A process model of mindsets: Conceptualizing mindsets of ability as dynamic and socially situated.

Abstract

Mindsets of ability (i.e., "fixed" and "growth" mindsets) play a pivotal role in students' academic trajectories. However, relatively little is known about the mechanisms underlying mindset development. Identifying these mechanisms is vital for understanding, and potentially influencing, how mindsets emerge and change over time. In this article, we formulate a comprehensive theoretical model that purports to account for the emergence and development of ability mindsets: the process model of mindsets (PMM). The PMM is rooted in complex dynamic systems and enactive perspectives, which allow for conceptualizing psychological phenomena as dynamic and socially situated. The PMM accounts for how mindset-related behaviors, action tendencies, beliefs, and social interactions can become codependent and robust over time. We discuss how the model helps to further our understanding of the efficacy of mindset interventions and the heterogeneity thereof. The PMM has a broad explanatory scope, is generative, and paves the way for future process studies of mindsets and mindset interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).