Carol Dweck's Speech

In her speech, “The Power of Believing You Can Improve,” Carol Dweck delivers a very profound appeal in favor of readjusting the current paradigm of learning and attaining intellectual growth. The psychologist accomplishes this feat by presenting the concepts of ‘growth mindset’ and ‘fixed mindset perspective’ which were developed through a series of research experiments with ten-year-old children (Ted). The original concept is based on her knowledge of a high school in Chicago where students whom do not meet the requirements of a course receive a grade of “not yet,” which essentially refocuses their efforts for success by reinforcing the idea that learning is a process (Ted). The ‘growth mindset,’ as Dweck coined it, is rooted in accepting
In questioning how the gap between ‘now’ and ‘yet’ can be bridged, she specifically asks how children are being raised. Are children being taught to value good grades more than the ability to dream big and think outside the box, or is the ability to question the world through abstract thought being nurtured? Dweck concludes the former based on employers’ observations of the rewards equals validation phenomenon present in younger generations of workers (Ted). To readjust the current paradigm of learning and intellectual growth, Dweck proposes that the focus of praise should shift from the degree of intellect or talent a child displays to acknowledging the process they use to engage themselves in learning and problem-solving. That is to say, praise a child for their level of effort, strategy, focus, perseverance and improvement rather than the final grade they receive because this encourages growth by significantly lessening the shame of failure (Ted). According to empirical evidence, teaching the ‘growth mindset’ drastically improved the intellectual growth of children in the most extreme environmental settings by reinforcing the idea that pushing their comfort zones and exploring new frontiers prompts neurogenesis (Ted). The ideas presented in Dweck’s speech infer some very specific psychological
Dweck’s concepts of ‘growth mindset’ and ‘fixed mindset perspective’ closely embody the concept of conditioning presented in chapter five of the course text. Both classical and operant conditioning represent learning processes which occur as result of some stimulus or behavior becoming associated with an outcome; that is, both learning processes are similar in principle (Licht, 205). Having stated the former, Dweck’s concepts seem to be rooted in operant conditioning. The fear-based response of shunning the challenge and difficulty characteristic of the ‘fixed mindset perspective’ is conditioned by being judged harshly for failing to meet with some expectation. This embodies operant conditioning because scolding a child over and over for not being able to answer difficult questions causes them to associate challenge and difficulty with failure. Thus, in the face of challenge and difficulty, they become conditioned to cheat, base their sense of self-worth on others’ failures, or flee those situations completely (Ted; Licht, 190-91). With regard to operant conditioning, Dweck’s proposal to shift the focus of praise embodies the concept of reinforcement. Praising a child for their approach to challenging and difficult situations, although they may fail one or more times, and they receive reinforcement even though a target behavior