Mindset Memory: Do Theories of Intelligence Impact the Narrative Content of Autobiographical Memory?
Year: 2012
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The main aim of the current study was to assess if individuals who hold the theory of intelligence (Tal) that intelligence is fixed (Entity Theorists) and individuals who hold the Tal that intelligence is malleable (Incremental Theorists) differed in the content of their autobiographical memories (AM) about their academic successes and failures. Specifically, based on their experimental condition, participants were either asked to recall any experience of getting a good grade (academic success) or getting a bad grade (academic failure) within the last year. Participants were 168 undergraduate students. Participants' Tal were assessed based on their responses on the Tal scale (Dweck & Henderson, 1988). The AMs were coded for content related to nine dependent variables: overall emotion, positive emotion, negative emotion, overall cognition, mastery-oriented cognition, helpless-oriented cognition, overall behavior, mastery oriented behavior, and helpless-oriented behavior. One-way ANOVAs were performed to determine if there was a main effect of type ofmemory recalled (success vs. failure) on the dependent variables. Furthermore, simple linear regressions were performed to explore ifTal scores predicted any of the dependent variables. The results of the ANOV As indicated that there was a main effect of the type of memory recalled on all the dependent variables except overall behavior. The results indicated that failure narratives tended to contain more overall cognitions, helpless-oriented cognitions, negative emotions, and helpless-oriented behaviors than success narratives; while, the success narratives tended to contain more overall emotions, mastery oriented cognitions, positive emotions, and mastery-oriented behaviors than failure narratives. The results of the Regression analyses indicated that Entity Theorists' affective content from their success AMs tended to be more positive than Incremental Theorists' affective content, that
Author: Sejal Brahmbhatt
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W178583276