You've probably heard about the growth mindset — the idea that constant, incremental improvement can lead to achievement and success.
Coined by psychologist Carol Dweck, the concept has been popular for years now. It's espoused by Ivy League experts, self-made millionaires and star athletes alike. But it may not work for you all the time, or under all circumstances, according to a growing body of psychology research.
Focusing on small, consistent gains proves helpful, for example, when you're experiencing "ego threat," or a threat to your self-image or self-esteem, Jennifer Burnette, a psychology professor at North Carolina State University, tells CNBC Make It.
It may be less useful when you're already at the top of your game, research shows. And if you're really struggling, simply changing your mindset may not help much.
Finding the sweet spot between those two ends of the spectrum can be hard. It's also the key to understanding why the growth mindset works and when to lean into it, researchers say.
When a growth mindset is least effective
Elizabeth Tipton, a Northwestern University professor of statistics and data science, refers to that sweet spot as "the Goldilocks effect."
After analyzing a series of growth mindset studies, Tipton concluded that telling high achievers to change the way they think about improvement doesn't really help them. That echoes a recent meta-analysis published in the Psychological Bulletin, which found that students already earning top grades don't benefit much from dedicating more time and energy to incremental improvement.
"If you give cholesterol medication to someone who doesn't need it, it's probably not going to work. And similarly, we found that these interventions work best when students actually need them," says Burnette, a co-author of the paper.
But focusing on incremental improvement can just as tough, if not tougher, for so-called low achievers, Tipton says — particularly because "mindset" is typically the least of their concerns. More systemic concerns, often relating to poor socioeconomic conditions, tend to take center stage.
Several studies on school-age children, for example, found that a growth mindset resulted in better grades for kids from financially well-off families than those from poorer backgrounds.
A growth mindset is "a necessary but insufficient condition for learning," says Tipton.
When a growth mindset is most effective, and how to use it wisely
A quick retraining of your brain rarely helps on its own, Tipton says. Your context matters too: Tweaking your mental approach may not get you far at work if your boss doesn't also believe in self-driven change, for example. In that case, you'd probably benefit more from having an honest conversation with them about expectations.
You also need access to resources — financial, mental and emotional. Classes can cost money. Self-improvement work takes time and energy. It's like learning a new sport, says Tipton: If you're a brand-new tennis player, you need to find a court, get a membership and buy a racket before doing much else.
"When people talk about the growth mindset, they often talk about it like it's just about the mindset, attitudes and beliefs — and not actions and behaviors," she says.
Even Dweck says most people seem to misunderstand her theory. Simply believing you can improve at something won't automatically make you better at it, she wrote in a 2015 essay.
"A growth mindset isn't just about effort," Dweck wrote, adding that people "need to try new strategies and seek input from others when they're stuck. They need this repertoire of approaches — not just sheer effort — to learn and improve."
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