Mindset Condition Research Articles

The Link between Abstract Thinking Style and Subjective Well-Being: Its Impact when People are in (Real or Perceived) Financial Scarcity.

Across three studies, we explored the link between an abstract mindset and subjective well-being (SWB) in participants with real and/or perceived financial scarcity. In Studies 1 and 2, samples presented real objective financial vulnerability: Adolescents from lower-middle income districts (Study 1; N = 256), and adults without higher education and with very low incomes (Study 2; N = 210). In Studies 1 and 2 participants completed a survey including measures of thinking style and SWB. In Studies 2 and 3 perception of financial difficulty and SWB were also measured. Study 3 (N = 161) used a sample of university students and employed an experimental design manipulating participants' thinking style (i.e., concrete versus abstract mindset conditions); additionally, all participants were induced to perceive financial scarcity. Correlations revealed a significant and positive relationship between an abstract thinking style and SWB (Studies 1 and 2). Thus, these results showed that a relatively more abstract thinking style was associated with greater life satisfaction. In Studies 2 and 3 mediation analyses indicated that adults who presented a more abstract thinking style, perceived lower financial difficulties and then reported greater SWB. Overall, given that an abstract thinking style can be induced, these results offer a new intervention approach for improving the SWB of people living in situations of financial scarcity.

A stress mindset manipulation can affect speakers’ articulation rate

ABSTRACT Background and Objective Mindsets about stress can be altered so that people interpret stress as either a positive or negative force. We exposed participants to a stress mindset intervention to test its effects on a challenging speech production task. Design and Method Participants (N = 60) were randomly assigned to a stress mindset condition. In the stress-is-enhancing (SIE) condition, they viewed a brief video that characterized stress as a positive force that benefits performance. In the stress-is-debilitating (SID) condition, the video characterized stress as a negative force that should be avoided. Each participant completed a self-report measure of stress mindset, performed a psychological stressor task, and then repeatedly produced tongue twisters aloud. Speech errors and articulation time were scored for the production task. Results The manipulation check confirmed that stress mindsets were altered after viewing the videos. Participants in the SIE condition articulated the phrases more quickly than those in the SID condition without an accompanying increase in errors. Conclusions A stress mindset manipulation affected speech production. This finding indicates that one way to mitigate the negative effects of stress on speech production is to instantiate beliefs that stress is a positive force that can enhance performance.

Thinking abstractly about one’s physical pain: can abstraction reduce sensitivity to painful stimuli?

Whether people think less abstractly when they experience physical pain has been examined in previous research. However, the reverse causal possibility—that abstraction reduces sensitivity to painful stimuli—does not appear to have been empirically tested. The aim of this study was to investigate whether abstraction reduces sensitivity to painful stimuli. Using the cold pressor method, university students (N = 205) were exposed to experimental pain. Participants were randomly assigned to an abstract mindset, concrete mindset, cognitive distraction (control task), or no task (control) condition. As a manipulation of abstraction, participants focused on why they felt pain (abstract condition) versus how they felt pain (concrete condition). Pain endurance and pain intensity were evaluated. The abstract mindset condition did not show significantly lower pain sensitivity compared with the other experimental conditions. We found no evidence suggesting that abstract thinking would reduce pain sensitivity. The effectiveness of other techniques that induce abstraction, such as third-person (versus first-person) self-talk should be examined in future research. Since experimentally induced pain in healthy participants differs from clinical pain, whether abstract thinking may reduce pain sensitivity in chronic pain patients should also be examined.

Construal level mindsets modulate gender categorizations in preschool children

Social categorization is a crucial information processing strategy that adults deliberately adjust depending on goals and situational requirements. This study investigated whether flexibility in categorization is similarly present among preschool children. More specifically, we tested whether spontaneous gender categorizations are more pronounced for children with a situationally induced abstract compared to concrete construal level mindset. Sixty-one children first participated in a construal mindset induction task before completing a visual variant of the “who said what” memory task. Systematic memory confusions indicated that all children engaged in gender-based social categorization but that this tendency was accentuated in the abstract compared to concrete mindset condition. These results suggest an ability of children to modulate social categorizations. Implications for the development of intergroup biases are discussed.

A Scarcity Mindset Reduces Salary Goals through Lowering Employment Self-Efficacy

Beyond the substantial economic consequences of scarcity, a scarcity mindset – the mere belief that resources are scarce – has been found to negatively impact cognitive functioning and decision making. In this paper, we build on these insights by theorizing a novel motivational pathway through which scarcity impacts organizational life, specifically job seekers. Drawing from research on the psychology of scarcity, along with theories of self-efficacy and goal setting, we hypothesize that a scarcity mindset reduces employment self-efficacy, which in turn leads job seekers to set lower salary goals. We find support for our theoretical model across four studies, using diverse operationalizations of a scarcity mindset. Study 1 manipulated a scarcity mindset in a context outside of job search (i.e., general resource scarcity) and found an effect on salary goals. Study 2 manipulated a scarcity mindset within a job-relevant context (i.e., job availability) and showed that participants in the scarcity mindset condition made significantly lower (around $3,500 on average) salary counteroffers in a fictitious job negotiation. Study 3 provided further replication and found that employment self-efficacy mediated this effect. Finally, Study 4 revealed that in a sample of job seekers in the US, a scarcity mindset (arising from the experience of scarcity in childhood) was negatively related to salary goals, again mediated by employment self-efficacy. Overall, we find substantial evidence for a psychological effect of scarcity on job seekers and encourage future research to further investigate the organizational effects of scarcity and develop “wise interventions” to counteract this deleterious mindset.

Could directly shifting self-doubt mind-set reduce the negative effects of chronic self-doubt?

ABSTRACT Research has shown negative effects of chronic self-doubt on psychological and performance outcomes. Two experiments were conducted to examine (a) the malleability of the mind-set about self-doubt; and (b) whether shifting to a more positive mind-set reduces the negative effects of self-doubt. Participants in Experiment 1 were randomly assigned to one of two mind-set induction conditions (positive versus negative). A control group was added in Experiment 2, in which we also enhanced the strength and symmetry of the positive and negative mind-set inductions. The results from both experiments showed a significant change in self-doubt mind-set in the hypothesized direction as a result of the mind-set induction. Interestingly, Experiment 2 revealed that priming either positive or negative mind-set diminished the negative self-doubt effects on task engagement, relative to the control group. The findings for the negative mind-set group were counter to the hypothesis but replicated what was observed in Experiment 1.

Growth Mindset Intervention Improves Performance of Highly Nontraditional Introductory Psychology Students at a Community College

Background Research suggests growth mindset interventions can support student achievement, particularly among students at risk of academic struggle, but it remains underspecified which at-risk populations will benefit from such interventions. Objectives This study aimed to experimentally evaluate whether highly (vs. moderately or minimally) nontraditional community college students would benefit from a growth mindset intervention and whether their performance differed at baseline and after the intervention. Method A sample of 155 students in introductory psychology at a 2-year community college was randomly assigned to complete a growth mindset or control intervention, and all participants completed an extensive background survey. Results Results showed improved exam performance among highly nontraditional students in the mindset (vs. control) condition but no benefit among other students. Highly nontraditional students showed similar pre-intervention performance to peers, but their exam scores declined more over the semester than did control peers. Conclusion Growth mindset interventions may offer a low-cost strategy for supporting nontraditional community college students at risk of a downward performance trajectory. Teaching Implications Instructors can use easily administered mindset interventions to support at-risk students’ academic performance. They may also wish to evaluate the performance-related messages they convey to students and work to create a growth-oriented classroom environment.

Retribution versus rehabilitation as motives for support of offender’s punishment: the moderating role of mindsets about malleability

ABSTRACT We examined whether beliefs about malleability moderate observers’ motives for justice, expressed in a desire for either retribution, in which punishment is based on what offenders deserve for their offense (past-oriented), or rehabilitation, in which punishment is intended to improve the offenders (future-oriented). The main hypothesis was that people with a fixed mindset would tend to support punishment motivated by retribution rather than rehabilitation, and the reverse was expected for those with a malleable mindset. We recruited participants (N = 432) through the platform Prolific and asked them to complete an online questionnaire. We first manipulated participants’ mindset (malleable vs. fixed) and then the salience of a specific justice motive (retribution vs. rehabilitation). Finally, participants read a vignette depicting an incident of professional misconduct and were asked to indicate their support for the punishment of the offender. Our results did not confirm our main hypothesis, but the exploratory results indicated a partial confirmation as a function of political orientation: in the malleable mindset condition, support for punishment among liberals was higher in the rehabilitation condition than in the retribution condition, whereas the reverse effect was observed among moderately conservative participants. We discuss the possible limitations of the study and future research avenues.

A growth mindset lowers perceived cognitive load and improves learning: Integrating motivation to cognitive load.

Many large-scale, school-based interventions have attempted to improve academic performance through promoting students’ growth mindset, defined as the belief that one’s intellectual ability can increase with practice and time. However, most have shown weak to no effects. Thus, it is important to examine how growth mindset might affect retention and transfer of learning, as well as process-related variables such as cognitive load. In a double-blind, randomized controlled experiment based on 138 secondary school students, the effects of an experimentally induced growth mindset belief were examined during a learning phase in a classroom setting. Participants in the growth mindset condition perceived a lower intrinsic load and extraneous load and performed better on retention and transfer tests. Students with some prior knowledge also reported a higher mastery goal orientation. Supplementary mediation analysis suggested that the effect on transfer could be fully accounted for by changes in cognitive load perceptions. Future interventions may benefit from designs that promote motivational beliefs that reduce intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load perceptions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

Comparing the Effects of Reading Intervention Versus Reading and Mindset Intervention for Upper Elementary Students With Reading Difficulties

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effects of providing mindset intervention in addition to reading intervention compared with only reading intervention for fourth graders with reading difficulties. Reading intervention was provided daily in 45 min sessions throughout the school year. Mindset intervention occurred in small groups for 24–30 min lessons. Multilevel structural equation modeling (SEM) via n-level SEM was used to account for the latent variable representation of constructs, and the complex nesting and cross-classification structure of the data. Students in the reading intervention plus mindset condition significantly outperformed the business as usual condition on nonword reading (d = 0.35) as did students in the reading intervention condition (d = 0.20), who also outperformed the business as usual condition on phonological processing (d = 0.28). There were no significant differences among students in the three conditions on nonword reading, word reading, phonological processing, reading comprehension, or growth mindset. Initial reading achievement, mindset, and problem behavior did not generally moderate these findings.

How a crisis mindset activates implicit knowledge and brings it into awareness: The role of attentional switch cost.

In this study, we relied on the attentional switch cost to ascertain whether a crisis mindset can activate and momentarily bring related implicit knowledge into awareness. We found that the attentional switch cost was higher in a crisis mindset condition than in a common mindset condition in which non-crisis-related stimuli were being attended to (Experiment 1). However, the attentional switch cost was lower in the crisis mindset condition when crisis-related stimuli were being attended to (Experiment 2A), and the reduced cost was not attributable to the complexity of the stimuli (Experiment 2B). A link emerged in the crisis mindset condition between the attentional switch cost and related implicit knowledge (Experiment 3A and 3B). Potential confounding factors were adequately controlled (see the Appendix). In conclusion, the results offer insight into the pivotal role of a crisis mindset. This finding delineates an alternative pathway in which implicit knowledge can be activated and brought into working memory once an event is perceived and interpreted as a crisis.

The effect of competition mind-set on persuasion: mediation role of processing style

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of a competition mind-set on persuasion. Specifically, this research examined the effect of a fit between a competition mind-set and messages on the persuasive effectiveness.Design/methodology/approachParticipants were randomly assigned to a condition of 2 (competition: competition mind-set vs control) × 2 (message: concrete feasibility vs abstract desirability) between-subjects design.FindingsThis research demonstrated that participants in the competition mind-set (vs control) condition expressed the messages as more persuasive and evaluated the product more favorably when they were exposed to concrete feasibility messages. Furthermore, this effect was mediated by a local processing style.Originality/valueThe present research provides a useful marketing communication strategy. For the effectiveness of messages, concrete feasibility-related merits should be emphasized in competition contexts.

Subtle priming of subtraction versus addition: a spill-over effect of math / La inducción sutil de sumar vs. restar: un efecto indirecto de las matemáticas

Studies on bias correction have often used blatant inductions to motivate people to reduce the mental impact of perceived biases. In the current research, we test a relatively unexplored, subtle way of inducing bias correction based on the activation of different calculative mindsets. Across two studies, participants were exposed to an advertisement introducing a new consumer product delivered by a credible or non-credible source. Then, as part of an ostensibly unrelated study, participants completed mathematical operations that involved subtracting or adding. Study 1 revealed that when participants were primed with an addition calculative mindset, an expert source elicited more favourable attitudes towards the product than a non-expert source. This pattern illustrates the traditional effect of source credibility on persuasion. In contrast, within the subtraction calculative mindset condition, persuasion was no different between an expert and a non-expert source. These results were obtained exclusively under high thinking conditions (e.g., for participants high in Need for Cognition). This finding can be interpreted as if the effect of source credibility was subtracted from the evaluative judgement. Study 2 replicated this two-way interaction using different materials and inductions. The present research has implications for bias correction, procedural priming, persuasion and beyond.

The effect of moral loss and gain mindset on confronting racism

In the present research, we tested whether the prospect of moral failure or moral gain can motivate (some) people to confront racism. We investigated the influence of moral loss and moral gain mindset on people's tendency to contest racism as a function of their moral commitment to non-prejudice. Drawing on research on regulatory focus, we predicted that a moral loss mindset (vs. control) would increase confronting tendencies among those who are morally committed to non-prejudice (to safeguard their moral self-concept). A moral gain mindset (vs. control) was expected to increase confronting among those who are less committed to non-prejudice (to enhance their moral self-concept). In Experiment 1, participants were presented with racist scenarios. We varied the framing of moral considerations involved (loss vs. gain vs. control) and assessed confronting intentions. In Experiment 2, participants went through a moral mindset intervention. After a few days, using a behavioral paradigm, we tested their actual confronting during a racist situation. We found partial evidence to our predictions. Those highly committed to non-prejudice (as indicated by a measure of moral conviction in Experiment 1, but by a measure of moral identity in Experiment 2) were significantly more prone to confront in the loss mindset condition than in the control. Confronting in the gain condition was not significantly different than in the control condition at any level of moral commitment to non-prejudice. These findings suggest that a moral loss mindset intervention may be effectively used in promoting (some) people's tendency to speak up against racism.

Mindsets of health and healthy eating intentions

AbstractAcross two studies, we examined the relation between mindsets of health, expectancy‐value, and eating intentions. We also explored if relations are stronger for African Americans compared to White Americans. In Study 1, we conducted a correlational study (N = 158) to examine initial relations among constructs. In Study 2, we employed an experimental design (N = 205), and randomly assigned participants to either a growth mindset or a fixed mindset of health condition. In both studies, we measured participants’ mindsets of health, expectancy‐value beliefs, healthy eating intentions, past eating habits, and demographics. In Study 1, stronger growth mindsets of health predicted healthier eating intentions. Expectancy‐value beliefs, namely, the extent to which individuals value healthy eating habits and expect to be able to manage their eating, mediated this relation. In Study 2, we successfully manipulated mindsets of health and individuals in the growth mindset condition reported healthier eating intentions, compared to those in the fixed mindset condition. Expectancy‐value beliefs again mediated this link. Race only moderated the relation in Study 1, such that effects of growth mindsets on outcomes (i.e., eating intentions and expectancy‐value beliefs) are stronger for African Americans compared to White Americans. Study 1 provided initial evidence of a relationship between stronger growth mindsets of health and healthier beliefs and intentions. Study 2 offered experimental evidence. We discuss theoretical and practical implications.

Modeling Mindsets with Kalman Filter

Mathematical models have played an essential role in interface design. This study focused on “mindsets”—people’s tacit beliefs about attributes—and investigated the extent to which: (1) mindsets can be extracted in a motion trajectory in target selection, and (2) a dynamic state-space model, such as the Kalman filter, helps quantify mindsets. Participants were experimentally manipulated to hold fixed or growth mindsets in a “mock” memory test, and later performed a concept-learning task in which the movement of the computer cursor was recorded in every trial. By inspecting motion trajectories of the cursor, we observed clear disparities in the impact of mindsets; participants who were induced with a fixed mindset moved the cursor faster as compared to those who were induced with a growth mindset. To examine further the mechanism of this influence, we fitted a Kalman filter model to the trajectory data; we found that system-level error-covariance in the Kalman filter model could effectively separate motion trajectories gleaned from the two mindset conditions. Taken together, results from the experiment suggest that people’s mindsets can be captured in motor trajectories in target selection and the Kalman filter helps quantify mindsets. It is argued that people’s personality, attitude, and mindset are embodied in motor behavior underlying target selection and these psychological variables can be studied mathematically with a feedback control system.

Quick, Easy Mindset Intervention Can Boost Academic Achievement in Large Introductory Psychology Classes

Having a growth mindset has been shown to predict better academic performance in a variety of educational settings. Efforts to instill a growth mindset through educational interventions have demonstrated positive effects on academic success. However, many of the interventions previously tested are relatively time intensive and costly for some instructors at large research-intensive institutions. In this study, we find that a quick and easy mindset intervention can produce some gains in academic performance. This intervention involved no class time, little prep-work, and was easily disseminated to a 300-student Introductory Psychology lecture. Participants ( N = 278) were randomly assigned to receive a growth mindset, fixed mindset, or control letter from their instructor after their first midterm exam. Nine weeks post-intervention, participants were given a manipulation check to see who read and remembered their letter’s message. Of participants who passed the manipulation check ( N = 86), those in the growth mindset condition outperform their fixed mindset counterparts by as much as 9%.

Gender Moderates the Influence of Self-Construal Priming on Fairness Considerations.

Research in social and cultural psychology has identified that self-construal, or the way the self is defined in relation to others, plays an important role in social decision-making processes. Yet it remains difficult to isolate the effect of self-construal in a comparative approach. Therefore, we used priming methodology in three studies to induce either an independent or interdependent mindset to test direct consequences on fairness considerations. Specifically, we asked whether participants would accept an unfair ultimatum game offer: a split of 10 euros, where the participant is allocated the marginal share of 3 and the proposer 7. If the participant refuses, neither gets paid. In the first study, we used the well-known similarities and differences prime. Here, activating an interdependent mindset decreased rejection of the unfair offer compared to the independent mindset and control condition, but only in females. The prime did not affect males. In the second and third study we modified our university's mission statement to instead include either independent or interdependent values. Females displayed a similar direction of effects; in males however, activating an interdependent mindset increased rejection. Taken together, the results show that whether participants accept or reject an unfair offer depends on both their gender and the self-construal prime. The results were interpreted using the distinction between relational independence that has been associated with females, and collective interdependence, that has been associated with males. Possible consequences for future studies are discussed.

Clutter, Chaos, and Overconsumption

How do cluttered, chaotic environments—such as messy kitchens—influence snacking behavior? How does one’s mind-set help prevent unwanted snacking from occurring? One hundred one female undergraduate students participated under standard-kitchen conditions or in a chaotic-kitchen condition. Participants were also asked to recall and write about a time when they felt particularly in control or particularly out of control. Finally, participants were given cookies, crackers, and carrots to taste and rate. Participants in the chaotic-kitchen condition and the out-of-control mind-set condition consumed more cookies (103 kcal) than did participants who were in the in-control mind-set condition (38 kcal). The chaotic environment had no impact on consumption of crackers or carrots. Although a chaotic environment can create a vulnerability to making unhealthy food choices, one’s mind-set in that environment can either trigger or buffer against that vulnerability.

The influence of mating goal activation and gender differences on the evaluation of advertisements containing sexual words

This research examines the impact of humans' mating motivation on their attitudes toward and recall of advertising that contains words with sexual connotations (e.g., “Sexton Plumbing” and “We Sell Boxes”). Due to gender differences based on evolution-based and socialization-based approaches, this research predicts differential evaluations between men and women for advertising that contains words with sexual connotations. The results of two empirical studies reveal that men in a mating mindset condition show more positive attitudes toward advertisements containing words with sexual connotations than do men in the control condition. In contrast, a different pattern is evident for women. Women in a mating mindset show similar attitudes toward such advertisements compared to women in the control condition. A similar pattern was also found for the recall of advertisements.