An Entity Theory of Intelligence Predicts Higher Cortisol Levels When High School Grades Are Declining

Abstract

Grades often decline during the high school transition, creating stress. The present research integrates the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat with the implicit theories model to understand who shows maladaptive stress responses. A diary study measured declines in grades in the first few months of high school: salivary cortisol (N = 360 students, N = 3,045 observations) and daily stress appraisals (N = 499 students, N = 3,854 observations). Students who reported an entity theory of intelligence (i.e., the belief that intelligence is fixed) showed higher cortisol when grades were declining. Moreover, daily academic stressors showed a different lingering effect on the next day's cortisol for those with different implicit theories. Findings support a process model through which beliefs affect biological stress responses during difficult adolescent transitions.

The Effect of a Computerized Growth-Mindset Intervention on Teaching Students’ Mindset and Cognitive Stress Appraisal

“…Furthermore, the impact the mindset has on the evaluation of performance situations should be even more pronounced the more challenging a performance situation is perceived to be (Dweck and Yeager, 2019). A recent finding by Lee et al (2019) seems to support this theoretical reasoning. Lee et al (2019) tested the assumption that academic stressors (e.g., a decline in grades upon the entry of high school) lead to a stronger physiological stress response (measured as salivary cortisol level) for students with more of a fixed mindset than for students with more of a growth mindset.…”

“…Lee et al (2019) tested the assumption that academic stressors (e.g., a decline in grades upon the entry of high school) lead to a stronger physiological stress response (measured as salivary cortisol level) for students with more of a fixed mindset than for students with more of a growth mindset. Their results supported this assumption: students who viewed their intelligence as a fixed entity were more likely to have elevated cortisol levels when their grades declined upon entering high school, and they showed a higher overall negative stress response compared to students with more of a growth mindset (Lee et al, 2019).…”

Addressing educational inequalities and promoting learning through studies of stress physiology in elementary school students

“…Among children who displayed heightened ANS response to the acute stressor, the presence of a supportive and emotionally responsive examiner was related to better memory of the event, whereas a serious, emotionally unsupportive affect was linked to less accurate recall. Recent studies of high school students indicate that individual differences in students’ anxiety, self-regulation skills, and motivational orientation can further moderate links between physiological stress arousal and school functioning (Lee, Jamieson, Miu, Josephs, & Yeager, 2019). For example, adolescents who believed that intelligence could not be changed (i.e., endorsed a fixed mindset) exhibited higher diurnal cortisol on days when they received negative feedback about their school work (i.e., their grades were declining; Lee et al, 2019).…”

“…Recent studies of high school students indicate that individual differences in students’ anxiety, self-regulation skills, and motivational orientation can further moderate links between physiological stress arousal and school functioning (Lee, Jamieson, Miu, Josephs, & Yeager, 2019). For example, adolescents who believed that intelligence could not be changed (i.e., endorsed a fixed mindset) exhibited higher diurnal cortisol on days when they received negative feedback about their school work (i.e., their grades were declining; Lee et al, 2019). This was not the case for adolescents who believed that intelligence could be developed.…”

Children’s wellbeing and their academic achievement: The dangerous discourse of ‘trade-offs’ in education

“… 13. Biopsychosocial research corroborates this; finding that pupils with fixed mindsets experience more intense stress in response to academic pressures (Lee et al, 2019). …”