Developmental stage moderates the mind-set–achievement correlation, which is nonsignificant for adults¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesis r3 · q3 · i1 small
Currency · newest study 2018 · checked against its sources 2026-10-18 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

Reading the evidence codes

q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.

This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.

q3 i1 The correlation was r = .19 for children, r = .15 for adolescents, and r = .02 (nonsignificant) for adults; adults differed significantly from both other groups. → Victoria F. Sisk 2018

Evidence¶

Victoria F. Sisk 2018¶

Victoria F. Sisk, Alexander P. Burgoyne, Jingze Sun, Jennifer L. Butler, and Brooke N. Macnamara. (2018). To What Extent and Under Which Circumstances Are Growth Mind-Sets Important to Academic Achievement? Two Meta-Analyses. Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617739704

q3 · i1 · quant-synthesis · r3

Mixed-effects moderator analysis of developmental stage in Meta-Analysis 1 was significant, Q(2) = 72.84, p < .001. Correlations were "r = .19, 95% CI = [.16, .23], p < .001, for children" and r = .15 for adolescents, but r = .02, p = .110, for adults; adults differed from both other groups.

"The average correlation between mind-set and academic achievement was r = .19, 95% CI = [.16, .23], p < .001, for children; r = .15, 95% CI = [.12, .18], p < .001, for adolescents; and r = .02, 95% CI = [−.005, .05], p = .110, for adults."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

Motivation — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
Age and Developmental Stage — moderator: an instructional effect differs with it
Mindset — moderator: an instructional effect differs with it

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 — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
The meta-analytic correlation between growth mind-set and academic achievement is weak (r = .10) — related
Academic risk status does not significantly moderate the mind-set–achievement correlation — related
Type of achievement measure moderates the correlation only when laboratory measures are excluded; course-exam correlation drops to r = .04 — related
No correlation between an intervention's attitude effect and its achievement effect across studies — related

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`claim`
`id`	`developmental-stage-moderates-mindset-correlation`
`title`	`Developmental stage moderates the mind-set–achievement correlation, which is nonsignificant for adults`
`description`	`Developmental stage moderates the mind-set–achievement correlation, which is nonsignificant for adults`
`status`	`review`
`evidence_strength`	`moderate`
`newest_evidence`	`2018`
`source_checked`	`2026-10-18`
`generated`	by `process:wiki-ingest` on `2026-10-13`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `victoria-f-sisk-2018`

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