructivist situations. Given these results, more research should be carried out in this field. Keywords: teaching and learning processes, implicit learning theories, flamenco, teaching contexts, evaluation

Implicit and social learning theory: an explanation of why experienced medical representatives have higher engagement and performance

Implicit and social learning theory: an explanation of why experienced medical representatives have higher engagement and performance

Hot topics and frontier evolution of growth-mindset research: a bibliometric analysis using CiteSpace.

By virtue of CiteSpace, this study aims to evaluate and pinpoint the status, hot areas, and frontiers of growth-mindset research. Co-authorship analysis, co-citation analysis, co-occurrence analysis, cluster analysis, and content analysis are conducted, based on 543 articles selected from the Social Sciences Citation Index database. Researchers from Australia and countries/territories in North America, East Asia, and Western Europe have maintained relatively closer cooperation with each other. Carol S. Dweck, Jeni L. Burnette, David S. Yeager, and Mary Murphy have high publication volumes and close connections with each other. Angela Duckworth has acted as a bridge among many researchers. Highly co-cited literature has mainly focused on the impacts of mindset and intervention measures. In the past two decades, the literature on mindset research has plunged into numerous hot topics in terms of implicit theory, intelligence, motivation, beliefs, achievements, academic performance, students, transitions, and psychological intervention. Based on burst detection, the field of growth-mindset research shows the following trends: (1) future research must pay more attention to fidelity in intervention studies, conduct rigorous manipulation tests at the statistical level, and improve causal relationship models between growth mindset and other variables and (2) use a multidisciplinary perspective to provide a deeper explanation of the formation mechanism of the growth mindset. Finally, (3) the function mechanisms of the growth mindset in different cultural backgrounds should be strengthened.

Satisfaction of basic needs mediates relationships between incremental mindsets and well-being.

Research on the extent to which people believe that people can change (incremental beliefs) suggests that incrementalist beliefs are positively related to well-being, whereas entity beliefs (people cannot change) are not. One explanation for this relationship is that incremental beliefs are associated with a mastery orientation, whereas entity beliefs are not. If this is the case, then autonomous and competence motives should mediate relationships between incrementalism and well-being because these motives reflect different aspects of mastery. The present study examined the possibility that autonomous and competence motives mediate relationships between self-theories and well-being. Participants were adult community members (n = 428) who completed the Life Engagement Test (eudaimonic well-being), the Satisfaction with life Scale (hedonic well-being), the Mental Health Continuum Scale (eudaimonic, subjective, and psychological well-being), the Basic Needs Satisfaction scale (autonomy, competence, relatedness), and a measure of implicit theories of the self (incremental and entity beliefs). Regression analyses found that incremental beliefs were significantly related (positively) to all three measures of well-being, whereas entity beliefs were not significantly related to well-being. Regression analyses also found that incremental beliefs were positively related to satisfaction of autonomy and competence needs but were not related to satisfaction of relatedness needs. Entity beliefs were not related to the satisfaction of any of the three basic needs. A series of mediational analyses found that competence and autonomy motives mediated relationships between incremental beliefs and all three measures of well-being. In all but one case, satisfaction with life, the direct effects of incremental beliefs on well-being were rendered non-significant when satisfaction of autonomy and competence needs were included as mediators. The present results confirm and extend to the general domain the supposition that a mastery orientation is responsible for relationships between well-being and incremental theories of the self. They also conform the importance of the tenants of Self-Determination Theory in understanding self-theories.