“You just can’t get better at creativity”: Categorising skill proficiency as a product of ‘traits’ or ‘training’

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liam Satchell ◽  
Emily Mason-Apps ◽  
Randy J. McCarthy ◽  
Sherria Hoskins
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Physical Fitness ◽  
Life Experience ◽  
Implicit Theories ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Implicit Theories Of Intelligence ◽  
Theories Of Intelligence ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Over Time

Research on ‘implicit theories’ of intelligence and ability suggests that individuals tend to be predominantly more ‘entity’ or fixed (skill is invariant over time), or ‘incremental’ or growth (abilities are improvable and changeable) in terms of their beliefs about the nature of intelligence. However, there have been few investigations of participants’ willingness to make these implicit theories explicit across a range of capabilities. Here, we investigate the responses participants give when asked to categorize Schooling, Creative, Physical fitness or Home skills as the product of the ‘traits’ an individual has or the ‘training’ they receive as part of life experience and development. Participants also completed individual differences measures of held implicit theories of intelligence. A total of 488 participants from the UK and US completed the study. On average, 26% of the skill judgments were categorised as ‘trait’. The categorisations varied by skill, with the skills ironing (11.90%) and chemistry (12.10%) receiving the fewest ‘trait’ categorisations and the skills of singing (63.20%), drawing (63.20%), and painting (57.70%) receiving the most. In general, the Creativity domain received the highest average trait endorsement (39.71%). Participants’ self-report fixed implicit theories of intelligence also predicted the number of trait categorisations they made. The results are discussed in the context of research indicating the possible implications on outcomes of domain-specific beliefs.

Examining the Effects of Task Instructions to Induce Implicit Theories of Intelligence on a Rational Thinking Task

2017 ◽  
Vol 225 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivar Bråten ◽  
Andreas Lien ◽  
John Nietfeld
Keyword(s):  
Implicit Theories ◽  
Male Students ◽  
Task Instruction ◽  
Rational Thinking ◽  
Implicit Theories Of Intelligence ◽  
Entity Theory ◽  
Theories Of Intelligence ◽  
Theory Of Intelligence ◽  
Task Instructions ◽  
Culture Specificity

Abstract. In two experiments with Norwegian undergraduates and one experiment with US undergraduates, we examined the potential effects of brief task instructions aligned with incremental and entity views of intelligence on students’ performance on a rational thinking task. The research demonstrated that even brief one-shot task instructions that deliver a mindset about intelligence intervention can be powerful enough to affect students’ performance on such a task. This was only true for Norwegian male students, however. Moreover, it was the task instruction aligned with an entity theory of intelligence that positively affected Norwegian male students’ performance on the rational thinking task, with this unanticipated finding speaking to the context- and culture-specificity of implicit theories of intelligence interventions.

scholarly journals Teachers' implicit beliefs about (mathematical) intelligence

2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-170
Author(s):  
Luna Radević ◽  
Ivona Jerković ◽  
Ilija Milovanović
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Implicit Theories ◽  
Secondary School Teachers ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Implicit Theories Of Intelligence ◽  
Intelligence Scale ◽  
Incremental Theory ◽  
Entity Theory ◽  
Theories Of Intelligence ◽  
Primary And Secondary School

Implicit theories of intelligence are individual beliefs about the nature of intelligence, which are used on a daily basis as part of self-assessment and assessment of others, and are a significant factor shaping attitudes and behaviors. Research to date suggests that teachers can influence their students' beliefs about intelligence, which in turn affect motivation and achievement. According to Dweck's model, implicit theories of intelligence are a bipolar construct, with two theories at its extremes - the entity theory, which stresses the immutability of intelligence, and the incremental theory, which holds that intelligence can be improved through training and learning. Recent research, however, indicates that these two theories represent distinct, uncorrelated dimensions. The aim of this study was to carry out a psychometric evaluation of the Implicit Theories of Intelligence Scale (ITIS) and the Mathematics-Oriented Implicit Theory of Intelligence Scale (MOITIS). 228 primary and secondary school teachers in Serbia (87.7% female; average age 42.79 years) took part in the study. The results of factor analysis suggest the existence of two factors on both scales: incremental theory and entity theory. Further analysis showed that both factors of the ITIS and MOITIS scales have satisfactory psychometric properties. Significant differences were detected between primary and secondary school teachers on the ITIS scale. More specifically, among teachers of science subjects, mathematics and medical subjects the attitude that intelligence is a fixed trait is more pronounced than among teachers of the arts, humanities and social sciences.

scholarly journals Stability of recall of military hazards over time

2003 ◽  
Vol 183 (4) ◽  
pp. 314-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Wessely ◽  
C. Unwin ◽  
M. Hotopf ◽  
L. Hull ◽  
K. Ismail ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Health ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Significant Rise ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Psychological Status ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Changes Over Time ◽  
Over Time

BackgroundWartime traumatic events are related to subsequent psychological and physical health, but quantifying the association is problematic. Memory changes over time and is influenced by psychological status.AimsTo use a large, two-stage cohort study of members of the UK armed forces to study changes in recall of both traumatic and ‘toxic’ hazards.MethodA questionnaire-based follow-up study assessed 2370 UK military personnel, repeating earlier questions about exposure to military hazards.ResultsThe κ statistics for reporting of hazards were good for some exposures, but very low for others. Gulf veterans reported more exposures over time (no significant rise in the Bosnia cohort). In the Gulf cohort only, reporting new exposures was associated with worsening health perception, and forgetting previously reported exposures with improved perception. We found no association between physical health, psychological morbidity or post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and endorsement or non-endorsement of exposures.ConclusionsReporting of military hazards after a conflict is not static, and is associated with current self-rated perception of health. Self-report of exposures associated with media publicity needs to be treated with caution.

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