Adolescents' implicit theories predict desire for vengeance after peer conflicts: Correlational and experimental evidence.

Abstract

Why do some adolescents respond to interpersonal conflicts vengefully, whereas others seek more positive solutions? Three studies investigated the role of implicit theories of personality in predicting violent or vengeful responses to peer conflicts among adolescents in Grades 9 and 10. They showed that a greater belief that traits are fixed (an entity theory) predicted a stronger desire for revenge after a variety of recalled peer conflicts (Study 1) and after a hypothetical conflict that specifically involved bullying (Study 2). Study 3 experimentally induced a belief in the potential for change (an incremental theory), which resulted in a reduced desire to seek revenge. This effect was mediated by changes in bad-person attributions about the perpetrators, feelings of shame and hatred, and the belief that vengeful ideation is an effective emotion-regulation strategy. Together, the findings illuminate the social-cognitive processes underlying reactions to conflict and suggest potential avenues for reducing violent retaliation in adolescents.

How Teachers’ and Students’ Mindsets in Learning Have Been Studied: Research Findings on Mindset and Academic Achievement

“…However, research that focuses just on mindset or just on academic achievement could be synthesized to prove our conclusion, especially in studies involving the same variables. For example, Yeager, Trzesniewski, Tirri, Nokelainen, and Dweck (2011) discussed the negative role in attribution of a fixed mindset and the positive role of intervention in emotion with a growth mindset. Moreover, some of the studies reviewed (e.g., Cury et al, 2008;Zeng et al, 2016;Mouratidis et al, 2017) indicated that attributions and emotions were important mediators between mindset and achievement.…”

Students’ Mindsets for Learning and Their Neural Underpinnings

“…According to previous research, mindsets are quite stable, yet they are alterable through educational interventions (Aronson, Fried, & Good, 2002;Blackwell, Trzesniewski, & Dweck, 2007;Dweck, 2012;Yeager, Trzesniewski, Tirri, Nokelainen, & Dweck, 2011;. The main feature of such interventions has been to teach students about the neuroplasticity of the brain and its potential to change and reorganize when people learn and practice new ways of thinking (Aronson, Fried, & Good, 2002;Blackwell, Trzesniewski, & Dweck, 2007;.…”

“…In that experiment the participants read a scientific article describing either that intelligence was malleable and able to change (growth mindset condition) or fixed and immutable (fixed mindset condition), a manipulation that has proven to induce mindsets (Yeager, Trzesniewski, Tirri, Nokelainen, & Dweck, 2011) before they completed the same task as Moser et al (2011). The study evaluated how the induction influenced both stimulus-locked and response-locked functions as well as indices of behavioral adjustment following errors, such as PES (Rabbitt, 1966), PEA (Laming, 1979) and post-error reduction of interference (PERI; Ridderinkhof, 2002).…”

“…Similarly, it has been found that students with a growth mindset have higher achievement during challenging school transitions, and their completion rates in demanding school courses are higher (Blackwell, Trzesniewski, & Dweck, 2007;. Furthermore, the growth mindset, whether innate or taught, seems to lower adolescents' aggression and stress levels and enhances their school performance (Yeager, Trzesniewski, & Dweck, 2012;Yeager, Trzesniewski, Tirri, Nokelainen, & Dweck, 2011). Stimulating an incremental mindset to improve adaptive learning behavior and motivation is therefore of great importance in advancing students' learning, and requires more insight into how the neural and cognitive effects of mindsets are linked to school-related behavior, such as performance and educational choices made.…”

The revenge motive in delinquency

“…On a more positive note, our results suggest that intervening in the 'revenge stream' may be an effective way to prevent crime and violence from escalating. Given how strongly RMD is related to attitudes favourable to revenge, changing such attitudes through cognitive-educational programming might prove to be helpful in efforts to reduce youth violence (Yeager et al, 2011(Yeager et al, : 1101.…”