RESHAPING PARENTAL EXPECTATIONS TO FACILITATE HARMONIOUS PASSION: DEVELOPMENT OF BROADER VIEW OF INTELLIGENCE SCALE

Abstract

Parental expectations influence children’s development of passion for careers. Parents tend to pressure their children to pursue high status careers which are intrinsically linked with cognitive abilities. The first objective of the study is to develop and validate the Broader Views of Intelligence which aims to capture the centrality of cognitive abilities in one’s definition of intelligence and the second objective is to examine how such variations in definitions of intelligence is related to perceptions of various careers. The study was conducted with a sample of undergraduates and their parents (N = 546). Exploratory factor analysis revealed that the 7-item scale loads on a single factor. The scale was found to be internally consistent with a Cronbach alpha of .80 and significantly associated with growth mindsets of intelligence. The findings provided preliminary evidence for the factor structure and the construct validity of the scale. Broader views of intelligence predicted smaller differences in attitudes towards high and low status occupations. This finding establishes the link between perceptions of intelligence and attitudes towards different occupations and paves the way for future studies to examine if definitions of intelligence can be altered to nurture harmonious passion for work.