Growth mindset
The belief that abilities can be developed through effort.
A growth mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort, strategy, and feedback. Its counterpart is the fixed mindset, which regards abilities as largely set. The belief shapes how people respond to challenges, criticism, and setbacks: as a threat or as information. Its effects are strongest where things get difficult.
Last updated: September 14, 2026 · Editorially responsible: MindBright editorial team
A basic assumption about abilities that steers behavior after setbacks.
Not the belief that anything is possible, and not a substitute for effort. Growth needs strategy, not just attitude.
Because it decides whether criticism lands as an attack or as a tool.
Origin and research
Carol Dweck developed the concept over decades and summarized it with David Yeager in 2012: people with a growth mindset seek challenges, persist through difficulty, and use feedback; people with a fixed mindset avoid situations in which their ability might visibly fail. The effect is measurable above all where things get hard.
The research has since become more differentiated: the effects are smaller than in the popular account and depend strongly on context. What remains is the mechanism. Whoever reads setbacks as information behaves measurably differently afterwards.
For high performers
Experienced leaders often hold a growth mindset for their team and a fixed one for themselves. Employees are allowed to learn; their own leadership is supposed to be finished. This shows in how criticism lands: for others as a development conversation, for themselves as an attack.
A growth mindset shows not in what you say about learning, but in the first second after a criticism. Whoever justifies in that second has a fixed mindset, whatever the slide about error culture says. Whoever asks a question has a growing one.
Distinctions
vs. Self-efficacy
Self-efficacy is the expectation of managing a specific task. A growth mindset is the basic assumption that you can develop the abilities for it.
vs. Realistic optimism
Optimism expects good outcomes. A growth mindset expects that effort changes abilities. The two can occur separately.
vs. Positive thinking
Positive thinking claims it will turn out fine. A growth mindset says it will get better if I work differently.
Frequently asked questions
What does growth mindset mean?
The belief that abilities can be developed through effort and strategy, as opposed to the fixed mindset, which regards abilities as set. The term comes from Carol Dweck's research.
Is the growth mindset scientifically supported?
The mechanism yes, the effect size is debated. Large studies show smaller effects than the popular account suggests, and the impact depends on the environment. What is supported is that reading setbacks as information changes subsequent behavior.
How do I develop a growth mindset?
Through a habit: after every setback, ask what you will do differently next time. The question directs attention to the strategy, and that is the core of the concept.
Related terms
Further reading
All terms in the glossaryUnderstanding is the first step. Doing is the second.
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