Growth-mindset

## Asians Might Be High-Achieving Thanks To a Growth-Mindset

Although it is indeed mostly stereotypical that Asians are “always smarter”, it has been shown by statistics that they end up, on average, with higher grades than other Americans: Handbook of Asian American Psychology.

The thing is, Asians don’t necessarily have a much higher IQ than other countries in the world (Singapore has an average IQ of 107.1).

According to this book, however:

Intelligence and How to Get It: Why Schools and Cultures Count

The “achievement-gap” can be explained because of possessing a different mindset, namely a growth-mindset.

First of all, what is the difference between a fixed-mindset and a growth-mindset? And could this explain the achievement-gap?

### Fixed-mindset vs growth-mindset

A fixed-mindset means that you don’t believe you can do much on yourself i.e. you have to surrender yourself to your environment and genetics. This, in turn, creates thoughts and beliefs such as:

> “I am not *innately* good in mathematics, so I probably won’t be no matter how hard I try.”
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Or:

> “It’s not possible for me to raise my intelligence, because of my genetics.”
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**Someone with a growth-mindset, on the other hand, would probably say things like:**

> “There are many things I used to be bad at, but look at me now, I guess I can achieve the same thing in mathematics, it just requires many hours and **deliberate practice**.”
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Or:

> “I am bad at learning, I guess I will have to raise my intelligence by learning about metacognition.”
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So how do these “growth-mindset thoughts” lead to higher achievements?

### Growth-mindset → high achievements

One can imagine how believing in positive thoughts like “I may not be good at mathematics right now, but if I study hard, I may still end up with good grades” (i.e. growth-mindset) can, in turn, truly bump up your grades.

Again, the book linked above says that Asians, on average, tend to have more of a growth-mindset.

Second, those who have a growth-mindset tend do things due to **internal motivation** (rather than external motivation). It has been shown by research that adding an external reward to something that’s internally rewarding **reduces task-performance** e.g. giving rewards to your child who likes to draw:

### Growth-mindset → metacognition

As far as I have read, there seems to be a high positive correlation between metacognitive skills and possessing a growth-mindset i.e. the better you are at “learning how to learn” the more likely it is that you possess a growth-mindset as well as the other way around.

One, then, can imagine how this would create a positive feedback loop: The more you believe in a growth-mindset, the more you believe you can increase your intelligence and vice versa:

Again, Asians are more likely to have a growth-mindset and, therefore, also have a higher probability of possessing high metacognitive skills. This, too, could explain the achievement-gap partially.

But how powerful is possessing high metacognitive skills really? More powerful than IQ? According to some studies, it indeed is.

### Metacognition > IQ

People who learn how to learn can outperform those with very high IQs. Much of it comes down to “metacognition,” paying close attention to how you are thinking, writes Center for American Progress’ Ulrich Boser.

From Wikipedia:

> Individuals with a high level of metacognitive knowledge and skill identify blocks to learning as early as possible and change “tools” or strategies to ensure goal attainment. Swanson (1990) found that metacognitive knowledge can compensate for IQ and lack of prior knowledge when comparing fifth and sixth grade students’ problem solving. Students with a high-metacognition were reported to have used fewer strategies, but solved problems more effectively than low-metacognition students, regardless of IQ or prior knowledge.
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That metacognition is deemed more powerful than IQ could explain partially why Asians (and anyone possessing high metacognitive skills) easily outperform those with higher IQs. Again, having a growth-mindset could foster this development leading to higher achievements.

> *“Actively self-reflecting on the approaches that you are taking fosters a strategic stance that is really important in life. Strategic thinking distinguishes between people of comparable ability and effort. This can make the difference between people who achieve and people who have the potential to achieve, but don’t.” — Patricia Chen*
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