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Updated: Sep 9, 2025
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The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
Published on: August 25, 2023
800
Divergent effects of mindsets on performance trajectories.
Melody M Chao1, Allen H Huang2, Anirban Mukhopadhyay3
1Department of Management, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, S.A.R., China. mchao@ust.hk.
NPJ Science of Learning
|August 28, 2025
Summary
Students with a growth mindset initially excel but their advantage fades. Both growth and fixed mindsets correlate with achievement, while unclear mindsets lead to poorer academic outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Educational Psychology
- Human Capital Development
Background:
- The "growth mindset" is widely promoted to enhance educational outcomes.
- Its effectiveness is debated, necessitating further investigation into its natural effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the longitudinal impact of growth mindsets on academic performance trajectories.
- To explore the nuanced relationship between mindset and student achievement from university entry to completion.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal analysis of 915 students.
- Utilized 6,918 student-term and 33,607 student-course observations.
- Examined academic performance trajectories over time.
Main Results:
- Students with stronger growth mindsets initially outperform those with fixed mindsets.
- This initial advantage diminishes over the course of study.
- Growth mindsets aid in navigating new academic challenges.
- Both growth and fixed mindsets are linked to higher achievement; lack of clear mindset correlates with poorer outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Mindset plays a complex role in academic success.
- Educational institutions should consider nuanced mindset dynamics for human capital development.
- Clear, defined mindsets (growth or fixed) are more beneficial than ambiguous ones.
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