Psychology and Learning

Turns out there are two types of people in this world: Those who think talent is a constant and decided at birth, and those who think talent is created. Carol Dweck in her book "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success" terms it "Fixed" and "Growth" mindsets, suggesting that Fixed mindset people are concerned about making their existing abilities look good and Growth mindset people look to cultivate their existing abilities. Of course this, like all things in psychology, is not an absolute, and fixed mindset people are not doomed to be unsuccessful, nor are people necessarily in one mindset their entire life. It does however relate to how you might react in a given situation. Myself for example was in a fixed mindset in high school maths - preferring to develop elaborate methods of smuggling formulae into tests rather than actually learning something new. It is however possible to acknowledge and then flip a mindset entirely! For parents and educators, this would suggest praising children for effort and improvement rather than talent and intelligence. Perhaps the "most improved" awards at school were the best after all?