Changing misconceptions of abilities: The impact of a brief mindset refutation text intervention.

The current study investigated whether a brief refutation text intervention could change college students' misconceptions about the malleability of their intelligence and abilities. Students from a 2‐year college and a 4‐year university in a large urban city in the Northeastern United States participated in experimental and control conditions. A repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance demonstrated a significant overall model with a medium effect size (ηp2 = 0.11) for increased growth mindset and decreased fixed mindset for students in the experimental condition. A follow‐up χ2 analysis for a dichotomous variable of fixed/growth mindset demonstrated a 3% increase from pre‐ to posttest (from 229 students to 236) of students believing in growth mindset. The results demonstrate that a refutation text intervention is effective in promoting growth mindset in undergraduate college students during a brief mindset intervention. This study extends research from a European secondary school context to a US college context. Highlights: –College students can change their perception of their intelligence after engaging in a refutation text intervention.–Refutation texts are powerful intervention materials for increasing college students' growth mindset.–A refutation text intervention teaching about growth mindset has now been shown to work across cultures and developmental ages.–Brief, potent interventions using refutation texts should be considered as adaptive introductory programming for students new to college. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]