"A Weight–Related Growth Mindset Increases Negative Attitudes Towards O" by Nic Hooper, Alison Crumpton et al.

Psychology Faculty Publications

Title

Authors

Nic Hooper, University of the West of England, Bristol
Alison Crumpton, University of Warwick
Michael D. Robinson, North Dakota State University FargoFollow
Brian P. Meier, Gettysburg CollegeFollow

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.