Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset: The Mastery Gap

Overview

Carol Dweck’s research on mindsets has profound implications for gamers. A 'Fixed Mindset' player believes their skill is capped by their genetics ('I just don't have the aim for this'). A 'Growth Mindset' player believes that their current skill is just a snapshot of their ongoing progress. This article discusses how these mindsets affect the brain's response to failure. Growth-mindset players show higher activity in the ACC (Anterior Cingulate Cortex) after an error, meaning they are more engaged in learning from it. Fixed-mindset players often 'shut down' to protect their ego. We look at how Altered Brilliance uses data to reinforce a growth mindset by showing you the tiny, incremental improvements that are invisible to the naked eye but significant to the TGIX algorithm.