Promoting malleability is not one size fits all: Priming implicit theories of intelligence as a function of self-theories

Two studies investigate manipulating implicit theories as a function of participants' self-theories. Women were primed with a malleable or fixed view of math intelligence before completing a math test. Study 1 utilized highly skilled participants and revealed that entity theorists experienced l...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Self and identity 2007-01, Vol.6 (1), p.51-63
Main Authors: Burns, Kathleen C., Isbell, Linda M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Two studies investigate manipulating implicit theories as a function of participants' self-theories. Women were primed with a malleable or fixed view of math intelligence before completing a math test. Study 1 utilized highly skilled participants and revealed that entity theorists experienced less anxiety when exposed to a malleable prime versus a fixed prime; however, entity theorists in the fixed condition performed better on the math test than incremental theorists. Incremental theorists were unaffected by the malleable prime. Study 2 utilized moderately skilled participants and found that incremental theorists attempted more math questions when exposed to a malleable prime versus a fixed prime, whereas entity theorists were unaffected by the primes. The relationship between self-theories and different ability levels is discussed.
ISSN:1529-8868
1529-8876
DOI:10.1080/15298860600823864