The Growth Mindset (Interview)

I came across a chapter by Carol Dweck of Stanford University in 2004 in a book by Robert Sternberg. What she wrote fascinated me. In this article I summarized it as follows:

"Dweck shows that people who see intelligence as unchangeable develop a tendency to focus on proving that they have that characteristic instead of focusing on the process of learning. This disregard of the learning process hinders them in the development of their learning and in their performance. This means that the wrong convictions about intelligence can make smart people dumb! But there is hope: when people view intelligence as a potential that can be developed this leads to the tendency to put effort into learning and performing and into developing strategies that enhance learning and long term accomplishments. An implication is that it pays off to help children and students invest in a view of intelligence as something that can be developed."

That's a powerful idea which intrigued me a lot so I was delighted with Dweck's book The Growth Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, which came out in 2006. I gathered my courage together and wrote her if I could interview her. She responded in the kindest way and what's more: she gave a wonderful interview. You can read it here.