This research was funded by grants from the William T. Grant Foundation and the Spencer Foundation. The authors are grateful to Dr. Morton Slater, founder of the Gateway Schools program; to the students, teachers, and principals of the Queens Gateway Secondary and Life Sciences Secondary Schools for their cooperation in this research; and to the undergraduate students of Columbia University who assisted in conducting our studies. Finally, we thank Steve Raudenbush for his advice on key statistical analyses.
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Implicit Theories of Intelligence Predict Achievement Across an Adolescent Transition: A Longitudinal Study and an Intervention
Article first published online: 28 FEB 2007
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.00995.x
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How to Cite
Blackwell, L. S., Trzesniewski, K. H. and Dweck, C. S. (2007), Implicit Theories of Intelligence Predict Achievement Across an Adolescent Transition: A Longitudinal Study and an Intervention. Child Development, 78: 246–263. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.00995.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 28 FEB 2007
- Article first published online: 28 FEB 2007
- Abstract
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Two studies explored the role of implicit theories of intelligence in adolescents' mathematics achievement. In Study 1 with 373 7th graders, the belief that intelligence is malleable (incremental theory) predicted an upward trajectory in grades over the two years of junior high school, while a belief that intelligence is fixed (entity theory) predicted a flat trajectory. A mediational model including learning goals, positive beliefs about effort, and causal attributions and strategies was tested. In Study 2, an intervention teaching an incremental theory to 7th graders (N=48) promoted positive change in classroom motivation, compared with a control group (N=43). Simultaneously, students in the control group displayed a continuing downward trajectory in grades, while this decline was reversed for students in the experimental group.