Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-21-2018
Department 1
Psychology
Abstract
In implicit personality theory, people with entity views or a fixed mindset perceive characteristics (e.g., intelligence) as uncontrollable, whereas people with incremental views or a growth mindset perceive characteristics as controllable. In addition to other benefits, the literature sometimes suggests that having a growth mindset will protect against prejudice, which the current two studies examine in terms of negative attitudes towards obese people. Participants (total N = 501) were randomly assigned to complete a questionnaire assessing attitudes towards an obese or non-obese person and a self-theory questionnaire also assessed ideas about body weight. People with a growth mindset, and not fixed mindset, were more likely to have negative attitudes towards obese individuals, pointing to a potential downside of growth mindset in the obesity domain.
DOI
10.1111/jasp.12528
Recommended Citation
Hooper, Nic, Alison Crumpton, Michael D. Robinson, and Brian P. Meier. "A Weight–Related Growth Mindset Increases Negative Attitudes Towards Obese People." Journal of Applied Social Psychology 48, no. 9 (2018): 488-493.
Required Publisher's Statement
This article can be found on the publisher's website: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jasp.12528