Well-being in the time of COVID-19: Do metaphors and mindsets matter?

Communications about the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) often employ metaphors, which can help people understand complex issues. For example, public health messages may focus on "fighting" the disease, attempting to rouse people to action by instilling a sense of urgency. In contrast, change-focused metaphors may foster growth mindsets and self-efficacy-cornerstones of well-being and action. We randomly assigned participants to read one of two articles-either an article about coronavirus that focused on fighting the war or an article that highlighted the possibility of change. In Study 1 (N = 426), participants who read the war, relative to the change, message reported lower growth mindsets and self-efficacy and these in turn, predicted lower well-being and weaker intentions to engage in health behaviours. In Study 2, (N = 702), we sought to replicate findings and included a no treatment control. We failed to replicate the effects of message condition, although both messages predicted greater self-efficacy compared to the control. Similar to Study 1, growth mindsets predicted intentions to engage in recommended health behaviours and self-efficacy predicted both well-being and action. We discuss theoretical reasons for discrepancies as well as practical applications for developing public health communications.

Growth Mindsets of Alcoholism Buffer Against Deleterious Effects of Drinking Identity on Problem Drinking Over Time.

BACKGROUND: Explicit (self-report) and implicit (indirect) measures of identification with drinking alcohol-drinking identity-are associated with drinking outcomes cross-sectionally and longitudinally. A key next step is to identify moderators. The current study evaluated a promising moderator: mindsets of alcoholism. Believing people can change (growth mindset) is associated with adaptive outcomes in domains such as mental health, but research is scant regarding mindsets related to problematic drinking. We evaluated whether individuals' alcoholism mindsets moderated the drinking identity to drinking relation as part of a larger, longitudinal web-based study of heavy drinkers. METHODS: A total of 422 US college graduates (59% women) who were heavy drinkers completed measures assessing drinking identity, mindsets, and drinking outcomes (consumption, problems, and risk of alcohol use disorder). Drinking outcomes were assessed at 2 subsequent assessments occurring 4 and 8 months after the initial assessment. RESULTS: Drinking identity was positively associated with drinking outcomes, and drinking outcomes reduced following college graduation. Alcoholism mindsets were significantly and negatively correlated with all drinking outcomes. Mindsets were only conditionally associated with drinking behaviors over time in models that evaluated mindsets, drinking identity measures, and their interaction. Mindsets moderated the relationship between drinking identity and changes in drinking behaviors, but the relation was specific to explicit drinking identity and consumption. Among participants with stronger drinking identity, those who had stronger (vs. weaker) growth mindsets reported reduction in consumption over time. CONCLUSIONS: Growth mindsets of alcoholism appear adaptive for college graduate heavy drinkers with a stronger drinking identity. Mindsets are amenable to interventions; targeting them may be useful in heavy-drinking college graduates.

"Obesity is a disease": examining the self-regulatory impact of this public-health message.

In the current work, we examined the impact of the American Medical Association's recent classification of obesity as a disease on weight-management processes. Across three experimental studies, we highlighted the potential hidden costs associated with labeling obesity as a disease, showing that this message, presented in an actual New York Times article, undermined beneficial weight-loss self-regulatory processes. A disease-based, relative to an information-based, weight-management message weakened the importance placed on health-focused dieting and reduced concerns about weight among obese individuals--the very people whom such public-health messages are targeting. Further, the decreased concern about weight predicted higher-calorie food choices. In addition, the disease message, relative to a message that obesity is not a disease, lowered body-image dissatisfaction, but this too predicted higher-calorie food choices. Thus, although defining obesity as a disease may be beneficial for body image, results from the current work emphasize the negative implications of this message for self-regulation.

Stereotypic beliefs contribute to gender disparities in the field of economics.

Why are women under-represented in the field of economics relative to men? We propose that stereotypes associated with economists contribute to women's interest in the field. We test the predictions that economists are stereotypically associated with low levels of communion and high levels of agency and that this type of stereotype content is associated with women's lower interest in the field. In Study 1 (N = 883), stereotypes associated with people in the field of economics were masculine, characterized with low levels of communion and high levels of agency. In Study 2 (N = 182), undergraduate women were less interested than men in majoring in fields that share the same pattern of stereotyping found for economists in Study 1. The results from this study have important implications for increasing young women's interest and representation in the field of economics.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of growth mindset interventions: For whom, how, and why might such interventions work?

As growth mindset interventions increase in scope and popularity, scientists and policymakers are asking: Are these interventions effective? To answer this question properly, the field needs to understand the meaningful heterogeneity in effects. In the present systematic review and meta-analysis, we focused on two key moderators with adequate data to test: Subsamples expected to benefit most and implementation fidelity. We also specified a process model that can be generative for theory. We included articles published between 2002 (first mindset intervention) through the end of 2020 that reported an effect for a growth mindset intervention, used a randomized design, and featured at least one of the qualifying outcomes. Our search yielded 53 independent samples testing distinct interventions. We reported cumulative effect sizes for multiple outcomes (i.e., mindsets, motivation, behavior, end results), with a focus on three primary end results (i.e., improved academic achievement, mental health, or social functioning). Multilevel metaregression analyses with targeted subsamples and high fidelity for academic achievement yielded, d = 0.14, 95% CI [.06, .22]; for mental health, d = 0.32, 95% CI [.10, .54]. Results highlighted the extensive variation in effects to be expected from future interventions. Namely, 95% prediction intervals for focal effects ranged from -0.08 to 0.35 for academic achievement and from 0.07 to 0.57 for mental health. The literature is too nascent for moderators for social functioning, but average effects are d = 0.36, 95% CI [.03, .68], 95% PI [-.50, 1.22]. We conclude with a discussion of heterogeneity and the limitations of meta-analyses. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Public Health Messages and Weight-Related Beliefs: Implications for Well-Being and Stigma.

Across two studies, we examined the double-edged sword hypothesis, which outlines effects of weight-related beliefs and public health messages on physical and mental health. The double-edged sword hypothesis proposes that growth mindsets and messages (weight is changeable) predict reduced well-being and stigma via an increase in blame, but also predict greater well-being via an increase in efficacy and less stigma via a reduction in essentialist thinking. We tested this model in a correlational study (N = 311) and in an experimental study, randomly assigning participants (N = 392) to different weight-based public health messages. In Study 1, growth mindsets predicted greater onset blame and more offset efficacy. Blame did not predict any of the outcomes. However, offset efficacy predicted reduced risk for eating disorders, fewer unhealthy weight control behaviors, and less psychological distress. And, growth mindsets had a negative indirect effect on outcomes. In Study 2, we experimentally demonstrated that a changeable message about the nature of weight, designed to also reduce blame, indirectly decreased eating disorder risk, unhealthy weight control behaviors, body shame, and prejudice through increased offset efficacy and decreased social essentialism. This work contributes to our theoretical understanding of the psychological consequences of weight beliefs and messages on well-being and stigma.

Empowering Mimicry: Female Leader Role Models Empower Women in Leadership Tasks Through Body Posture Mimicry.

In two studies we investigated the behavioral process through which visible female leader role models empower women in leadership tasks. We proposed that women tend to mimic the powerful (open) body postures of successful female role models, thus leading to more empowered behavior and better performance on a challenging leadership task, a process we called empowering mimicry. In Study 1, we experimentally manipulated the body posture of the male and female role models and showed that 86 Swiss college women mimicked the body posture of the female (ingroup) but not the male (outgroup) role model, thus leading to more empowered behavior and better performance on a public speaking task. In Study 2, we investigated the boundary conditions of this process and showed that empowering mimicry does not extend to exposures to non-famous female models among 50 Swiss college women. These findings suggest that nonverbal mimicry is one important mechanism through which female leader role models inspire women performing a challenging leadership task. From a practice perspective, our research underscores the importance of female leaders' visibility because visibility can drive other women's advancement in leadership by affording women the opportunity to mimic and be empowered by successful female role models.

Social dominance orientation moderates the effectiveness of mindset messages.

In this work, we examine whether differences in social dominance orientation (SDO) moderate the effectiveness of mindsets of intelligence messages. We suggest that SDO is a foundational ideological belief system, on which individuals vary, that maintains the desire to endorse fixed beliefs about the nature of human intelligence. Thus, attempts to change individuals' mindsets should be met with resistance from those who strongly endorse the social dominance ideology - individuals high on SDO. In contrast, individuals low on SDO are less likely to use mindsets of intelligence to justify an ideological belief system, and thus, mindset manipulations should be effective for them. We test these predictions across three experimental studies (NStudy1  = 271, NStudy2  = 207, NStudy3  = 313). Across the studies, we find that individuals who are high, relative to low, on SDO have more fixed beliefs about the nature of intelligence and show smaller effects of manipulations of mindsets. However, when comparing to a control condition, there was no evidence that high-SDO participants resisted the growth message that contradicts their ideology more than the fixed one that supports it; additionally, low-SDO participants showed heightened responsiveness to a fixed message. We discuss implications for theoretical advances in our understanding of mindsets.

An online growth mindset intervention in a sample of rural adolescent girls.

BACKGROUND: Students living in rural areas of the United States exhibit lower levels of educational attainment than their suburban counterparts. Innovative interventions are needed to close this educational achievement gap. AIMS: We investigated whether an online growth mindset intervention could be leveraged to promote academic outcomes. SAMPLE: We tested the mindset intervention in a sample of 222 10th-grade adolescent girls (M age = 15.2; 38% White, 25% Black, 29% Hispanic) from four rural, low-income high schools in the Southeastern United States. METHODS: We conducted a randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of the growth mindset intervention, relative to a sexual health programme. We used random sampling and allocation procedures to assign girls to either the mindset intervention (n = 115) or an attention-matched control programme (n = 107). We assessed participants at pre-test, immediate post-test, and 4-month follow-up. RESULTS: Relative to the control condition, students assigned to the mindset intervention reported stronger growth mindsets at immediate post-test and 4-month follow-up. Although the intervention did not have a total effect on academic attitudes or grades, it indirectly increased motivation to learn, learning efficacy and grades via the shifts in growth mindsets. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that this intervention is a promising method to encourage growth mindsets in rural adolescent girls.

Gender bias in leader evaluations: merging implicit theories and role congruity perspectives.

This research extends our understanding of gender bias in leader evaluations by merging role congruity and implicit theory perspectives. We tested and found support for the prediction that the link between people's attitudes regarding women in authority and their subsequent gender-biased leader evaluations is significantly stronger for entity theorists (those who believe attributes are fixed) relative to incremental theorists (those who believe attributes are malleable). In Study 1, 147 participants evaluated male and female gubernatorial candidates. Results supported predictions, demonstrating that traditional attitudes toward women in authority significantly predicted a pro-male gender bias in leader evaluations (and progressive attitudes predicted a pro-female gender bias) with an especially strong effect for those with more entity-oriented, relative to incrementally oriented person theories. Study 2 (119 participants) replicated these findings and demonstrated the mediating role of these attitudes in linking gender stereotypes and leader role expectations to biased evaluations.

I can do that: the impact of implicit theories on leadership role model effectiveness.

This research investigates the role of implicit theories in influencing the effectiveness of successful role models in the leadership domain. Across two studies, the authors test the prediction that incremental theorists ("leaders are made") compared to entity theorists ("leaders are born") will respond more positively to being presented with a role model before undertaking a leadership task. In Study 1, measuring people's naturally occurring implicit theories of leadership, the authors showed that after being primed with a role model, incremental theorists reported greater leadership confidence and less anxious-depressed affect than entity theorists following the leadership task. In Study 2, the authors demonstrated the causal role of implicit theories by manipulating participants' theory of leadership ability. They replicated the findings from Study 1 and demonstrated that identification with the role model mediated the relationship between implicit theories and both confidence and affect. In addition, incremental theorists outperformed entity theorists on the leadership task.