Mentor/s
Dr. Kathryn M. Kroeper
Participation Type
Paper Talk
Abstract
When professors are perceived to promote a growth mindset—i.e., the idea that intelligence can be improved through hard work—students show greater motivation and performance. Yet, the impact of a professor’s social identities, such as race and gender, on student perceptions remains unexplored. This study addresses this gap. In an experiment involving 467 college students, participants rated four teaching philosophies that conveyed either a growth or fixed mindset. Each teaching philosophy was paired with a photo of a supposed professor: one Black female, one Black male, one White female, and one White male. Students perceived growth mindset professors as warmer and more competent than fixed mindset professors and expected to learn more and showed greater interest in registering for their classes. These findings held regardless of professor race and gender. These findings suggest broad relevance of professor mindset in shaping students' perceptions and expectations, irrespective of a professor’s race or gender. However, we also discuss the potential influence of social desirability concerns on these results and suggest future studies may benefit from more unobtrusive methods.
College and Major available
Psychology BS
Location
Session 2: Digital Commons & Martire Room 217
Start Day/Time
4-25-2024 11:00 AM
End Day/Time
4-25-2024 12:15 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Growth Mindset in Higher Education: Does Professor Identity Matter?
Session 2: Digital Commons & Martire Room 217
When professors are perceived to promote a growth mindset—i.e., the idea that intelligence can be improved through hard work—students show greater motivation and performance. Yet, the impact of a professor’s social identities, such as race and gender, on student perceptions remains unexplored. This study addresses this gap. In an experiment involving 467 college students, participants rated four teaching philosophies that conveyed either a growth or fixed mindset. Each teaching philosophy was paired with a photo of a supposed professor: one Black female, one Black male, one White female, and one White male. Students perceived growth mindset professors as warmer and more competent than fixed mindset professors and expected to learn more and showed greater interest in registering for their classes. These findings held regardless of professor race and gender. These findings suggest broad relevance of professor mindset in shaping students' perceptions and expectations, irrespective of a professor’s race or gender. However, we also discuss the potential influence of social desirability concerns on these results and suggest future studies may benefit from more unobtrusive methods.
Students' Information
Abigail Wilk, Psychology Major, and May 2024 Graduation.