Beware False Growth Mindset: Building Growth Mindset in Medical Education Is Essential but Complicated

Milad Memari, Katherine Gavinski, Marie K. Norman

Mindset theory explains how learners' beliefs about intelligence and learning affect how they perceive effort, react to failure, and respond to feedback in challenging learning contexts. Mindset theory distinguishes between growth mindset (the belief that human capacities can be developed over time) and fixed mindset (the belief that human capacities are inherent and unchangeable). Efforts to develop growth mindset in learners have shown a wide range of benefits, including positive effects on students' resilience, commitment to lifelong learning, and persistence in a field of study, with notable impacts on learners who are struggling, learners from minoritized groups, and women in scientific fields. In recent years, mindset theory interventions have caught the interest of medical educators, who recognize that traditional medical education, with its emphasis on grades, standardized examination performance, and high perceived cost of failure, may actually reinforce fixed mindsets and thus erode resilience among learners. However, the increased popularity of mindset theory must be met with a more nuanced understanding of the theory, including increased awareness of the concept of "false growth mindset," a term coined by Carol Dweck to refer to common pitfalls in the theory's application. In this article, the authors highlight important findings from mindset interventions in medical education, identify common pitfalls of false growth mindset in the context of medical learners, and offer suggestions for how educators and institutions can better instigate changes to promote growth mindsets within medical education.