Summary and Analysis of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Based on the Book by Carol S. Dweck, PhD

• Publisher: Worth Books
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781504018869
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Personal Success

So much to read, so little time? This brief overview of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success tells you what you need to know—before or after you read Carol Dweck's book. Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and give you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader. This short summary and analysis of Mindset includes:

• Historical context
• Chapter-by-chapter overviews
• Profiles of the main characters
• Detailed timeline of events
• Important quotes
• Fascinating trivia
• Glossary of terms
• Supporting material to enhance your understanding of the original work

About Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck: Why do some people flourish when faced with a challenge, while others crumble? This is the question that has defined Stanford psychology professor Carol Dweck's decades of research, resulting in her ground-breaking theory of mindset. Dweck believes that talent and intelligence do not tell the full story about one's ability to achieve. Instead, what determines personal success is whether one has a fixed or growth mindset; the first is a belief that our qualities and strengths cannot be altered, and the second way of thinking supports the idea that they can change over time. Based on meticulous research, and with anecdotes about successful CEOs, athletes, artists, and educators who achieved greatness through attitude as much as ability, Mindset offers new ways of thinking about motivation and personal development. The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.

Summary

Introduction

Dr. Carol S. Dweck, PhD, a Stanford University psychologist, wrote Mindset after her students encouraged her to share the discoveries they had made together in class: mainly, that a “mindset,” rather than natural talents or abilities, determines failure or success in a given situation. Dweck’s book aims to show people how they can change the way they experience their work, friendships, relationships, and goals by changing their perceptions. The key is adopting a flexible mindset that allows room for growth to succeed rather than seeing our personalities as fixed.

Chapter 1: The Mindsets

Dweck’s concept of different mindsets came out of her experience researching how people deal with failure. In a study observing children who were asked to solve increasingly difficult puzzles, Dweck was surprised to see that several of the kids seemed to actively enjoy the harder puzzles. Rather than viewing the puzzles as chances to fail, these children saw solving them as chances to learn.

Debates over whether our trajectory in life is determined by nature or nurture have raged for centuries. Dweck notes that the IQ test, invented by French psychologist Alfred Binet, was not developed to prove that intelligence is fixed, but rather to identify children who were being failed by the Parisian school system.

Dweck believes that there are two mindsets: the fixed mindset and the growth mindset. In the former, one believes that his personality and talents are predetermined and cannot be changed. The growth mindset, on the other hand, says it is possible to change and improve intellect, skills, and talents. Dweck notes that many celebrated individuals—like Charles Darwin and Leo Tolstoy—were considered unremarkable early on in life. Their passion for self-improvement and their constructive responses to failure were what allowed them to succeed.

Dweck presents a scenario to determine subjects’ responses to three situations in a challenging day: a low grade, a traffic ticket, and a dismissive friend. People with the fixed mindset took the upsets of the day personally and became despondent. People with the growth mindset were philosophical and examined what had happened during the day to see what they could learn from it.

The mindsets are distinct in their attitudes toward risk and effort. The fixed mindset fears risk, as it carries the possibility of failure. Effort is similarly suspect, because surely if you have to try at something, it means you weren’t that good in the first place. This mindset results in an inaccurate perception of one’s own capabilities. In studies, it is those with the growth mindset who estimate their own abilities accurately, because they can see both their strengths and weaknesses and are not afraid to receive criticism.

You can determine your own mindset by deciding whether you agree that intelligence and personal qualities are unchangeable or whether significant changes are possible. Dweck asks the reader to imagine himself in both mindsets and notes how those in the growth mindset are more likely to confront obstacles and see them as opportunities for growth.

Need to Know: Many other researchers support Dweck’s theories. Psychologist Robert Sternberg, who performed poorly on IQ tests in grade school, characterizes intelligence as heavily influenced by opportunity and stimulation rather than a quality fixed from birth. Neuroscientist Gilbert Gottlieb supports Sternberg’s belief, saying “not only do genes and environment cooperate as we develop, but genes require input from the environment to work properly.” Martin Seligman, known as the founder of Positive Psychology, “estimates that talent and practice account fairly equally for our ability, but he also draws a distinction between ‘talent’ inborn and involuntary, and ‘strengths’, healthy ways of thinking that we are able to learn” (Olson, 2017).

Chapter 2: Inside the Mindsets

When Dweck was young, she envisioned her future: the perfect job, the perfect husband, all her desires met not by hard work, but simply because she deserved them. It was only through her research that she realized her mindset had been fixed on proving her worth, and she decided to adopt a new mindset, one open to mistakes, failures, and growth.

Dweck’s studies of children and teenagers have shown again and again that those who believe intelligence is fixed refuse to participate in tests that they might find difficult, resulting in them becoming “nonlearners.” They “expect ability to show up on its own, before any learning takes place.” Those who believe intelligence can be changed are more likely to be up for a challenge.

This attitude carries over into the life partners we choose: Those with the fixed mindset are more likely to want mates who idealize them. Those with a growth mindset report they want partners who see all their flaws, yet still love them, and who challenge them to improve themselves.

The fixed mindset can result in disappointment from an early age. Dweck showed fifth-graders a box and told them it held a test that measured an important part of their abilities. She then asked them if they thought the test could measure how smart they would be when they grew up. Students with the growth mindset said no, the test only measured the specific ability there and then. Students with the fixed mindset believed the test determined their levels of intelligence from that moment on.

If success is tied to self-esteem, then failure is a blow. People with growth mindsets see mistakes or failures as chances to learn; people with fixed mindsets see them as criticisms of themselves. They become discouraged and work less hard in the future—or don’t even try at all.

Our society admires people who seem to achieve effortlessly; there’s an implicit belief that the “coolest” people never look like they’re trying too hard. To the fixed mindset, this makes sense: Those who are great shouldn’t need to work hard. But this masks the fear that trying and then failing leaves you with no excuse.

Need to Know: What determines our achievements in life is not our intelligence but our willingness to learn. Actor Christopher Reeve faced great adversity—he was paralyzed after a horse-riding accident in 1995—but he never stopped trying to push beyond the bounds of possibility. When doctors told Reeve he would never have movement or sensation below the neck again, the actor embarked on an exercise program to try to reboot the signals from his brain to his body. By 2002, Reeve had regained movement in his fingers and one leg and he had sporadic sensation elsewhere in his body. This cont...