Research Symposium

BIO

Hello, my name is Kyarelise Colon and I am a second year double majoring Psychology and Criminology major. I am Puerto Rican, raised in Tampa, Florida but was born in Brooklyn, New York. My research interests include understanding the use of growth mindset interventions and their effectiveness on college students. Beyond that I enjoy spending time outdoors (specifically sitting on Landis), spending time with my sorority sisters, and taking pictures of things that are pretty! These are some of the things that help me decompress after the school day. In the future, I hope to get my Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology after completing my Bachelor's.

The Effectiveness of Growth Mindset Interventions with College Students

Abstract

College students vary in the types of mindsets they hold. The Mindset Theory developed by Stanford professor Dr. Carol Dweck (2006), defines mindset as one’s perception of their own intelligence and abilities to develop new skills and knowledge. A growth mindset is a belief that someone can grow their intelligence and gain knowledge as long as they apply effort over time. In contrast, a fixed mindset is the belief that intelligence and talent is innate with little room for change. Because a growth or fixed mindset can influence one’s perception of their intelligence, the focus of this literature review is to examine if intervention methods positively affected students’ academic achievement, social belonging, and cognition. The literature review investigates the use of different intervention methods with college students and how these interventions affect their overall success in college. The literature review parameters were limited to peer-reviewed publications from 2002 to 2022 and included specific key terms (e.g., academic, belongingness, growth mindset, interventions) used to search for studies in research repositories/databases (e.g., APA PsychInfo). We identified several studies with various intervention methodologies (e.g., pen-pal conditions, reflective writing, targeted readings, video) that yielded positive growth mindset outcomes for college students. In particular, numerous studies identified positive outcomes for students’ academic success. Because studies have identified growth mindset interventions as effective for college students in general, we hope to continue researching interventions with first-generation and other historically under-represented college student populations to positively influence their academic and social success.

Keywords: Growth Mindset, College Students, Intervention