How Feedback Affects Performance - Andrew Huberman - Growth Mindset

Summary

In this episode of 'After Skool,' Dr. Andrew Huberman explores the concept of a growth mindset, emphasizing the malleability of abilities. He discusses the impact of feedback on performance, citing a study by Dr. Carol Dweck that shows praising intelligence can hinder motivation, while praising effort enhances it. Huberman advises shifting narratives from performance to effort, fostering improvement and persistence.

Takeaways

• 🧠 The concept of a growth mindset is the belief that our abilities are not fixed but can be developed through effort and learning.
• 🤔 The importance of self-reflection on personal strengths and weaknesses, and questioning the origins of these beliefs, is emphasized.
• 🏅 Dr. Carol Dweck's research is foundational in the field of growth mindset, showing that how we receive feedback significantly affects our motivation and performance.
• 🔍 The study by Dweck and Mueller found that praising children for their intelligence could undermine their motivation and performance, contrary to common belief.
• 🏆 Receiving praise for effort, rather than innate ability, encourages children to take on more challenges and persist in the face of difficulty.
• 📉 Intelligence-based praise can lead to a decrease in performance, while effort-based praise can enhance it, highlighting the power of the right type of feedback.
• 🛠️ The type of feedback we receive, especially early in learning, becomes integrated into our core beliefs about our capabilities.
• 🔄 The potential negative effects of intelligence praise include a tendency to avoid challenges and a likelihood of misrepresenting one's performance.
• 💪 Shifting narratives from performance to effort can help foster a growth mindset and continuous improvement.
• 👨‍🏫 As educators and parents, being mindful of the type of feedback given is crucial for nurturing a growth mindset in children.
• 🌐 The Huberman Lab podcast and social media platforms provide additional science-based tools for mental, physical health, and performance.

Q & A

What is the concept of a growth mindset according to Andrew Huberman?

A growth mindset is the idea that our abilities are not fixed but are malleable, and we can improve at things through effort and learning.

What are some questions that Andrew Huberman recommends we ask ourselves to understand our abilities better?

He suggests asking ourselves what we've been told we're good or poor at, what we tell ourselves we're good or bad at, and considering the origins of these messages.

What is the main difference between intelligence feedback and effort feedback as discussed by Andrew Huberman?

Intelligence feedback is tied to identity labels like 'smart' or 'talented', while effort feedback is tied to verbs and actions, focusing on the effort and persistence applied.

What did Dr. Carol Dweck's research show about the effects of intelligence praise on children's motivation and performance?

Her research showed that intelligence praise can undermine children's motivation and performance, making them less likely to choose challenging tasks and potentially leading to misrepresented performance.

How did the children in Dr. Dweck's study respond to intelligence praise when later presented with easy or hard problems?

Children who received intelligence praise tended to select problems they knew they could perform well on, avoiding challenges that could jeopardize the praise they received.

What was the impact of effort praise on children's choice of problems in Dr. Dweck's study?

Children who received effort praise were more likely to choose harder problems, indicating a desire to learn and grow from the challenges.

How did the performance of children who received intelligence praise compare to those who received effort praise in subsequent problem sets?

The performance of children who received intelligence praise declined, while the performance of those who received effort praise improved significantly.

What is the potential negative consequence of intelligence praise that was revealed in Dr. Dweck's study?

The study revealed that children who received intelligence praise were more likely to misrepresent their performance in the future, tending to lie about their scores to appear better than they actually did.

What advice does Andrew Huberman give regarding the type of feedback we should give ourselves or receive from others?

He advises that we should focus on effort-related narratives rather than performance narratives, rewarding ourselves for effort, which can lead to improved performance and growth.

How can the findings from Dr. Dweck's study be applied to self-improvement and personal development?

By shifting our focus from fixed identity labels to effort and persistence, we can foster a growth mindset that encourages continuous learning and improvement, regardless of initial ability.

What is the significance of understanding neuroplasticity in relation to the growth mindset?

Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to change and adapt, which supports the idea of a growth mindset by showing that intelligence and abilities can be developed and improved through effort and experience.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 Growth Mindset and Identity Labels

Andrew Huberman introduces the concept of a growth mindset, emphasizing that abilities are not fixed but can be developed. He encourages self-reflection on personal strengths and weaknesses, questioning where these perceptions come from and how they influence behavior. The paragraph sets the stage for discussing the impact of feedback on performance and identity, particularly highlighting Dr. Carol Dweck's research on how praise can affect motivation and performance.

05:02

🏅 The Impact of Praise Type on Performance

This section delves into a study by Dr. Carol Dweck and Claudia Mueller, contrasting the effects of 'intelligence feedback' and 'effort feedback' on children's motivation and performance. Intelligence feedback, which labels children as smart or talented, tends to lead to a preference for easy tasks and a decline in performance when challenged. Conversely, effort feedback, focusing on the process and persistence, encourages the selection of harder tasks and results in improved performance. The study underscores the importance of the type of praise given and its profound influence on behavior and self-perception.

10:07

📉 Decline vs. Improvement in Performance

The summary of the study's findings reveals a significant performance decline in children who received intelligence praise, while those praised for their effort showed a marked improvement. This dichotomy highlights the negative long-term effects of praising innate abilities versus the positive reinforcement of effort. Additionally, the study observed that children praised for intelligence were more likely to misrepresent their performance, suggesting a potential negative psychological consequence of such praise.

15:09

🛠 Shifting Narratives for Personal Growth

In the concluding paragraph, Huberman discusses the broader implications of the study and its relevance to personal development. He advises shifting from performance narratives to effort-related narratives as a tool for improvement. By focusing on effort rather than innate ability, individuals can foster a growth mindset, which is essential for enhancing skills and abilities. The paragraph also directs listeners to the Huberman Lab podcast and social media for further exploration of science-based tools for mental and physical health.

Keywords

💡Growth Mindset

Growth mindset is the belief that one's abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. It is central to the video's theme, emphasizing that talents are not fixed but can be improved over time. In the script, Andrew Huberman discusses the importance of recognizing one's abilities as malleable and how this perspective can lead to continuous self-improvement.

💡Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to change and adapt as a result of experience. It is relevant to the video's message about the potential for growth and learning. The script mentions that a deeper understanding of neuroplasticity has shifted the perception of intelligence from a fixed trait to one that can be enhanced through effort.

💡Feedback

Feedback in the context of the video pertains to the responses or evaluations given to individuals based on their performance. It is a key concept as the type of feedback received can significantly influence motivation and performance. The script highlights the difference between feedback based on identity labels, such as 'smart' or 'talented', and feedback based on effort, such as 'you tried really hard'.

💡Identity Labels

Identity labels are descriptors that define a person's characteristics or abilities, such as 'smart' or 'talented'. The video discusses how these labels, when used as feedback, can have a negative impact on performance and motivation. The script warns against the use of identity labels because they can lead to a fixed mindset and hinder personal growth.

💡Effort Praise

Effort praise is the recognition and commendation of the hard work and persistence that individuals put into their tasks. The video emphasizes the positive effects of effort praise on performance and motivation. The script describes how praising children for their effort leads to better performance and a greater willingness to tackle challenges.

💡Performance Goals

Performance goals are objectives aimed at demonstrating one's abilities or maintaining a certain level of competence. In the video, children who receive intelligence praise tend to choose tasks that align with their performance goals, avoiding challenges that might jeopardize their perceived intelligence or talent.

💡Persistence

Persistence is the continued effort to achieve a goal despite obstacles or setbacks. The video highlights the importance of persistence in learning and improvement. The script notes that children praised for their effort are more likely to persist in the face of challenges, leading to better outcomes.

💡Cognitive Problems

Cognitive problems in the video refer to tasks or puzzles that require mental effort and problem-solving skills. The script uses these problems to illustrate the impact of different types of feedback on children's performance, showing that effort praise leads to improved performance on these tasks.

💡Misrepresentation

Misrepresentation in the video is the act of inaccurately reporting one's performance, often to appear better than one actually is. The script reveals that children who receive intelligence praise are more likely to misrepresent their performance, indicating a potential negative consequence of this type of feedback.

💡Self-Affirmation

Self-affirmation is the process of positively asserting one's abilities or qualities. While the video does not explicitly use this term, it discusses the potential pitfalls of self-affirmation based on identity labels, suggesting that it can undermine performance if not grounded in effort and growth.

💡Narrative

In the context of the video, a narrative refers to the internal dialogue or story individuals tell themselves about their abilities and experiences. The script encourages shifting from performance narratives, which focus on outcomes, to effort narratives, which emphasize the process and hard work involved in learning and improvement.

Highlights

Growth mindset is the concept that abilities are not fixed but can be improved through effort and learning.

Asking oneself about areas of strength and weakness and the origins of these perceptions is crucial for personal development.

Feedback attached to identity labels like 'smart' or 'talented' can lead to different behavioral paths compared to feedback based on effort.

Dr. Carol Dweck's research is foundational in the field of growth mindset, emphasizing the impact of the type of feedback received.

Praising intelligence can undermine children's motivation and performance, contrary to common belief.

Children praised for intelligence tend to select easier problems to maintain the praise they receive, while those praised for effort seek out more challenging tasks.

Effort praise leads to better performance and persistence in the face of challenges compared to intelligence praise.

The type of praise received early in life or when learning a new skill can integrate into core beliefs about one's capabilities.

Parents and teachers should be cautious about the kind of feedback they provide, especially when it's tied to identity labels.

Rewarding effort over identity traits is a more effective approach to improving performance and motivation.

Children who receive intelligence praise are more likely to misrepresent their performance compared to those who receive effort praise.

The study's findings challenge the common practice of praising intelligence and highlight the benefits of effort-based praise.

Understanding neuroplasticity and the brain's ability to learn is key to embracing the growth mindset.

Shifting from performance narratives to effort-related narratives can foster improvement and a positive mindset.

The Huberman Lab podcast and social media provide additional tools and insights on mental, physical health, and performance.

Transcripts

[Music]

welcome to another episode of after skool I'm  Andrew huberman professor of neurobiology and  

Ophthalmology at Stanford school of medicine  and the host of The huberman Lab podcast growth  

mindset is the idea that we can get better at  things that is that our abilities are not fixed  

but rather that our abilities are malleable and  the beauty of growth mindset is that it forces  

es us to step back and ask ourselves some simple  questions these are questions that you could ask  

yourself right now and in fact I highly recommend  you do you could ask yourself for instance what  

have I been told I'm really good at you should  also ask yourself what have I been told I'm really  

poor at that I'm just not good at what have I told  myself I'm really good at and what have I told  

myself I'm really bad at and then a second set of  questions is what am I good at and why did it come  

naturally to me did I apply myself for many years  meaning did I apply a lot of effort to learning  

that thing or perhaps both right and then it's  also important to ask yourself why am I not good  

at other things is it simply because you've never  applied yourself at those things or is it because  

you tried and had an early failure or perhaps you  tried and tried and tried for many years and you  

continued to fail at that thing or you just didn't  reach a level of proficiency that made you want  

to pursue it further in asking yourselves those  questions you are asking yourself not just what  

you're good at and bad at and why you should also  be thinking about where the messages of being good  

at something or being bad at something arrived  from did they arrive from outside you meaning  

from your parents from your coaches from your  teachers or was it the case that despite a lot  

of positive feedback you just sort of decided you  weren't good at something or conversely was it  

the case that despite a lot of negative feedback  that you would never be good at something or that  

you weren't good at something that you continue to  persist because there's certainly people like that  

the more negative feedback they get the more they  dig their heels in to prove themselves as capable  

of becoming good at something so I do recommend  as we March forward in this conversation you think  

about those questions what am I good at what am I  bad at why am I good at those things why am I bad  

at those things and ask yourself to what extent  your labels that is your identity is attached to  

the things that you are good at or bad at and  the reason I'd like you to ask yourself those  

questions is that next we're going to talk  about research from Dr Carol D's laboratory  

that was really the seed of the entire field of  growth mindset it relates to a specific set of  

experiments that really show that the specific  feedback we get meaning whether or not we get  

feedback that is attached to our identity like  a label like smart or great athlete or talented  

sends us down a very different path of performance  in the short and long run as compared to whether  

or not we receive feedback that's based on effort  meaning you tried really hard or you really seem  

to apply yourself under conditions where you're  getting the right answer over time because you  

simply refuse to quit those are two very Divergent  sets of feedback and as you'll learn in a moment  

the sorts of feedback that we get especially  early in life or early in an Endeavor so this  

doesn't just apply to young kids this applies to  adults too who are taking on a new skill or are  

trying to expand on an existing skill those two  Divergent forms of feedback get integrated into  

our core beliefs about what we think is possible  for us in a given Endeavor and the great news is  

we can also modify those core beliefs simply by  changing the feedback that we give ourselves the  

research paper I'd like to discuss briefly that  beautifully embodies the runway that led to the  

discovery of growth mindset is a paper from Dr  Carol dck as well as her colleague Claudia Mueller  

and the title of the paper essentially says it all  the title is praise for intelligence can undermine  

children's motivation and performance right that  should be surprising that praise for intelligence  

can undermine motivation and performance I  would have thought and I think many people  

probably believe that if you tell a child or an  adult that they're really good at something and  

you're genuine about that feedback meaning  they're performing well and you say great  

you're doing really well you're so smart you're so  talented that their performance would continue to  

improve that it would bolster their motivation to  engage in that activity which hopefully they enjoy  

that it would serve to encourage them right the  kid thinks not only am I engaging this activity  

but I'm getting positive feedback presumably from  people that I care about or whose opinion I care  

about wouldn't that serve to elevate performance  it does not in fact the exact opposite happened so  

I'll just give you a few of the key takeaways from  this study the way it was done is very interesting  

they essentially gave feedback about performance  that was linked up with a child's intelligence  

telling a kid they're smart they're talented  that they can learn things really easily or  

that they're very good at learning this sort of  thing and they called that intelligence feedback  

or they gave them what was called effort feedback  the simple way to think about effort feedback is  

that it's more attached to verbs as opposed to  labels so effort feedback consists of things like  

you tried really hard on that problem it was great  the way that you applied effort it was great the  

way that you persisted it was great the way that  even when you got the wrong answer you spent 10  

minutes thinking about it and then you tried again  and again or in some cases even if they didn't get  

the right answer telling them well even though you  didn't get the right answer it's really terrific  

that you continue to try Okay so intelligence  feedback was the sort of feedback that was tied  

to labels of identity things like smart talented  Etc whereas effort feedback was tied to verbs  

choices behavioral and cognitive choices that  children made in an effort to learn or get better  

at something so in this study which included over  a 100 children they either got the intelligence  

type feedback or the effort type feedback or  there was a control group that didn't get either  

the intelligence or the effort type feedback  and then they looked at a number of different  

outcomes so I'll just highlight a few examples  of what they found first of all the kids that  

got the intelligence-based feedback when they were  then later offered problem sets that were either  

challenging or were of the sort that they knew  they could perform well on they tended to select  

problems that they knew they could perform well on  these where what were referred to as performance  

goals in other words they picked problems that  allowed them to continue to get the praise that  

they had received previously about being smart or  talented whereas the kids that got feedback about  

their strong effort when later presented with  problems that were either easy or hard more often  

than not they pick the harder problems that stood  to teach them more so that strike it says that  

if you tell a kid that they're smart or talented  and that's the reason why they perform well when  

they encounter challenges they are likely to go  with the least amount of challenge so that they  

can continue to receive that praise or feedback  whereas if you receive praise and feedback for  

your strong effort then later you tend to pick  environments problem sets Etc that allow you to  

exert the very effort that got you the praise in  the first place so in both cases these children  

are essentially attached to to the praise right in  some sense I mean we like to think that they enjoy  

these activities and they're benefiting from them  as well but in both cases the praise really serves  

to reinforce a certain pattern of behavior but  in the case of giving intelligence feedback the  

kids are really just trying to reinforce being  told that they're smart or talented as opposed  

to reinforcing the engagement in the activity  that got them the praise in the first place and  

the converse is also true when kids are told hey  you really tried hard and that's great or I like  

how you persisted or you're so persistent I can  really see how persistent you are in trying to get  

the right answer even if you don't get the right  answer well then when you present those kids with  

additional challenges they work very hard to stay  in Challenge and guess what no surprise the kids  

that are rewarded for effort and that continue to  pick harder problems outperform the kids that are  

given the intelligence praise and feedback by  a large margin so what does this tell us this  

tells us that the narratives that we hear from  others of course reinforce certain patterns of  

behavior what else does this tell us this tells us  that if you're a parent or teacher you have to be  

very careful about giving feedback to a child that  is attached to their identity around an Endeavor  

especially if they're performing well at that  endeavor right now of course if a child is not  

performing well at something you also don't want  to tell them that they're stupid right you don't  

want to tell them that they're deficient right  but that's a rare occurrence in the classroom  

one would hope that's a rare occurrence par on the  field one would hope but what's very common very  

very common is that when we see children or adults  performing well we tend to give them identity  

labels as a way to try and reinforce whatever  Behavior we observe and we like now the other  

thing they looked at in this study were the actual  raw performance on cognitive problems and these  

data I must say are just so interesting they took  the kids and they gave them all the same problem  

sets and all the kids AC Ross the board whether  or not they were getting intelligence praise or  

effort praise or they were in the control group  were performing more or less the same way they  

were getting some of these questions right some of  these questions wrong then they gave them praise  

after they completed those problems they either  got intelligence praise you're so smart you're so  

talented or they got effort praise you tried so  hard you really persisted that's fantastic then  

later they gave them another set of problems and  they looked at performance now remember the first  

time around all the kids got some of the questions  right and some of the questions wrong so there's  

room for improvement for everybody what they found  was absolutely striking the kids that were in the  

control group so they didn't get any specific form  of Praise they perform more or less the same way  

as they did before so if they were getting 75%  of the answers right the first time they got  

75% of the answers right the second time the kids  that were in the intelligence praise group their  

performance went down significantly whereas  the kids that were in the effort praise group  

their performance increased significantly okay so  this is a biral effect where giving intelligence  

praise reduces performance and giving effort  praise improves performance which is absolutely  

striking and tells you everything you need to know  which is if you're a parent you're a teacher and  

of course as we all give ourselves feedback  rewarding yourself for effort is the best way  

to improve performance rewarding yourself based  on identity labels so smart so talented you're a  

great athlete Etc all that stare in the mirror and  do self-affirmation stuff can actually undermine  

performance and in fact it does undermine  performance it may not do it right away but  

eventually it does and in a moment I'll explain  why the other thing this study looked at that I  

just have to mention is this notion of persistence  so remember earlier I said that the kids that got  

intelligence praise tended to pick easier problems  down the line whereas the kids that got effort  

praise tended to pick harder problems it turns out  that the kids that got intelligence praise also  

tended to take on fewer problems overall they  tended to limit the total number of challenges  

that they engaged in whereas the kids that got  the effort praise that you work so hard you're  

so determined that was so impressive how you just  kept going even when you got some answers wrong  

those kids not only opted for harder challenges  they not only performed better but they also took  

on many more challenges so these data really make  clear that the effort praise is the way to go now  

I know many people have heard this whole thing  about don't reward the person reward the effort  

reward the verbs as I'm referring to it but it's  actually pretty rare that we hear effort rewarded  

in everyday settings and it is very common for us  to overhear intelligence praise or Talent praise  

you know a kid comes home with a trophy and  we tell them you're a great athlete right kid  

comes home with a great report card you you're so  smart congratulations a kid comes home with some  

sort of win in their world and we tend to give  them a label because we like to think that that  

label will get internalized and they'll start to  view themselves as a winner we tell them you can  

do anything you're a winner you're a winner and of  course you don't want to tell children or yourself  

or any other adult you're a loser right we do  not want to do that you don't want to undermine  

performance that way but it's very clear based on  This research and a lot of other papers similar to  

it that we all have a giant blind spot sitting  in our psychological field when we are getting  

and receiving praise that really it is the sort of  Praise that attached to the very efforts that led  

to the results that will lead to even improved  results over time okay so this paper is really  

truly important it's a landmark paper in the field  of psychology motivation learning and performance  

and that's why I'm discussing it in such detail  here but it actually includes one additional piece  

of information that I also think everyone should  know about and that is the tendency for children  

who get intelligence praise to misrepresent their  performance on subsequent efforts what do I mean  

by that in this paper they had the children  perform on a given task and then they either  

got intelligence praise you're so smart you're so  talented or effort praise you work so hard you're  

so diligent and then they had them do a series of  other tasks and then report their results to other  

kids and what they found is that children who get  intelligence praise when they need to report their  

scores either by walking up to the board and  putting a little Mark where their particular  

score is or telling a another student what their  score was or even writing it down on a piece of  

paper covertly so that's it's not visibly being  compared to all the other scores the kids that  

got intelligence praise tend to lie about their  score and as you could imagine they tend to lie  

in the direction of making themselves appear as  having performed better than they actually did so  

this is a pretty Sinister aspect of intelligence  praise that we don't often hear about even if  

you've heard telling a person that they are smart  or talented can ultimately undermine performance  

rarely if ever do we hear that telling someone  that they're smart or talented can increase  

the probability that that person is going to  misrepresent their performance in the future  

whereas the kids that receive the effort praise  do no such thing they Faithfully represent their  

performance so just to illustrate how important  the findings in the study really are the paper  

was published in 1998 but just two years prior  in 1996 there was a survey of parents asking to  

what extent do you believe that intelligence  is fixed and 85% answered that they thought  

that intelligence was fixed that means they  believe that the brain was sort of a vessel  

of fixed size that of course when we're born  into the world it's kind of empty we don't have  

any knowledge but that the job of schooling was  to teach kids things and reveal an intelligence  

capacity that was innate and that couldn't  be increased upon whereas nowadays we really  

understand mainly through our deeper understanding  of neuroplasticity and how the brain learns that  

indeed the brain can learn and that intelligence  is not fixed however in 1998 when these studies  

were done most people were of the core belief that  intelligence is fixed that it cannot be improved  

upon and these results really drive home the  fact that the type of feedback we get about our  

performance even when our performance is good  can undermine our future performance or if we  

receive feedback of the effort praise type the you  tried so hard you're so persistent type that our  

abilities can indeed improve and when you look at  any intelligence test if you look at a standard IQ  

test or you you know go way out onto the other  end of the Continuum in terms of intelligence  

testing you look at emotional intelligence it is  very clear that anyone and everyone can improve  

their scores on those exams and in fact can  improve the various aspects of intelligence  

because in fact there are many different forms of  intelligence through dedicated effort I know many  

of you are listening to this with an eye toward  the tool tools meaning you want to know what the  

tools are that you can Implement well earlier I  had you ask some questions what are you good at  

what have you been told you're good at and how  did you arrive at being good at those things  

I also encourage you to think about what you've  been told you're bad at or less good at and what  

you tell yourself you're bad at and less good at  and how you arrived at that conclusion right now  

I'd like you to ask yourself what is your typical  narrative when you are engaging in things that you  

believe you are good at and what is your typical  narrative meaning your internal dialogue in your  

head when you're engaging in things that you are  not good at or if you're not engaging in those  

things when you think about engaging in those  things and the tool that's very effective to apply  

even just in your own mind is to start shifting  your narrative from those performance narratives  

towards effort related narratives if you attach  effort verbs to why you got good at something  

as well as why you are not good at something  well then there's only room for improvement  

thank you for joining for this special episode of  after skool if you'd like to learn more tools for  

mental health physical health and performance  check out the huberman Lab podcast which is  

available on all platforms YouTube Apple  Spotify anywhere podcasts are found also  

check out huberman lab on both Instagram and  Twitter there I cover science and science-based  

tools some of which overlaps with the content  of the huberman Lab podcast but much of which  

is distinct from the content of the huberman Lab  podcast we are also huberman lab.com that's our  

website and there you can find links to all of  our social media and all of our podcast episodes