Mindset Research is Personal

My work on mindset theory did not begin in graduate school, a laboratory, or with a dataset.  It began in my lived experience as a student navigating achievement, expectation, and doubt.  Growing up in the Virgin Islands, education was not optional in my household. With both parents valuing education, one of whom was an educator, learning was structured, monitored, and reinforced daily.  Academic excellence followed. I graduated as valedictorian in both sixth and eighth grade, accumulating the external markers of success, often interpreted as evidence of innate intelligence.

Yet beneath those achievements was a persistent internal tension. I was repeatedly praised for being “smart,” but I did not identify with and internalize this.  At the time, my understanding was that ‘true intelligence’ was effortless, quick, and unlabored. However, my success required sustained effort, discipline, and struggle. Because I interpreted struggle as incompatible with intelligence, I learned to hide it. I avoided asking questions publicly, delayed help-seeking, and internalized the belief that effort signaled inadequacy and lack.

This belief system followed me into high school, where a single failed assignment felt existential. I did not experience it as feedback; I experienced it as exposure. Convinced that failure revealed a fundamental lack of ability, I disengaged.  Not because I lacked capacity, but because my beliefs about ability made persistence feel dangerous.  Years later, I would come to understand this pattern clearly. I was operating from what Carol Dweck (2006) refers to as a “fixed mindset.”

These early experiences did more than shape my academic identity.  They ultimately informed a research agenda dedicated to understanding how beliefs, identity, classroom cultures, and institutional contexts shape who persists and thrives in education.

Discovering Mindset Theory and Seeing My Story in the Science

Mindset theory, first articulated by Carol Dweck, examines how beliefs about the malleability of intelligence shape motivation, goal orientation, responses to challenges, and persistence (Dweck, 1999; Dweck & Leggett, 1988). Decades of research demonstrate that individuals who endorse fixed-mindset beliefs are more likely to avoid challenges, interpret effort as evidence of low ability, and respond defensively to failure.  In contrast, those who endorse growth mindset beliefs are more likely to view effort, mistakes, and feedback as necessary for learning and development (Blackwell et al., 2007; Dweck & Yeager, 2019).

What drew me to mindset theory was not only its explanatory power but also its resonance with my own academic trajectory. The research captured the internal logic of my experiences with such precision. Importantly, the literature also dispelled a common misconception: high achievement does not inoculate individuals against fixed-mindset thinking. In fact, repeated easy success, especially when paired with ability-focused praise (as opposed to process-focused praise), can heighten vulnerability when challenges inevitably emerge (Mueller & Dweck, 1998; Murphy et al., 2025). This insight reframed my academic history. My struggles were not anomalies or personal shortcomings. They were predictable outcomes of belief systems shaped by socialization, feedback, and institutional and societal norms.  Over time, this recognition evolved into a program of research examining how mindset beliefs operate within STEM learning environments, particularly for students historically underrepresented in these fields.

How the Field Has Transformed: From Individual Beliefs to Systems and Cultures

Early mindset research focused primarily on individual beliefs and student-level interventions. While this work demonstrated meaningful effects, the field has since undergone a critical paradigm shift. Contemporary mindset science increasingly recognizes that mindsets operate across multiple levels (i.e., individual, interpersonal, and cultural) and are shaped by the environments people inhabit (Murphy, 2024; Murphy et al., 2025; Trzesniewski et al., 2021 ).

This multilevel perspective highlights that mindset-relevant messages are not conveyed solely through explicit statements (e.g., “Intelligence can grow”, “You can do it”), but through everyday practices, feedback structures, norms, and power relations (Kroeper et al., 2022). Educators’ beliefs about students’ abilities predict instructional practices, classroom climate, and student outcomes, particularly for students from historically marginalized and negatively stereotyped groups (Canning et al., 2019; LaCosse et al., 2020).

Critically, students respond not just to what instructors believe, but to what they perceive those beliefs to be. When students interpret classroom environments as fixed-oriented (i.e., where ability is treated as innate and mistakes signal deficiency), they experience greater psychological vulnerability, disengagement, and attrition (Muenks et al., 2020; Murphy et al., 2025). This shift, from solely focusing on changing students’ mindsets to examining mindset cultures, has fundamentally reshaped my research agenda

My own scholarship contributes to this shift by examining how faculty beliefs, instructional practices, and classroom climates jointly shape minoritized students’ motivation, achievement, and persistence in STEM (Fredericks et al., in preparation). This work reflects a broader commitment to advancing multilevel approaches that move beyond the individual and toward a deeper understanding of how learning environments communicate who is capable, who belongs, and what success requires.

Much of my work is situated within Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) (Fredericks et al., 2021), a context that remains significantly understudied in psychological and educational scholarship, despite its longstanding role in cultivating excellence among Black students in STEM (Toldson, 2019).  By modeling the relationships among instructor beliefs, enacted practices, classroom climate, student perceptions, psychological vulnerability, and academic outcomes, this work seeks to illuminate how growth-oriented cultures take shape within relational learning environments (Fredericks et al., in preparation). These contributions are essential for building theories of learning that extend beyond majority-serving institutions and for informing equity-focused, evidence-based efforts to support student persistence and success in STEM.

How This Work Shapes How I Show Up 

The research that I am immersed in has profoundly shaped who I am as a scholar, educator, mentor, and collaborator.  I am intentional about making struggle visible and legitimate, explicitly framing difficulty as a normal and necessary part of learning.  At the same time, I actively resist “false growth mindset” practices.  Effort without guidance and encouragement without strategy undermines trust and learning (Dweck, 2015).

I strive to provide feedback that is process-focused and diagnostic, emphasizing the use of strategy, revision, and growth over time rather than static evaluation.  I attend carefully to the classroom climate students experience, recognizing that belonging and psychological safety are prerequisites for persistence, especially in STEM fields

Most importantly, I take my role seriously as both a belief-holder and culture facilitator.  Educators are not neutral actors. We hold power and autonomy in spaces that communicate powerful messages about who is capable and who belongs. I work to cultivate learning environments that counter fixed narratives, not by lowering standards, but by aligning high expectations with meaningful support. I’d like to consider myself a “warm demander” (Ware, 2006).

These commitments are not merely pedagogical preferences.  They are grounded in a growing body of research demonstrating that psychologically supportive classroom climates are critical for engagement and achievement.

Why This Work Continues

Mindset theory has matured. It is no longer about slogans or quick fixes. It is about systems, cultures, and shared responsibility.  For me, this work remains deeply personal. I know what it feels like to succeed while quietly doubting your legitimacy, and I understand the transformative power of someone holding ‘space’ for you (i.e., believing in your unlimited potential and your greatness) until you can hold it for yourself.  My scholarship, teaching, and leadership are driven by a singular commitment to help create educational environments where growth is not merely promised but structurally supported.

As mindset science continues to evolve, the field is increasingly called to move beyond individual beliefs toward a deeper examination of the cultures that shape learning. Advancing this work requires not only reflecting on, questioning, and changing what we believe about students, but also intentionally designing classroom environments and institutions with a culture of growth that is genuinely experienced by all.

References

Blackwell, L. S., Trzesniewski, K. H., & Dweck, C. S. (2007). Implicit theories of intelligence predict achievement across an adolescent transition: A longitudinal study and an intervention. Child Development, 78(1), 246–263.

Canning, E. A., Muenks, K., Green, D. J., & Murphy, M. C. (2019). STEM faculty who believe ability is fixed have larger racial achievement gaps and inspire less student motivation in their classes. Science Advances, 5(2), eaau4734.

Dweck, C. S. (1999). Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and development. Psychology Press.

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House.

Dweck, C. S. (2015). Carol Dweck revisits the growth mindset. Education Week, 35, 20–24.

Dweck, C. S., & Leggett, E. L. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological Review, 95(2), 256–273.

Dweck, C. S., & Yeager, D. S. (2019). Mindsets: A view from two eras. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 14(3), 481–496.

Fredericks, A., Engerman, K., & McKayle, C. (2021). Providing the Opportunity to Learn: Unpacking the Role of Mindsets and Leadership in Broadening Participation in STEM at HBCUs. American Journal of Applied Psychology, 10 (5) 110-119

Fredericks, A., Leckey, S., Greene, P., Sievers, J., Canning, E., Muenks, K., & Trzesniewski, K. (in prep). Beyond Individual Beliefs: A Multilevel Examination of Growth Mindset Culture in STEM Classrooms.

Kroeper, K. M., Fried, A. C., & Murphy, M. C. (2022). Towards fostering growth mindset classrooms: Identifying teaching behaviors that signal instructors’ fixed and growth mindset beliefs to students. Social Psychology of Education.

LaCosse, J., Canning, E. A., Bowman, N. A., Murphy, M. C., & Logel, C. (2020). A social-belonging intervention improves STEM outcomes for students who speak English as a second language. Science Advances, 6(40), eabb6543.

Mueller, C. M., & Dweck, C. S. (1998). Praise for intelligence can undermine children’s motivation and performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(1), 33–52.

Muenks, K., Canning, E. A., Green, D. J., & Murphy, M. C. (2020). Does my professor think my ability can change? Students’ perceptions of their professors’ mindset beliefs predict their psychological vulnerability, engagement, and performance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 86, 103941.

Murphy, M. C. (2024). Cultures of growth: How the new science of mindset can transform individuals, teams, and organizations. Simon & Schuster.

Murphy, M. C., Emerson, K. T. U., Kroeper, K. M., & Green, D. J. (2025). The evolution of mindset research: Forging connections across individuals, situations, and cultures. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 72, 57–111.

Porter, T., Molina, D., Cimpian, A., Roberts, S., Fredericks, A., Blackwell, L., & Trzesniewski, K. H. (2022). Growth mindset intervention delivered by teachers benefits middle school students’ achievement. Psychological Science, 33(7), 1086–1096

Toldson, I. A. (2019). Cultivating STEM Talent at Minority Serving Institutions: Challenges and Opportunities to Broaden Participation in STEM at Historically Black Colleges and Universities [Chapter]. ACS Symposium Series, 1328, 1–9.

Trzesniewski, K., Yeager, D. S., Catalán Molina, D., Claro, S., Oberle, C., & Murphy, M. (2021). Global mindset initiative paper 3: Measuring growth mindset classroom cultures. Yidan Prize Foundation.

Ware, F. (2006). Warm demander pedagogy: Culturally responsive teaching that supports a culture of achievement for African American students. Urban Education, 41(4), 427–456.