Although the incremental theory was predicted to prove beneficial to
White students as well, there was reason to believe that it could provide an ex-
tra boost to African-American students, who are often the object of negative
stereotypes concerning their intellectual abilities. There is a wealth of recent
research on stereotype threat showing the degree to which being the object of
a negative ability stereotype can undermine performance on intellectual tasks
(Aronson et al., 1999; Good & Aronson, 2001; Inzlicht & Ben-Zeev, 2000;
Quinn & Spencer, 2002; Spencer, Steele, & Quinn, 1999; Steele & Aronson,
1995). In this context, an entity theory might be especially pernicious. A neg-
ative stereotype is a belief about fixed lower ability, and the entity theory sim-
ply underscores the idea of fixed ability. In contrast, an incremental theory
may defuse the power of the stereotype by portraying intellectual skills as ac-
quirable over time. It can thus make any current judgment less important.
Moreover, the incremental theory, by giving students control over their intel-
lectual growth, may make them value, enjoy, and pursue their studies more.
In the Aronson et al. (2002) study, both African-American and White par-
ticipants were randomly assigned to one of three groups. The first group re-
ceived training in the incremental theory. They saw a highly compelling film
depicting the way in which the brain forms new connections and literally
changes every time you learn something new. To fortify this message, they also
participated in a pen-pal program in which they wrote a letter to a struggling
junior high school student. They were encouraged to emphasize in their letters
the idea that intelligence is expandable and increases with mental work. At the
end of the semester, the researchers assessed participants’ enjoyment of aca-
demics, their valuing of academics, and their grade point averages.
There were two control groups. One received no treatment, but the other
was given a belief about intelligence that was expected to provide some bene-
fit. They were taught the idea that there are many forms of ability that one
can have. Thus, they were told, students should not worry if in their studies
they find that they lack one kind of ability; they may still have other impor-
tant ones. This group also participated in the pen-pal program and wrote a
letter that emphasized the theory they had learned.
The two control groups did not differ and the group receiving the incre-
mental intervention looked significantly better than both. Those who had re-
ceived training in the incremental theory reported greater enjoyment of their
academic work (e.g., studying, test-taking) and greater valuing of academics
in general. In addition, this group showed a clear gain in grade point average
over the other groups. The gains were largest for the African-American stu-
dents, but they were also apparent for the White students.
In the second study, Aronson and Good (2002) designed an in-depth inter-
vention to investigate whether teaching junior high students about the mal-
leability of intelligence could be used to reduce their vulnerability to stereo-
- MOTIVATION AND COGNITION 49