It’s All In Our Head
When I first started reading this chapter, the first thing that immediately got my attention is the approach that Dr.Dweck took that is different from that of previous authors. He brings up the idea of how “bright girls don’t cope well with confusion” (Dweck, 47). Since the STEM field is extremely competitive and challenging, it is almost inevitable to encounter obstacles. Therefore, talking about the possible differences of how two genders cope with setbacks is a very smart and effective way to tackle this topic.
Though Dr.Dweck didn’t mention the two kinds of theorist – incremental and entity – directly, it is what he’s talking about in this chapter. According to him, women tend to lose confidence and be more susceptible to stereotypes if they are entity theorists, meaning that they believe talents cannot be developed. The results of the studies that he’s found all show that “the vulnerability seems to reside more in the ones who see their ability as something that is fixed” (Dweck, 49). Though It never fails to amaze me how powerful one’s mindset can be, it doesn’t really surprise me how individuals would have a better performance if they believed they had the ability to succeed. However, I did not know that people with low self-esteem tend to comply with stereotypes as well. I believe it is something that takes place without us really knowing. I also think that it is understandable why that happens. Like I said in my previous blog post, stereotypes are “labels” that we put on certain groups of people in order to better “organize” the world around us. I think, in a way, it would be easier for us to just follow the stereotypes since people are already expecting us to act a certain way or do certain things. People who have little confidence wouldn’t want to draw any attention and would rather stay in their “comfort zone”, as known as the box that society put them in. Dr.Dweck is right. The kind of messages that the schools are sending is very influential and it could really make a difference. The number of women in the STEM field would increase dramatically if more of them were incremental theorists instead of entity theorists.
Though I agree on the fact that in order to prevent women from losing their confidence in the face of obstacles, we should “address students’ beliefs about the nature of ability” (Dweck, 51), I do not think that we should avoid praising a female’s ability when she has done fine work. In the chapter, Dr.Dweck believes that praising women actually has a host of undesirable consequences. For example, they would think that their ability is a gift and couldn’t be developed, and therefore, when they fail, they tend to lose their confidence. Personally, I rarely get praise from my family, but when I do, I feel so much more motivated. It makes me want to continue doing what I’m doing and not give up. It makes me feel better about myself and that for once, maybe I am good enough. As long as you are not overpraising one’s achievement, it is nice to be reminded that you are doing a good job and to keep it up. I believe praise should be given in order to encourage and show your support to the people who have worked so hard to get to where they are. The truth is they deserve the recognition. They deserve to told that they are brilliant simply because they are. In fact, a praise might just help someone overcome an obstacle. I believe it can do more good than harm. In 2004, the Gallup Organisation carried out a worldwide research project, asking more than 4 million employees about the importance of praise. Gallup found out that “employees who receive regular praise are more productive, engaged and more likely to stay with their organisation, than those who do not” (Trainingjournal.com, 2014). Studies show that an appropriate amount of praise could really improve not only one’s performance but their determination to keep going.
People always say that it is the journey that matters, not the result, and I completely agree with that statement. Like Dr.Dweck, being an incremental theorist, I, too, believe that we should “put more value on the process that got [us] there than on some ability [we] came with” (Dweck, 53). The problem with being an entity theorist is that instead of trying to overcome hardships, people would “justify” their failures by saying that they don’t have the “gift” to succeed and eventually, they would stop pursuing what they love. Inherent differences in abilities certainly play a role, but instead of limiting and telling ourselves that this is the best we can do, we should start thinking about “how best to foster those abilities” (Dweck, 53) because talents can be trained and we can achieve whatever that we want to achieve if we have the right mindset.
Image Reference: Mission 100%, (2014). The Importance of Mindset – Mission 100%. [online] Available at: http://mission100percent.com/importance-mindset-2/ [Accessed 8 Sep. 2015].