Incremental Beliefs Research Articles

Perceived formative assessment and student motivational beliefs and self-regulation strategies: a multilevel analysis

Based on an integrated theory of formative assessment and self-regulated learning, this study investigated the relationship between students’ perceived formative assessment practices of teachers and their motivational beliefs (self-efficacy and incremental beliefs of ability) and self-regulation strategies (metacognitive self-regulation and adaptive help seeking). Participants were 1,939 secondary school students (nested in 94 classes) from Singapore, who completed an online questionnaire. After controlling for gender, stream, and grade, we conducted a multilevel path analysis to examine the hypothesised relationships at both student and class levels. We found that at the student level, perceived formative assessment was associated positively with self-efficacy, incremental beliefs of ability, metacognitive self-regulation, and adaptive help seeking; at the class level, perceived formative assessment was associated positively with incremental beliefs of ability and adaptive help seeking. The findings highlight the importance of investigating formative assessment as a multilevel construct and its role in developing self-regulated learning of students.

Exploring habits of mind associated with incremental learning theory to explain actions of teachers integrating environmental education

This study was launched after re-analyzing teacher narratives from an earlier study; the narratives were reflections on environmental education practices. The analysis involved using a framework that relates Habits of Mind to educational theories. An unsurprising outcome was finding Habits of Mind associated with mindfulness and constructivism. An unanticipated finding was to learn how incremental learning theory explains why teachers strive to include environmental education in their lessons. Although there has been environmental research related to growth and fixed mindsets, more studies in environmental education are needed to explore how incremental learning theory plays a role in the decisions and actions of exemplary environmental educators. Therefore, to begin this exploration, a new study was conducted using the framework to analyze interviews with ten currently practicing teachers. The findings give insights into the following Habits of Mind associated with incremental beliefs: wonderment and awe, continuous learning, striving for accuracy, risk-taking, and persistence.

Implicit Theories in Relationship with Social Judgments and Aggression Behaviors. Evidence Starting from Carol Dweck's Theoretical Framework

Implicit theories of personality fall under social-cognitive theories and underlie studies that have examined the perspectives, beliefs, and judgments that people make about certain phenomena or behaviors. Although the theoretical model of implicit beliefs was originally categorized as theories about the self, the authors Dweck and Leggett (1988) extended it, applying it to the fild of social judgments about the characteristics of other people. In the present paper we aim to illustrate children's and adolescents' entity and incremental beliefs about aggression. In accordance with this purpose, we conducted a theoretical foray into implicit theories and their implications in the area of ​​social judgments in an attempt to capture how implicit beliefs about aggression are projected into the social interactions of children and adolescents. We believe that our remarks and findings can be important resources for educational factors in the effort to improve the effectiveness of programs to prevent aggressive behaviors and attitudes in children and youth.

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.

The Influence of Juvenile Justice Workers on Delinquent Youths’ Treatment Motivation

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of delinquent youths’ perceptions of juvenile justice system(JJS) workers’ implicit theories of intelligence and achievement goals on youths’ motivation to complete delinquency-reduction treatment programs. Results revealed that delinquent youths’ perceptions of JJS workers’ mastery goals positively influenced their self-efficacy, mastery and performance goals. Additionally, workers’ entity theories of intelligence positively affected youths’ performance goals. Notably, three significant interaction effects emerged between JJS workers’ incremental theories of intelligence and performance goals, influencing youths’ treatment motivation. First, the relationship between JJS workers’ performance goals and delinquent youths’ self-efficacy varied by youths’ perceptions of workers’ incremental beliefs. Second, JJS workers’ incremental beliefs moderated the effect of workers’ performance goals on youths’ mastery goals. Finally, the relationship between youths’ performance goals and workers’ performance goals varied depending upon workers’ endorsement of incremental beliefs.

Specifics of Chinese students’ cognitive orientations in mastering technical disciplines

Introduction. Currently, the leadership of the People’s Republic of China pays special attention to the issues of technical vocational education. The learners from the PRC studying in Russia have specific cognitive orientations in mastering technical disciplines. The aim of the article is studying the specifics of academic resilience in mastering technical sciences by PRC students of Ural Federal University. Materials and methods. The academic resilience of PRC students from Ural Federal University in terms of mastering technical sciences was measured using the ‘Technics Resilience Scale for University Students’ (TRSUS). TRSUS aims to build Feedback literacy and Self-assessment with a view to help a student to pursue technical studies productively. The survey involved 659 students who had a technical science learning experience in one of the educational programmes: “Civil Engineering”, “Architecture”, “Geodesy and Remote Sensing”, “Steam Power Industry and Heat Engineering”, “Water Supply and Drainage”. The students assessed their resilience in technical sciences under a 5-score Likert response scale, with the use of Tencent Questionnaire in English. The statistical processing of measurement results was carried out using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) methodology with the use of SPSS 23.0 and Amos 18.0 software packages. Results. The statistical analysis of results of PRC students from Ural Federal University in terms of measuring resilience in technical sciences under the TRSUS scale showed that the wording of the questions was adequate to the measurement context. The primacy of students’ incremental beliefs/goals towards improving the efficiency of learning activities was revealed. A strong correlation between students’ answers with the TRSUS questions was found. Cronbachs alpha was equal to 0.977, which is evident of high internal consistency of students’ answers. The structural model of confirmatory factor analysis of TRSUS data including four indicators (factors) – “Persistence”, “Perceived Value”, “Cognitive Complexity” and “Incremental Beliefs” – has the best source data fitting criteria. The method of exploratory factor analysis of TRSUS data revealed the specificity of cognitive orientations of PRC students from Ural Federal University: the choice of educational programme influences most prominently the indicator “Perceived Value”, which is explained by the peculiarities of Chinese technological culture. Conclusion. An original methodology for measuring university students’ academic resilience in technical sciences – ‘Technics Resilience Scale for University Students’ (TRSUS) – is presented. The use of TRSUS makes it possible to determine the specifics of students’ cognitive orientations in mastering technical disciplines and to form their competent feedback and self-assessment for efficient continuation of education.

How to Regain Green Consumer Trust after Greenwashing: Experimental Evidence from China

Greenwashing leads to consumer skepticism of all green products as well as doubts about company claims regarding sustainability. However, the understanding of how to regain green consumer trust after greenwashing is rather limited. The authors fill this gap by exploring the psychological process of green consumers following intervention strategies designed to reduce greenwashing. We collect and interpret quantitative data from two psychological experiments, the first experiment identified two types of intervention strategies that serve to counter the negative impact of greenwashing and based on our findings from the first studies, we proposed and tested the moderating effect of two factors—implicit beliefs of consumers and companies who implement intervention strategies after greenwashing. The results indicate that distrust regulation (quantifying a product’s green attributes) and trustworthiness demonstration (visualizing environmental behaviors) are effective intervention strategies that can enable consumers to re-evaluate the cost-benefit of green products, and which may serve as critical psychological factors for green consumers and contribute to the degree of trust. Validation and comparative study of the derived results show that distrust regulation, followed by trustworthiness demonstration, has the best effect on increasing green trust after intervention. If the sequence is reversed, the effect of the intervention strategy is worse than if only one strategy had been applied. The implicit beliefs of green consumers play a moderating role between intervention strategies and reconsideration of the cost-benefit of green products. The behavior of genuinely green companies and the incremental beliefs of consumers can promote the intervention effect after greenwashing. Alternatively, the behavior of greenwashing companies can easily counter these effects. These findings contribute to knowledge about which psychological factors can promote or hinder the effectiveness of an intervention.

Practicing drum on VR to promote rhythm performance: Exploring the learning progress related to incremental belief of rhythm, gameplay anxiety, flow experience, and perceived learning value

Virtual technology in teaching can enrich the content and bring more possibilities. The present study used a virtual reality system named “Jazz-Drum-VR” which embedded a function to analyze learners' performance of simulating jazz drumming. The system enabled learners to know their mistakes and correct them based on its spontaneous feedback to promote the effectiveness of their rhythm learning. To understand whether this game could effectively enhance students' rhythm performance, this study adopted the cognitive-affective theory of multimedia to explore the relationship between students' gameplay anxiety, flow experience, and learning effectiveness when playing “Jazz-Drum-VR.” Using purposive sampling, students in a high school were invited to take part in a quasi-experimental single-group time serial study involving five sessions over a period of 4 weeks. A total of 67 useful data were collected after Jazz-Drum-VR practices, and confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling analysis were performed. Results revealed that rhythm incremental beliefs can negatively predict gameplay anxiety and positively predict flow experience; flow experience can positively predict perceived learning value and learning effectiveness; and perceived learning value can positively predict learning progress. The results implied that practicing Jazz-Drum-VR could significantly promote rhythm accuracy.

The Effects of Implicit Theories on Body Weight Information Avoidance.

Regular self-weighing is associated with more effective weight control, yet many individuals avoid weight-related information. Implicit theories about weight, or perceptions of how malleable weight is, predict more effortful weight management and may also influence weight-related information avoidance. Participants (N = 209) were randomly assigned to read an article stressing an incremental theory of weight (i.e., weight is malleable), an article stressing an entity theory (i.e., weight is fixed), or to a control condition. We then examined their self-reported preference to avoid their body composition (i.e., body fat, weight, and muscle composition), their willingness to have their body composition measured during the lab visit, and their eating and exercise intentions. There were no notable differences across conditions, but higher self-reported incremental beliefs predicted less self-reported avoidance of body composition. The findings suggest that implicit theories may influence weight-related information avoidance, but a brief manipulation is not powerful enough to create meaningful change.

Primary school teachers' emotions, implicit beliefs, andself-efficacy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, primary school teachers faced many challenges when providing online and hybrid teaching, especially in PE classes. This study aimed to analyze emotions, self-perceived instructional competence, and incremental beliefs during the first lockdown, in distance education instructional delivery, and, as the pandemic emergency persisted, in hybrid teaching. One hundred and four primary school teachers (Males = 7; Females = 97; Mage = 53.24; SDage = 7.34) were involved in the study from four Italian Primary Schools. Participants filled in the Motivation, Emotion, Strategies, and Teaching questionnaire (MESI) ( 1) administered in an online survey. Results showed that younger teachers had significantly lower scores in negative emotions when they taught than the older ones. On the other hand, older teachers have more belief in their own abilities to improve teaching, unlike younger teachers. Multivariate regression analysis indicated that teachers' positive emotions experienced in teaching predict perceived instructional efficacy during distance learning. Furthermore, teachers' positive emotions experienced in teaching and in the role of teacher predict teachers' changes in PE teaching during distance learning. Incremental beliefs predict perceived instructional efficacy during distance learning. Efforts on pre-service and in-service teacher training programs could help teachers strengthen emotional competencies and manage their stress in the classroom, both in normal educational contexts and in adverse conditions.

The Relationship between Students’ Incremental Beliefs of Digital Intelligence and Behavioral Engagement in Learning Management System Courses

While the Learning Management System (LMS) has been recognized as a key e-learning platform, there is no clear picture of the factors contributing to learners’ engagement in LMS courses in literature. This study aimed at exploring the relationship between students’ incremental beliefs of digital intelligence and behavioral engagement in LMS courses with achievement goal orientation as a mediator. The participants were 176 undergraduate students in a Vietnamese university. Implicit theory of intelligence and academic achievement goals theory were used to develop the research model. A Structural Equation Model (SEM) was applied to examine the relationship between students’ incremental beliefs of digital intelligence and the selected variables. Results showed that students’ incremental beliefs of digital intelligence were positively linked to four types of achievement goals: mastery-approach, mastery-avoidance, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goals. Moreover, except for mastery-avoidance goals, the other three types were positively linked to behavioral engagement in LMS courses. The findings suggest that instructors’ encouragement can foster students’ incremental belief in digital intelligence and achievement goals. Furthermore, to promote students’ learning engagement, various approaches can be utilized to motivate students to appropriately combine different types of achievement goals.

Achievement motivation and grit’s perseverance of effort among collegiate athletes

ABSTRACT Grit has almost exclusively been examined in relation to performance success. Achievement motivation theory (AMT) provides a framework to start examining psychosocial factors that may be associated with promoting grit. Thus, we examined the direct and indirect relationships from athletes’ perceived motivational climate, implicit beliefs, and goal orientations to their grit levels. Collegiate student-athletes (N = 523; 47% men) completed self-report measures assessing these constructs. Through multilevel modelling, grit’s perseverance of effort varied minimally at the team level and was only predicted by individuals’ task orientation and incremental beliefs. Structural equation modelling supported our hypothesised, most parsimonious model with the direct and indirect relationships of a task-involving climate through athletes’ incremental beliefs and task orientation explained 65% of their perseverance of effort scores. Perceptions of an ego-involving climate were related to athletes’ entity beliefs and ego orientation; these three constructs were not significantly related to our grit outcome. Our findings suggest AMT may be useful to understand how athletes develop the ability to persevere over time. Practically, our results suggest the greater athletes’ grit levels, as represented by perseverance of effort, the more likely they are to have task orientation and incremental beliefs, which can be promoted by a task-involving climate.

초등학생의 형성적 피드백 인식, 지능에 대한 신념, 평가에 대한 태도, 행동의도 및 수업참여 간의 구조적 관계 분석

The aims of this study was to explore the structural relationships among students’ attitudes toward assessment(SATA), the incremental belief of intelligence, the perceived teachers’ formative feedback, behavioral intention, and classroom engagement in either formative or summative assessment situations. In the study the multi-level SEM approach was used to identify the structural relationships among the SATA and its related variables using Mplus. The findings revealed that incremental belief of intelligence and formative feedback had a statistically significant positive effect on expectancy and value and an indirect effect on learners’ participation through value, positive affect, and behavioral intention. Specifically, formative feedback had a positive direct effect on behavioral intention and learners’ participation. The educational implications based on the results of this study are as follows. First, teachers’ formative feedback and students’ incremental beliefs of intelligence are variables with a positive influence on SATA. Second, students ascribe a greater value to and have better expectations from summative assessment rather than formative assessment. They consider summative assessment results to be more important. Although the mean of value and expectation in formative assessment was low, value showed the greatest positive effect on positive affect while expectation reduced negative affect in formative assessment. Therefore, to help improve students’ learning, the role of formative assessment is important. There is a need to emphasize that teachers should use student-centered assessment to consider students’ individual differences in learning and enhance students’ learning by providing formative feedback.

Incremental beliefs and public attitudes toward restorative justice: the cases of sexual, violent and property offenses

Restorative justice (RJ) is oriented to respond to crime in ways that would repair individual, relational, and social harm. This study examined the relationship between type of offense and public attitudes toward RJ, in addition to the psychological mechanisms undergirding this relationship. We examined a model of three offense types (sexual, violent, and property) and their differential effect on support for RJ. Moreover, we examined whether this relationship was mediated by incremental beliefs, i.e., that human character is malleable. We also explored two control variables previously found predictive of attitudes toward punishment: perceived seriousness of the offense and fear of crime. Participants (N = 608) read a definition of one offense and completed a survey regarding incremental beliefs, fear of crime, perceived seriousness of the offense, and support for RJ. The findings indicated main effects of offense type on attitudes toward RJ. Additionally, differences between offense types were found in incremental beliefs and attitudes toward RJ, such that for both variables, sexual offenses were rated the lowest followed by violent and property offenses. An indirect effect of offense type on attitudes toward RJ through incremental beliefs was also found, but not through fear of crime or perceived seriousness.

Self and Professors’ Incremental Beliefs as Predictors of STEM Engagement Among Undergraduate Students

Self and Professors’ Incremental Beliefs as Predictors of STEM Engagement Among Undergraduate Students

Implicit theories in driving: Scale development, validation, and predictive role on violations and driving self-efficacy

Implicit theories focus on how ability may be perceived by individuals. There are two main beliefs: entity beliefs (i.e., driving ability is a gift) and incremental beliefs (i.e., driving ability is improvable through effort). Implicit theories have been studied in various domains (e.g., education, sport), but never in driving, even though they could improve the knowledge of drivers’ psychological characteristics. The first objective of the present study was to develop and validate a questionnaire measuring implicit theories in driving. The second objective was to assess the predictive role of implicit theories on violations and driving self-efficacy, and the moderating role of gender. In study 1, confirmatory factor analysis, analyses of gender invariance, and concurrent validity were assessed to validate the questionnaire named Implicit Theories in Driving Questionnaire (ITDQ). In study 2, the predictive role of implicit theories on violations and driving self-efficacy was evaluated using multiple regression analyses. Moderation analyses evaluated the moderating role of gender on the relationships between implicit theories and violations, along with driving self-efficacy. The ITDQ showed acceptable psychometric properties. The results highlighted that entity beliefs positively predicted aggressive violations and negatively predicted driving self-efficacy. Conversely, incremental beliefs negatively predicted ordinary violations and positively predicted driving self-efficacy. The ITDQ is a valid scale now available for assessing implicit theories in driving, that have been shown to influence self-reported driving behavior. Future research on implicit theories in driving may help to better understand the psychological characteristics of at-risk drivers and improve driver’s training, to reduce the number of road accidents.

One size does not fit all: Implicit theories of body weight and body mass index interact to predict body image disturbances

AbstractImplicit theories of body weight (ITBW) have predicted successful weight loss efforts, such that incremental beliefs (body weight is malleable) lead to more success and resilience in the face of setbacks than entity beliefs (body weight is unchangeable). But, less is known about how ITBW is related to body image. Two studies tested how ITBW (measured in Study 1, manipulated in Study 2) interacts with body mass index (BMI) to predict body shame, body surveillance, and disordered eating in undergraduate samples (Study 1 N = 296, Study 2 N = 363). We saw evidence that for participants with higher BMIs, an incremental theory of body weight predicted less body shame, surveillance, and disordered eating compared to an entity theory of body weight. But, for participants with lower BMIs, we saw some evidence that an incremental theory of body weight can actually be harmful and increase disordered eating attitudes or a desire to change body weight.

Shifting Beliefs in Computer Science: Change in CS Student Mindsets

Two studies investigated change in computer science (CS) students’ implicit intelligence beliefs. Across both studies, we found that the strength of incremental and entity beliefs changed across time. In Study 1, we found that incremental beliefs decreased and entity beliefs increased across the semester. Change in implicit intelligence beliefs was similar for students taking introductory and upper-division courses. In Study 2, growth curve analysis revealed a small linear change in incremental beliefs across time but no change in entity beliefs—these trends were similar for students enrolled in introductory and upper-division CS courses. Across both studies, change in implicit intelligence beliefs was not associated with academic achievement in CS. Findings provide preliminary evidence that shifts in implicit intelligence beliefs occur as students progress through the CS curriculum. Finally, findings support that mindset interventions may be more effective if delivered at the beginning of the semester before shifts in beliefs occur.

“Character Is the Most Important Thing in Soccer”—A Pilot Study on the Development and Effectiveness of a Character Building Program in High-Performance Youth Soccer

Background: Strength of character plays an important role in high-performance soccer. Yet little attention is paid to the character development of young athletes in most youth programs. Objective: The purpose of this pilot study was to describe the development of a new character building program and to evaluate its effectiveness on strength of character domains and implicit theories of intelligence and talent in a high-performance youth soccer club in Germany. Methods: A pre-post mixed-methods pilot study was conducted with 42 youth players. The intervention group (n = 14) was compared with a club-internal control group (n = 14) and one control group from an amateur soccer club setting (n = 14). The Implicit Theories of Intelligence Scale was used to measure the player’s incremental beliefs about intelligence and talent and a new designed questionnaire was used to measure the strength of character. The quantitative analysis included Mann-Whitney-U and Wilcoxon tests. For the qualitative analysis, essays of the intervention group were thematically coded. Results: At baseline, the implicit theories of talent scores and the strength of character scores were higher in the intervention group compared with the amateur club players, whereas implicit theories of intelligence scores were non-significant. In the intervention group, scores on implicit theories of intelligence (p = 0.003) and strength of character (p = 0.004) were significantly higher at the end of the program compared with baseline. Conclusions: The character building intervention increased the incremental beliefs about intelligence and the strength of character in the young players of a high performance youth soccer club. These results are an important first contribution regarding the development and integration of character building in the context of professional youth soccer.

How beliefs about weight malleability and risk perceptions for obesity influence parents' information seeking and feeding.

This study surveyed 185 parents to determine whether their perceived risk of their child developing obesity and their implicit theories about the malleability of weight independently and/or interactively predict their child-feeding and pursuit of child-related obesity risk information. Higher risk perceptions were associated with healthier feeding intentions and more information seeking. More incremental (malleable) beliefs predicted healthier feeding intentions and greater pursuit of environmental, but not genetic, information. Contrary to hypotheses, the influence of implicit theories and risk perceptions were primarily independent; however, more incremental beliefs predicted less "junk food" feeding among only parents with lower perceived risk.