In the pilot A/B experiments, indirect framing outperformed direct framing, refuting the fixed mindset backfired for strong fixed-mindset holders, and celebrity endorsements increased adoption¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (3 entries) · causal r2–r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2016 · checked against its sources 2026-10-19 (automated, 3 of 3 entries) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Direct framing led to smaller changes in mindsets than indirect framing in both A/B studies. → Yeager 2016 q2 i? Refuting the fixed mindset caused participants with stronger baseline fixed mindsets to increase in fixed mindset (main effect p=.003, interaction p=.01). → Yeager 2016 (2) q2 i? Adult and celebrity role-model endorsements increased growth mindset adoption relative to versions without them. → Yeager 2016 (3)

Evidence¶

Yeager 2016¶

Yeager, D. S., Romero, C., Paunesku, D., Hulleman, C. S., Schneider, B., Hinojosa, C., Lee, H. Y., O'Brien, J., Flint, K., Roberts, A., Trott, J., Greene, D., Walton, G. M., & Dweck, C. S. (2016). Using Design Thinking to Improve Psychological Interventions: The Case of the Growth Mindset During the Transition to High School. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108(3), 374–391. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000098

q2 · i? · causal · r2

Rapid randomized A/B experiments, two studies with 7 factors fully crossed across N=3,004 participants (Mechanical Turk adults and a Qualtrics high-school panel), assessing pre-to-post change in self-reported fixed mindsets. No effect size printed.

"Table 1 shows that in both A/B Study 1 and A/B Study 2 the direct framing led to smaller changes in mindsets—corresponding to lower effectiveness—than indirect framing"

Yeager 2016 (2)¶

Yeager, D. S., Romero, C., Paunesku, D., Hulleman, C. S., Schneider, B., Hinojosa, C., Lee, H. Y., O'Brien, J., Flint, K., Roberts, A., Trott, J., Greene, D., Walton, G. M., & Dweck, C. S. (2016). Using Design Thinking to Improve Psychological Interventions: The Case of the Growth Mindset During the Transition to High School. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108(3), 374–391. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000098

q2 · i? · causal · r3

A/B Study 1 finding: refuting the fixed mindset led to smaller mindset changes than not doing so, and increased post-message fixed-mindset reports among participants with stronger baseline fixed mindsets. The authors offer an "illusion of truth" that might entrench fixed-mindset holders as a possible explanation; it was not tested. A subtler within-person-comparison refutation tested in A/B Study 2 no longer caused reduced effectiveness.

"the refutation manipulation caused participants who held a stronger fixed mindset at baseline to show an increase in fixed mindset post-message, main effect p = .003, interaction effect p = .01."

Yeager 2016 (3)¶

Yeager, D. S., Romero, C., Paunesku, D., Hulleman, C. S., Schneider, B., Hinojosa, C., Lee, H. Y., O'Brien, J., Flint, K., Roberts, A., Trott, J., Greene, D., Walton, G. M., & Dweck, C. S. (2016). Using Design Thinking to Improve Psychological Interventions: The Case of the Growth Mindset During the Transition to High School. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108(3), 374–391. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000098

q2 · i? · causal · r2

A/B experiments testing role-model elements (Scott Forstall's iPhone team story; a Michelle Obama speech excerpt) found they "increased adoption of a growth mindset" versus versions without endorsements; no effect size printed.

"These increased adoption of a growth mindset compared to versions that did not include these endorsements (Table 1)."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Mindset — moderator: an instructional effect differs with it
• Motivation — moderator: an instructional effect differs with it

Related Claims¶

• Fixed mindsets predict stronger stereotyping and trait inferences, with experimental evidence of a causal role — related
• Growth-mindset interventions have weak average effects on achievement, including a negligible GPA gain (d = 0.11) for lower-achieving US ninth-graders in one preregistered national trial — related