THE EFFECTS OF DOMINANT MINDSETS OF STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES IN INFLUENCING GROWTH PREFERENCES

Abstract

Fixed and growth mindsets have been widely studied as an implicit measure for how individuals perceive the changeability of their personal attributes. While the growth mindset has been advocated as a catalyst for success, there has been a dearth of research exploring exactly which trait domains will individuals prioritise improvement in given limited resources. This paper thus introduces a relatively novel construct - a dominant mindset of strengths or weaknesses – by extending the research on mindsets to investigate the effects of perceived strengths or weaknesses malleability on behavioural preferences through perceived utility from improving in these strengths and weaknesses. We manipulated participants’ (n = 346) perceptions of their creativity and adaptability by allowing them to perceive one as a strength and the other as a weakness. After indicating their dominant mindset, they subsequently specified their preferences for developing creativity or adaptability through two behavioural measures. Linear regression models showed that participants predominantly chose to develop their weaknesses, regardless of their dominant mindset. Moderated mediation results demonstrated that this association was partly explained by an increase in perceived utility of developing their weaknesses over their strengths, though this was not significant. Practical implications, future research directions, and study limitations are discussed.