Growth Mindset Scale – Chinese Version

Description

Mindset, also translated as attitude or mental model, was pioneeringly proposed by Dweck and her colleagues in the 1980s. Dweck discovered that people hold two different attitudes toward the fundamental qualities of individuals (such as intelligence, ability, and personality) regarding whether they are changeable: one is a Fixed Mindset and the other is a Growth Mindset. Individuals with a Fixed Mindset view abilities and other fundamental qualities as innate and unchangeable. They tend to attribute failure to a lack of ability, fearing failure, mistakes, and criticism. They prefer affirmation and praise, only willing to engage in activities they excel at, and often shy away from challenges. In the face of difficulties, they are more likely to retreat, evade, or even give up, easily experiencing feelings of helplessness after failure, leading to lower persistence and decreased performance in subsequent tasks. Because they value innate ability, they often undervalue the significance of effort and hard work. In contrast, individuals with a Growth Mindset believe that the brain has considerable plasticity and that various fundamental qualities can be improved and developed through effort. They see challenges as opportunities for learning and growth and believe that the key to life is to improve oneself through diligent work. Consequently, Growth Mindset individuals exhibit behaviors such as daring to challenge themselves, enjoying new experiences, persisting in the face of adversity, maintaining a positive attitude after failures, and viewing failure as a learning opportunity. Recent EEG research also indicates that children with a Growth Mindset allocate more attention to tasks where they made mistakes, allowing them to improve and increase accuracy in subsequent tasks. Dweck argues that mindset creates an individual’s internal world; it explains how people become optimistic or pessimistic, shapes life goals, alters attitudes toward work and relationships, guides parenting styles, and can predict whether individuals reach their potential. In recent years, this theory has garnered significant attention, yielding multiple results in both research and practical applications. Numerous studies have found that for learners, mindset is an important non-cognitive variable that can not only predict academic performance but also improve how students handle interpersonal conflicts.

Authors and Contact Email

Dweck, information not available

Purpose

The purpose of the Growth Mindset concept is to understand how beliefs about abilities and intelligence shape behavior, learning, and resilience in students.

Test Year

2018 (revised version by Jia Xiaoyu)

Administration Method and Scoring

The Growth Mindset Scale (GMS) consists of 20 items, 10 of which are reverse scored. The scoring is based on a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 4, where 1 means “完全不符合” (completely disagree) and 4 means “完全符合” (completely agree).

Reliability and Validity

The split-half reliability of the Growth Mindset Scale is 0.84.

Factors and Subscales

Information not available

Keywords

Mindset, Growth Mindset, Fixed Mindset, Non-cognitive variables, Academic performance

Items in Chinese

1. 我的智力对我来说是非常基本的，没办法改变太多。
2. 不管我的智力有多高，总是能改变它一点。
3. 我总是能都在很大程度上改变我的智力。
4. 我是一种特定类型的人，这一点很难改变。
5. 我是某种类型的人，我总是能够做出改变。
6. 音乐的天赋是任何人都可以通过学习而获得的。
7. 只有少数人真正擅长体育，这个天赋是生来如此的。
8. 如果我是男孩子，或者如果来自一个重视数学的家庭，那么数学的学习会更加容易。
9. 我在某个方面越努力，那么我就会越擅长这个领域。
10. 不管我是那种类型的人，总是能够在很大程度上改变。
11. 对于我而言尝试新鲜事物很有压力，而我也尽力去避免尝试新鲜事物。
12. 有一些人很好很友善，有一些人并不如此，人通常不怎么会改变的。
13. 当我的父母、老师对我的表现给予反馈的时候，我会很感谢他们。
14. 当我收到对我的表现反馈的时候，我通常很生气。
15. 所有的大脑没有受过伤，也没有生理缺陷的人，都具有相同的学习量。
16. 我能学习新的知识，但是我不能真正改变我的智力。
17. 我能够用不同的方法来处理事情，但关于我的本质，却不能真正的改变。
18. 人们基本上都是善良的，但有时会做出糟糕的决定。
19. 我完成我的学业任务的重要原因，是我喜欢学习新的事物。
20. 真正聪明的人，并不需要努力。

Items in English

1. My intelligence is very basic to me and cannot change much.
2. No matter how high my intelligence is, it can always be changed a little.
3. I can always change my intelligence to a great extent.
4. I am a specific type of person, and it is difficult to change this.
5. I am a certain type of person, and I can always make changes.
6. Musical talent can be acquired by anyone through learning.
7. Only a few people are truly good at sports; this talent is innate.
8. If I were a boy, or if I came from a family that values mathematics, learning math would be easier.
9. The more I work hard in a certain area, the more skilled I will become in that field.
10. No matter what type of person I am, I can always change to a great extent.
11. Trying new things is stressful for me, and I try to avoid doing so.
12. Some people are very good and kind, while others are not; people generally do not change much.
13. When my parents or teachers give feedback on my performance, I am very thankful for them.
14. When I receive feedback on my performance, I usually feel angry.
15. All brains without injury or physiological defects have the same learning capacity.
16. I can learn new knowledge, but I cannot truly change my intelligence.
17. I can handle things in different ways, but regarding my essence, I cannot truly change.
18. People are generally kind but sometimes make bad decisions.
19. An important reason I complete my academic tasks is that I enjoy learning new things.
20. Truly smart people do not need to put in effort.

References

Dweck, information not available