Beliefs about intelligence and achievement-related behaviors

"Dweck & Leggett (1988) hypothesized that people's ""theories"" of intelligence (beliefs about the degree to which intelligence can be increased) make them vulnerable to helpless or mastery-oriented behavior following failure. I hypothesized that ""generality beliefs"" (beliefs about the degree to which intelligence is generally instrumental for achieving goals) would influence the intensity and scope of reactions to failure. Results of two studies supported the hypotheses. Students who believed intelligence was unchangeable but generally instrumental tended to perform better than others before and after an intellectual failure, but withdrew and showed defensive tendencies in the face of prolonged failure. Students who believed intelligence could be changed and that it was generally instrumental showed greater persistence in the face of prolonged failure. Students who believed intelligence had a narrow influence in life showed relatively neutral reactions. Implications for current attribution models of achievement-related behaviors are discussed."

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology, Social

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2011

Author dc:creator

• Bergen, Randall Scott

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dweck, Carol S.

• Psychology, Social
• Psychology, Personality

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 1991 Bergen, Randall Scott

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

AAI9210743
(UMI)AAI9210743

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/23614