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    Huberman Lab

    How to Enhance Performance & Learning by Applying a Growth Mindset

    Mon Jul 17 2023
    Growth MindsetNeuroplasticityFeedbackPerformance EnhancementStress

    Description

    The episode explores the concept of growth mindset, which involves embracing challenge, distancing identity from challenges, and attaching identity to effort and learning. It discusses the impact of feedback on performance, the influence of mindsets on core beliefs, and the importance of effort-based praise. The episode also delves into the relationship between mindsets and brain activity, the role of stress in performance enhancement, and the practical applications of growth mindset and stress-enhancing mindsets in various contexts.

    Insights

    Growth mindset involves embracing challenge and optimizing performance

    Developing a growth mindset means distancing your identity from challenges and attaching it to effort and learning

    Feedback based on identity labels undermines performance

    Effort-based praise should be prioritized over intelligence praise in everyday settings

    Mindsets shape our attention and responses

    Growth mindset forces us to question our narratives and beliefs

    Praise for effort improves performance, while intelligence praise can reduce it

    Children praised for effort tend to outperform those praised for intelligence

    Beliefs about intelligence influence learning success

    Shifting from performance narratives to effort-related narratives enhances learning ability

    Effort and engagement are crucial for improvement in any domain

    Thinking about successes and failures through the lens of effort allows for continuous improvement

    Timing of praise doesn't matter, always strive to give genuine effort praise

    Effort and attention are the only things we can control

    Shifting from fixed mindset to growth mindset is possible

    Focusing on effort and engaging more leads to elevated performance

    Stress-enhancing mindset allows easier access to growth mindset

    Beliefs about stress determine its effects on our physiology

    Learning about growth mindset and stress-enhancing mindsets improves self-regard and performance

    Engaging in tutorials leads to taking on additional challenges in the future

    Chapters

    1. Introduction to Growth Mindset
    2. Mindsets and Identity
    3. Feedback and Core Beliefs
    4. Praise and Performance
    5. Misrepresentation and Beliefs
    6. Effort and Performance
    7. Timing of Praise and Control
    8. Brain Activity and Confidence
    9. Shifting Mindsets and Stress
    10. Stress and Performance
    11. Educating on Stress and Mindsets
    12. Analyzing Errors and Mindset Shifts
    13. The Learning Process and Mindset Building
    14. Research Findings and Practical Applications
    15. Conclusion and Key Takeaways
    Summary
    Transcript

    Introduction to Growth Mindset

    00:00 - 06:35

    • Growth mindset involves embracing challenge and optimizing performance
    • Developing a growth mindset means distancing your identity from challenges
    • Praise or feedback that attaches identity to performance can undermine performance
    • Growth mindset is about attaching identity and motivation to effort and learning
    • Combining growth mindset with a stress-enhancing mindset improves performance
    • Neuroplasticity is at the core of growth mindset, allowing the brain to change through deliberate focus on learning

    Mindsets and Identity

    06:13 - 12:43

    • Mindsets organize and encode information, shaping our attention and responses
    • Mindsets include narratives attached to our sense of identity
    • Growth mindset forces us to question our narratives and beliefs
    • Reflect on what you're good at and where those messages came from
    • Feedback based on identity labels vs. effort has different effects on performance

    Feedback and Core Beliefs

    12:19 - 19:11

    • Early feedback shapes core beliefs about what is possible in an endeavor
    • We can modify core beliefs by changing the feedback we give ourselves
    • Praise for intelligence undermines motivation and performance
    • Intelligence praise leads to selecting easier problems, while effort praise leads to selecting harder problems
    • Praise reinforces behavior patterns, but intelligence praise focuses on being told one is smart rather than engaging in the activity

    Praise and Performance

    18:50 - 25:49

    • Children praised for effort tend to outperform those praised for intelligence
    • Be cautious about feedback attached to a child's identity in an endeavor
    • Rewarding oneself for effort is the best way to improve performance
    • Intelligence praise can reduce performance, while effort praise improves performance
    • Effort praise should be prioritized over intelligence praise in everyday settings

    Misrepresentation and Beliefs

    25:25 - 31:56

    • Intelligence praise can lead to misrepresentation of performance
    • Kids who receive intelligence praise are more likely to lie about their performance
    • Effort praise does not lead to misrepresentation of performance
    • Beliefs about intelligence influence learning success
    • Shifting from performance narratives to effort-related narratives enhances learning ability

    Effort and Performance

    31:35 - 38:14

    • Effort and engagement are crucial for improvement in any domain
    • Performance labels can lead to a sense of identity, which can be detrimental when performance diminishes
    • Thinking about successes and failures through the lens of effort allows for continuous improvement
    • Labels of intelligence or identity undermine performance
    • Effort-based praise before a challenge improves performance

    Timing of Praise and Control

    37:49 - 44:33

    • Effort praise after performance increases future effort
    • Identity praise before performance decreases subsequent performance
    • Timing of praise doesn't matter, always strive to give genuine effort praise
    • Effort and attention are the only things we can control
    • Beliefs about intelligence influence learning success

    Brain Activity and Confidence

    44:12 - 50:52

    • Brain activity can be recorded to measure accuracy and confidence
    • Fixed mindset individuals show larger error signals in emotional brain areas
    • Growth mindset individuals focus on cognitive appraisal of errors
    • Shifting from fixed mindset to growth mindset is possible
    • Focusing on effort and engaging more leads to elevated performance

    Shifting Mindsets and Stress

    50:28 - 57:20

    • Shifting from fixed mindset to growth mindset is important
    • Devoting attentional resources to understanding errors builds up growth mindset
    • Stress-enhancing mindset allows easier access to growth mindset
    • Thinking about stress impacts how we react to it
    • Beliefs about stress determine its effects on our physiology

    Stress and Performance

    56:53 - 1:03:55

    • Learning that stress can enhance performance significantly without training or practice
    • Stress response depends on cognitive appraisal, not inherently good or bad
    • Stress mobilizes resources for adaptive challenges
    • Learning that stress enhances performance allows adjustment of stress response in real time
    • Embracing a stress-enhancing mindset leads to improved performance under stress

    Educating on Stress and Mindsets

    1:03:34 - 1:10:01

    • Educating oneself on how stress can enhance performance buffers against anticipatory stress
    • Learning about mindsets offsets the stress response and improves performance
    • Learning about growth mindset and stress-enhancing mindsets shifts physiology and enhances performance
    • Brief interventions have significant impact on shifting mindset and improving performance
    • Tools for building mindsets include adopting them as teachers and students, focusing on verbs when giving feedback, and analyzing errors analytically

    Analyzing Errors and Mindset Shifts

    1:09:40 - 1:16:36

    • Focus on analyzing verbs that led to errors, rather than getting caught up in emotions
    • Allow time to process emotional experience before engaging in error analysis
    • Seek help from others to gain understanding of why performance was not as desired
    • Teachers and students embracing mindsets are most effective for learning
    • Write a letter explaining mindsets if no teacher or mentor is available
    • Learning involves stress and strain that triggers the learning process

    The Learning Process and Mindset Building

    1:16:31 - 1:23:44

    • The mind is not like a muscle; learning involves stress and strain for growth
    • Experiencing strain and agitation is part of the learning process itself
    • Stress, frustration, and difficulty maintaining focus create conditions for learning
    • Growth mindset and stress-enhancing mindset improve performance synergistically
    • Building up mindsets takes time and belief in their power to have real effects

    Research Findings and Practical Applications

    1:23:23 - 1:30:27

    • Learning about growth mindset and stress-enhancing mindsets improves self-regard and performance
    • Engaging in tutorials leads to taking on additional challenges in the future
    • Tools for building mindsets include adopting them as teachers and students, focusing on verbs when giving feedback, and analyzing errors analytically

    Conclusion and Key Takeaways

    1:30:08 - 1:36:49

    • Focus on analyzing verbs that led to errors, rather than getting caught up in emotions
    • Seek help from others to gain understanding of why performance was not as desired
    • Teachers and students embracing mindsets are most effective for learning
    • The mind is not like a muscle; learning involves stress and strain for growth
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