Imagine a class of fourth-grade students all working intently on age-appropriate puzzles. When they’re done, the teacher asks those who would like to tackle a harder puzzle to move to the right of the class, and those who would like another of the same-level puzzle to move to the left. The class quickly divides into two halves. Why did some students relish a challenge while others shrink from it and chose to stay in their comfort zone?
That’s the question Stanford psychology professor Carol Dweck set out to answer, ultimately producing a body of work that challenged prevailing views of intelligence and took the “nature-versus-nurture” argument to a whole new level. Dweck identified two main systems of thought, or mindsets, that govern our views of our own intelligence and capabilities, as well as our perceptions of others’ abilities. She called these the “fixed mindset” and the “growth mindset.”
