Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

2008 Ballantine Books Trade Paperback Edition

Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

BALLANTINE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Originally published in hardcover in the United States by Random House, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., in 2007.

Grateful acknowledgment is made to Jeremy P. Tarcher, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), for permission to reprint four illustrations from pp. 18–19 of The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Workbook by Betty Edwards, copyright © 2003 by Betty Edwards. Reprinted by permission of Jeremy P. Tarcher, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA).

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Dweck, Carol S.

Mindset: the new psychology of success / Carol S. Dweck

p. cm.

eISBN: 978-1-58836-523-1

1. Belief and doubt. 2. Success—Psychological aspects. I. Title.

BF773.D85 2006

153.8—dc22 2005046454

www.ballantinebooks.com

v3.1_r1

CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

1. THE MINDSETS

Why Do People Differ?

What Does All This Mean for You? The Two Mindsets

A View from the Two Mindsets

So, What’s New?

Self-Insight: Who Has Accurate Views of Their Assets and Limitations?

What’s in Store

2. INSE THE MINDSETS

Is Success About Learning—or Proving You’re Smart?

Mindsets Change the Meaning of Failure

Mindsets Change the Meaning of Effort

Questions and Answers

3. THE TRUTH ABOUT ABILITY AND ACCOMPLISHMENT

Mindset and School Achievement

Is Artistic Ability a Gift?

The Danger of Praise and Positive Labels

Negative Labels and How They Work

4. SPORTS: THE MINDSET OF A CHAMPION

The Idea of the Natural

“Character”

What Is Success?

What Is Failure?

Taking Charge of Success

What Does It Mean to Be a Star?

Hearing the Mindsets

5. BUSINESS: MINDSET AND LEADERSHIP

Enron and the Talent Mindset

Organizations That Grow

A Study of Mindset and Management Decisions

Leadership and the Fixed Mindset

Fixed-Mindset Leaders in Action

Growth-Mindset Leaders in Action

A Study of Group Processes

Groupthink Versus We Think

The Praised Generation Hits the Workforce

Are Negotiators Born or Made?

Corporate Training: Are Managers Born or Made?

Are Leaders Born or Made?

6. RELATIONSHIPS: MINDSETS IN LOVE (OR NOT)

Relationships Are Different

Mindsets Falling in Love

The Partner as Enemy

Competition: Who’s the Greatest?

Developing in Relationships

Friendship

Shyness

Bullies and Victims: Revenge Revisited

7. PARENTS, TEACHERS, AND COACHES: WHERE DO MINDSETS COME FROM?

Parents (and Teachers): Messages About Success and Failure

Teachers (and Parents): What Makes a Great Teacher (or Parent)?

Coaches: Winning Through Mindset

Our Legacy

8. CHANGING MINDSETS

The Nature of Change

The Mindset Lectures

A Mindset Workshop

Brainology

More About Change

Taking the First Step

People Who Don’t Want to Change

Changing Your Child’s Mindset

Mindset and Willpower

Maintaining Change

The Road Ahead

Notes

Recommended Books

About the Author

INTRODUCTION

One day, my students sat me down and ordered me to write this book. They wanted people to be able to use our work to make their lives better. It was something I’d wanted to do for a long time, but it became my number one priority.

My work is part of a tradition in psychology that shows the power of people’s beliefs. These may be beliefs we’re aware of or unaware of, but they strongly affect what we want and whether we succeed in getting it. This tradition also shows how changing people’s beliefs—even the simplest beliefs—can have profound effects.

In this book, you’ll learn how a simple belief about yourself—a belief we discovered in our research—guides a large part of your life. In fact, it permeates every part of your life. Much of what you think of as your personality actually grows out of this “mindset.” Much of what may be preventing you from fulfilling your potential grows out of it.

No book has ever explained this mindset and shown people how to make use of it in their lives. You’ll suddenly understand the greats—in the sciences and arts, in sports, and in business—and the would-have-beens. You’ll understand your mate, your boss, your friends, your kids. You’ll see how to unleash your potential—and your children’s.

It is my privilege to share my findings with you. Besides accounts of people from my research, I’ve filled each chapter with stories both ripped from the headlines and based on my own life and experience, so you can see the mindsets in action. (In most cases, names and personal information have been changed to preserve anonymity; in some cases, several people have been condensed into one to make a clearer point. A number of the exchanges are re-created from memory, and I have rendered them to the best of my ability.)

At the end of each chapter and throughout the last chapter, I show you ways to apply the lessons—ways to recognize the mindset that is guiding your life, to understand how it works, and to change it if you wish.

A little note about grammar. I know it and I love it, but I haven’t always followed it in this book. I start sentences with ands and buts. I end sentences with prepositions. I use the plural they in contexts that require the singular he or she. I’ve done this for informality and immediacy, and I hope that the sticklers will forgive me.

I’d like to take this chance to thank all of the people who made my research and this book possible. My students have made my research career a complete joy. I hope they’ve learned as much from me as I’ve learned from them. I’d also like to thank the organizations that supported our research: the William T. Grant Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Education, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the Spencer Foundation.

The people at Random House have been the most encouraging team I could wish for: Webster Younce, Daniel Menaker, Tom Perry, and, most of all, Caroline Sutton, my editor. Your excitement about my book and your great suggestions have made all the difference. I thank my superb agent, Giles Anderson, as well as Heidi Grant for putting me in touch with him.

Thanks to all the people who gave me input and feedback, but special thanks to Polly Shulman, Richard Dweck, and Maryann Peshkin for their extensive and insightful comments. Finally, I thank my husband, David, for the love and enthusiasm that give my life an extra dimension. His support throughout this project was extraordinary.

My work has been about growth, and it has helped foster my own growth. It is my wish that it will do the same for you.