ThePerilsandPromisesofPraise CarolS.Dweck Thewrongkindofpraisecreatesselfdefeatingbehavior.Therightkindmotivatesstudentstolearn.

Weoftenhearthesedaysthatwe'veproducedagenerationofyoungpeoplewhocan'tgetthroughthedaywithoutan award.Theyexpectsuccessbecausethey'respecial,notbecausethey'veworkedhard.

Isthistrue?Haveweinadvertentlydonesomethingtoholdbackourstudents?

Ithinkeducatorscommonlyholdtwobeliefsthatdojustthat.Manybelievethat(1)praisingstudents'intelligencebuilds

theirconfidenceandmotivationtolearn,and(2)students'inherentintelligenceisthemajorcauseoftheirachievementin school.Ourresearchhasshownthatthefirstbeliefisfalseandthatthesecondcanbeharmfulevenforthemost competentstudents.

Asapsychologist,Ihavestudiedstudentmotivationformorethan35years.MygraduatestudentsandIhavelookedat thousandsofchildren,askingwhysomeenjoylearning,evenwhenit'shard,andwhytheyareresilientinthefaceof obstacles.Wehavelearnedagreatdeal.Researchshowsushowtopraisestudentsinwaysthatyieldmotivationand resilience.Inaddition,specificinterventionscanreverseastudent'sslideintofailureduringthevulnerableperiodof adolescence. FixedorMalleable?

Praiseisintricatelyconnectedtohowstudentsviewtheirintelligence.Somestudentsbelievethattheirintellectualability isafixedtrait.Theyhaveacertainamountofintelligence,andthat'sthat.Studentswiththisfixedmindsetbecome excessivelyconcernedwithhowsmarttheyare,seekingtasksthatwillprovetheirintelligenceandavoidingonesthat mightnot(Dweck,1999,2006).Thedesiretolearntakesabackseat.

Otherstudentsbelievethattheirintellectualabilityissomethingtheycandevelopthrougheffortandeducation.They

don'tnecessarilybelievethatanyonecanbecomeanEinsteinoraMozart,buttheydounderstandthatevenEinsteinand Mozarthadtoputinyearsofefforttobecomewhotheywere.Whenstudentsbelievethattheycandeveloptheir intelligence,theyfocusondoingjustthat.Notworryingabouthowsmarttheywillappear,theytakeonchallengesand sticktothem(Dweck,1999,2006).

Moreandmoreresearchinpsychologyandneurosciencesupportsthegrowthmindset.Wearediscoveringthatthe brainhasmoreplasticityovertimethanweeverimagined(Doidge,2007)thatfundamentalaspectsofintelligencecan beenhancedthroughlearning(Sternberg,2005)andthatdedicationandpersistenceinthefaceofobstaclesarekey ingredientsinoutstandingachievement(Ericsson,Charness,Feltovich,&Hoffman,2006).

AlfredBinet(1909/1973),theinventoroftheIQtest,hadastronggrowthmindset.Hebelievedthateducationcould transformthebasiccapacitytolearn.Farfromintendingtomeasurefixedintelligence,hemeanthistesttobeatoolfor identifyingstudentswhowerenotprofitingfromthepublicschoolcurriculumsothatothercoursesofstudycouldbe devisedtofostertheirintellectualgrowth. TheTwoFacesofEffort Thefixedandgrowthmindsetscreatetwodifferentpsychologicalworlds.Inthefixedmindset,studentscarefirstand foremostabouthowthey'llbejudged:smartornotsmart.Repeatedly,studentswiththismindsetrejectopportunitiesto learniftheymightmakemistakes(Hong,Chiu,Dweck,Lin,&Wan,1999Mueller&Dweck,1998).Whentheydo makemistakesorrevealdeficiencies,ratherthancorrectthem,theytrytohidethem(Nussbaum&Dweck,2007).

Theyarealsoafraidofeffortbecauseeffortmakesthemfeeldumb.Theybelievethatifyouhavetheability,you shouldn'tneedeffort(Blackwell,Trzesniewski,&Dweck,2007),thatabilityshouldbringsuccessallbyitself.Thisis oneoftheworstbeliefsthatstudentscanhold.Itcancausemanybrightstudentstostopworkinginschoolwhenthe curriculumbecomeschallenging.

Finally,studentsinthefixedmindsetdon'trecoverwellfromsetbacks.Whentheyhitasetbackinschool,they decreasetheireffortsandconsidercheating(Blackwelletal.,2007).Theideaoffixedintelligencedoesnotofferthem viablewaystoimprove.

Let'sgetinsidetheheadofastudentwithafixedmindsetashesitsinhisclassroom,confrontedwithalgebraforthe firsttime.Upuntilthen,hehasbreezedthroughmath.Evenwhenhebarelypaidattentioninclassandskimpedonhis homework,healwaysgotAs.Butthisisdifferent.It'shard.Thestudentfeelsanxiousandthinks,WhatifI'mnotas goodatmathasIthought?WhatifotherkidsunderstanditandIdon't?Atsomelevel,herealizesthathehastwo choices:tryhard,orturnoff.Hisinterestinmathbeginstowane,andhisattentionwanders.Hetellshimself,Who caresaboutthisstuff?It'sfornerds.IcoulddoitifIwantedto,butit'ssoboring.Youdon'tseeCEOsandsportsstars solvingforxandy.

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Bycontrast,inthegrowthmindset,studentscareaboutlearning.Whentheymakeamistakeorexhibitadeficiency, theycorrectit(Blackwelletal.,2007Nussbaum&Dweck,2007).Forthem,effortisapositivething:Itignitestheir intelligenceandcausesittogrow.Inthefaceoffailure,thesestudentsescalatetheireffortsandlookfornewlearning strategies.

Let'slookatanotherstudentonewhohasagrowthmindsethavingherfirstencounterwithalgebra.Shefindsit

new,hard,andconfusing,unlikeanythingelseshehaseverlearned.Butshe'sdeterminedtounderstandit.Shelistensto everythingtheteachersays,askstheteacherquestionsafterclass,andtakeshertextbookhomeandreadsthechapter overtwice.Asshebeginstogetit,shefeelsexhilarated.Anewworldofmathopensupforher.

Itisnotsurprising,then,thatwhenwehavefollowedstudentsoverchallengingschooltransitionsorcourses,wefindtha

thosewithgrowthmindsetsoutperformtheirclassmateswithfixedmindsetsevenwhentheyenteredwithequalskill andknowledge.Agrowthmindsetfostersthegrowthofabilityovertime(Blackwelletal.,2007Mangels,Butterfield, Lamb,Good,&Dweck,2006seealsoGrant&Dweck,2003). TheEffectsofPraise Manyeducatorshavehopedtomaximizestudents'confidenceintheirabilities,theirenjoymentoflearning,andtheir

abilitytothriveinschoolbypraisingtheirintelligence.We'vestudiedtheeffectsofthiskindofpraiseinchildrenasyou as4yearsoldandasoldasadolescence,instudentsininnercityandruralsettings,andinstudentsofdifferent ethnicitiesandwe'veconsistentlyfoundthesamething(Cimpian,Arce,Markman,&Dweck,2007Kamins& Dweck,1999Mueller&Dweck,1998):Praisingstudents'intelligencegivesthemashortburstofpride,followedbya longstringofnegativeconsequences.

Inmanyofourstudies(seeMueller&Dweck,1998),5thgradestudentsworkedonatask,andafterthefirstsetof problems,theteacherpraisedsomeofthemfortheirintelligence(Youmustbesmartattheseproblems)andothers fortheireffort(Youmusthaveworkedhardattheseproblems).Wethenassessedthestudents'mindsets.Inone study,weaskedstudentstoagreeordisagreewithmindsetstatements,suchas,Yourintelligenceissomethingbasic aboutyouthatyoucan'treallychange.Studentspraisedforintelligenceagreedwithstatementslikethesemorethan studentspraisedforeffortdid.Inanotherstudy,weaskedstudentstodefineintelligence.Studentspraisedfor intelligencemadesignificantlymorereferencestoinnate,fixedcapacity,whereasthestudentspraisedforeffortmade morereferencestoskills,knowledge,andareastheycouldchangethrougheffortandlearning.Thus,wefoundthat

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praiseforintelligencetendedtoputstudentsinafixedmindset(intelligenceisfixed,andyouhaveit),whereaspraisefo efforttendedtoputtheminagrowthmindset(you'redevelopingtheseskillsbecauseyou'reworkinghard).

Wethenofferedstudentsachancetoworkoneitherachallengingtaskthattheycouldlearnfromoraneasyonethat ensurederrorfreeperformance.Mostofthosepraisedforintelligencewantedtheeasytask,whereasmostofthose praisedforeffortwantedthechallengingtaskandtheopportunitytolearn. Next,thestudentsworkedonsomechallengingproblems.Asagroup,studentswhohadbeenpraisedfortheir

intelligencelosttheirconfidenceintheirabilityandtheirenjoymentofthetaskassoonastheybegantostrugglewithth

problem.Ifsuccessmeanttheyweresmart,thenstrugglingmeanttheywerenot.Thewholepointofintelligencepraisei toboostconfidenceandmotivation,butbothweregoneinaflash.Onlytheeffortpraisedkidsremained,onthewhole, confidentandeager.

Whentheproblemsweremadesomewhateasieragain,studentspraisedforintelligencedidpoorly,havinglosttheir confidenceandmotivation.Asagroup,theydidworsethantheyhaddoneinitiallyonthesesametypesofproblems. Thestudentspraisedforeffortshowedexcellentperformanceandcontinuedtoimprove.

Finally,whenaskedtoreporttheirscores(anonymously),almost40percentoftheintelligencepraisedstudentslied. Apparently,theiregosweresowrappedupintheirperformancethattheycouldn'tadmitmistakes.Onlyabout10 percentoftheeffortpraisedstudentssawfittofalsifytheirresults.

Praisingstudentsfortheirintelligence,then,handsthemnotmotivationandresiliencebutafixedmindsetwithallits vulnerability.Incontrast,effortorprocesspraise(praiseforengagement,perseverance,strategies,improvement,and thelike)fostershardymotivation.Ittellsstudentswhatthey'vedonetobesuccessfulandwhattheyneedtodotobe successfulagaininthefuture.Processpraisesoundslikethis: YoureallystudiedforyourEnglishtest,andyourimprovementshowsit.Youreadthematerialoverseveral times,outlinedit,andtestedyourselfonit.Thatreallyworked! Ilikethewayyoutriedallkindsofstrategiesonthatmathproblemuntilyoufinallygotit. Itwasalong,hardassignment,butyoustucktoitandgotitdone.Youstayedatyourdesk,keptupyour concentration,andkeptworking.That'sgreat! Ilikethatyoutookonthatchallengingprojectforyourscienceclass.Itwilltakealotofworkdoingthe research,designingthemachine,buyingtheparts,andbuildingit.You'regoingtolearnalotofgreatthings.

WhataboutastudentwhogetsanAwithouttrying?Iwouldsay,Allright,thatwastooeasyforyou.Let'sdo somethingmorechallengingthatyoucanlearnfrom.Wedon'twanttomakesomethingdonequicklyandeasilythe basisforouradmiration.

Whataboutastudentwhoworkshardanddoesn'tdowell?Iwouldsay,Ilikedtheeffortyouputin.Let'swork togethersomemoreandfigureoutwhatyoudon'tunderstand.Processpraisekeepsstudentsfocused,noton somethingcalledabilitythattheymayormaynothaveandthatmagicallycreatessuccessorfailure,butonprocesses theycanallengageintolearn. MotivatedtoLearn Findingthatagrowthmindsetcreatesmotivationandresilienceandleadstohigherachievementwesoughtto developaninterventionthatwouldteachthismindsettostudents.Wedecidedtoaimourinterventionatstudentswho

weremakingthetransitionto7thgradebecausethisisatimeofgreatvulnerability.Schooloftengetsmoredifficultin7 grade,gradingbecomesmorestringent,andtheenvironmentbecomesmoreimpersonal.Manystudentstakestockof themselvesandtheirintellectualabilitiesatthistimeanddecidewhethertheywanttobeinvolvedwithschool.Not surprisingly,itisoftenatimeofdisengagementandplungingachievement.

WeperformedourinterventioninaNewYorkCityjuniorhighschoolinwhichmanystudentswerestrugglingwiththe

transitionandwereshowingplummetinggrades.Ifstudentslearnedagrowthmindset,wereasoned,theymightbeable tomeetthischallengewithincreased,ratherthandecreased,effort.Wethereforedevelopedaneightsessionworkshop inwhichboththecontrolgroupandthegrowthmindsetgrouplearnedstudyskills,timemanagementtechniques,and memorystrategies(Blackwelletal.,2007).However,inthegrowthmindsetintervention,studentsalsolearnedabout theirbrainsandwhattheycoulddotomaketheirintelligencegrow.

Theylearnedthatthebrainislikeamusclethemoretheyexerciseit,thestrongeritbecomes.Theylearnedthatevery

timetheytryhardandlearnsomethingnew,theirbrainformsnewconnectionsthat,overtime,makethemsmarter.They learnedthatintellectualdevelopmentisnotthenaturalunfoldingofintelligence,butrathertheformationofnew connectionsbroughtaboutthrougheffortandlearning.

Studentswererivetedbythisinformation.Theideathattheirintellectualgrowthwaslargelyintheirhandsfascinated them.Infact,eventhemostdisruptivestudentssuddenlysatstillandtooknotice,withthemostunrulyboyofthelot lookingupatusandsaying,YoumeanIdon'thavetobedumb?

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Indeed,thegrowthmindsetmessageappearedtounleashstudents'motivation.Althoughbothgroupshadexperienced asteepdeclineintheirmathgradesduringtheirfirstmonthsofjuniorhigh,thosereceivingthegrowthmindset interventionshowedasignificantrebound.Theirmathgradesimproved.Thoseinthecontrolgroup,despitetheir excellentstudyskillsintervention,continuedtheirdecline.

What'smore,theteacherswhowereunawarethattheinterventionworkshopsdifferedsingledoutthreetimesas manystudentsinthegrowthmindsetinterventionasshowingmarkedchangesinmotivation.Thesestudentshada heighteneddesiretoworkhardandlearn.Onestrikingexamplewastheboywhothoughthewasdumb.Beforethis

experience,hehadneverputinanyextraeffortandoftendidn'tturnhishomeworkinontime.Asaresultofthetraining heworkedforhoursoneeveningtofinishanassignmentearlysothathisteachercouldreviewitandgivehimachance toreviseit.HeearnedaB+ontheassignment(hehadbeengettingCsandlowerpreviously). Otherresearchershaveobtainedsimilarfindingswithagrowthmindsetintervention.Workingwithjuniorhighschool students,Good,Aronson,andInzlicht(2003)foundanincreaseinmathandEnglishachievementtestscoresworking withcollegestudents,Aronson,Fried,andGood(2002)foundanincreaseinstudents'valuingofacademics,their enjoymentofschoolwork,andtheirgradepointaverages.

Tofacilitatedeliveryofthegrowthmindsetworkshoptostudents,wedevelopedaninteractivecomputerbased versionoftheinterventioncalledBrainology.Studentsworkthroughsixmodules,learningaboutthebrain,visiting

virtualbrainlabs,doingvirtualbrainexperiments,seeinghowthebrainchangeswithlearning,andlearninghowtheyca maketheirbrainsworkbetterandgrowsmarter.

Wetestedourinitialversionin20NewYorkCityschools,withencouragingresults.Almostallstudents(anonymously

polled)reportedchangesintheirstudyhabitsandmotivationtolearnresultingdirectlyfromtheirlearningofthegrowth mindset.Onestudentnotedthatasaresultoftheanimationshehadseenaboutthebrain,shecouldactuallypicture theneuronsgrowingbiggerastheymakemoreconnections.Onestudentreferredtothevalueofeffort:Ifyoudonot giveupandyoukeepstudying,youcanfindyourwaythrough.

Adolescentsoftenseeschoolasaplacewheretheyperformforteacherswhothenjudgethem.Thegrowthmindset changesthatperspectiveandmakesschoolaplacewherestudentsvigorouslyengageinlearningfortheirownbenefit. GoingForward

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Ourresearchshowsthateducatorscannothandstudentsconfidenceonasilverplatterbypraisingtheirintelligence. Instead,wecanhelpthemgainthetoolstheyneedtomaintaintheirconfidenceinlearningbykeepingthemfocusedon theprocessofachievement.

Maybewehaveproducedagenerationofstudentswhoaremoredependent,fragile,andentitledthanprevious generations.Ifso,it'stimeforustoadoptagrowthmindsetandlearnfromourmistakes.It'stimetodeliver interventionsthatwilltrulybooststudents'motivation,resilience,andlearning.

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Hong,Y.Y.,Chiu,C.,Dweck,C.S.,Lin,D.,&Wan,W.(1999).Implicittheories,attributions,andcoping:A meaningsystemapproach.JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology,77,588599. Kamins,M.,&Dweck,C.S.(1999).Personvs.processpraiseandcriticism:Implicationsforcontingentselfworth andcoping.DevelopmentalPsychology,35,835847. Mangels,J.A.,Butterfield,B.,Lamb,J.,Good,C.D.,&Dweck,C.S.(2006).Whydobeliefsaboutintelligence influencelearningsuccess?Asocialcognitiveneurosciencemodel.Social,Cognitive,andAffectiveNeuroscience,1, 7586. Mueller,C.M.,&Dweck,C.S.(1998).Intelligencepraisecanunderminemotivationandperformance.Journalof PersonalityandSocialPsychology,75,3352. Nussbaum,A.D.,&Dweck,C.S.(2007).Defensivenessvs.remediation:Selftheoriesandmodesofselfesteem maintenance.PersonalityandSocialPsychologyBulletin. Sternberg,R.(2005).Intelligence,competence,andexpertise.InA.Elliot&C.S.Dweck(Eds.),Thehandbookof competenceandmotivation(pp.1530).NewYork:GuilfordPress.

CarolS.DweckistheLewisandVirginiaEatonProfessorofPsychologyatStanfordUniversityandtheauthorof Mindset:TheNewPsychologyofSuccess(RandomHouse,2006).

Copyright2007byAssociationforSupervisionandCurriculumDevelopment CitationInformation: Dweck,CarolS.ThePerilsandPromisesofPraise.EarlyInterventionatEveryAge.65.2(2007):3439