“Good job! You must be
very intelligent.”
“Good job! You must be
very hard-working.”
These two compliments are
nearly identical, yet a single word’s deviation can mean a world of difference
in terms of achievement.
How can different forms of
compliments impact achievements of both our academic and health-related goals?
Carol Dweck, in her
landmark study of hundreds of elementary school students, wanted to study how
minor changes in reinforcement could affect future performance.
Upon completion of a
nonverbal puzzle, students were separated into one of two groups: Either
praised upon their intelligence or their work ethic.
At the end of the study,
the students took another similarly difficult test, and Dweck tested to see how
the two different compliments measured up in terms of performance.
The work-ethic group
improved a considerable 30 percent on their test scores.
The intelligence-praised
group? A devastating 20 percent drop. They scored lower relative to their first
attempt.
Exactly how could one word
of difference bring about such a dramatic difference in results? Dweck reasoned
that the two compliments implicated two fundamentally different mindsets.
In one group, hard work,
progress and persistence became the driving factors of motivation.
In the other, it became
about maintaining an image of intelligence.
With this difference in
mind, the tests indicated two completely different things to the two groups of
students.
Difficulty became a chance
to improve for one group and a disgracing verdict of unintelligence to the
other.
The children who were
praised for intelligence exhibited “negative responses in terms of lower task
persistence, task enjoyment and performance.” They chose to busy themselves
with the scores of others rather than learn new ways to improve their
abilities. They even became prone to lying about their performance results.
This mindset dichotomy,
the perception of fixed vs. developable abilities, has a strong presence in
nearly all walks of life.
Whether it be
intelligence, fitness, dating — whatever walk, too many people adopt a fixed
mindset about their abilities.
Too often have people
commented that their “metabolism is just too slow” or that they’re just “bad at
taking tests.”
It is these same people
who come to comment, “I can’t believe how stupid I was being,” when they put
forth effort and realized these skill sets were not predetermined traits, but
ones to develop.
Rather than copping out
without truly trying, they need to give it an honest shot, whether it be
improving grades or working on a healthy lifestyle.
Typically, once they had
gotten the ball rolling, they have never looked back.
Mindset was the
determining factor that either stalled or spurred action.
The meanings you associate
with certain words or “compliments” can have a big effect on your end results.
The connection between
mindset and behavior becomes hard to shake as they are established.
Thankfully, whether our
words act as a blessing or a curse lies entirely upon us.
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