Mindsets and others-focused Behaviors

In this talk, I will present some of the effects of mindsets on other-focused behavior. A growth mindset that was shown to have more positive effects than a fixed mindset on self-focused behaviors, has both positive and negative effects on other-focused behavior. For example, a growth mindset blocks the negative effect of dispositional attributions, even about a longstanding adversary, and encourages others’ self-disclosure. However, a growth mindset leads to blame judgments of those in need and consequently decreases the willingness to help, decreasing the willingness for dependency-oriented prosocial behavior. The results of two meta-analyses put in doubt the main effect hypothesis of growth vs. fixed mindset advantage on pro-others’ behaviors.