Carol Dweck's 'growth mindset', the belief that ability can change, has become a self-help staple. In a column for Spektrum der Wissenschaft, written in German, Steve Ayan explains what the evidence supports: people with this belief feel less threatened by others' success and treat it as motivation rather than a blow to their self-image.

But he also describes a 'false growth mindset', identified by Michael Barger and colleagues: the assumption that good intentions and effort are enough, so people stop looking for strategies that actually work. His image is someone sure they can run a marathon who never puts on running shoes. For freethinkers, it is a neat example of a popular slogan turning into a creed once it stops being tested against results.

Source: Steve Ayan, Spektrum der Wissenschaft (German) (2026-11-07)

Summarised by the FTI newsdesk.