Rotman Management — Spring 2017

100 / Rotman Management Spring 2017

With respect to interventions, the proposed frame-

work implies that self-control is a skill or capacity, which,

like other skills and capacities, might be improved with

training and practice.

Grit, in contrast, is as much about motivation as volition.

Studies beginning in childhood and extending across the life

course are needed to examine how individuals develop su-

perordinate goals of such compelling personal significance

that that they inspire lifelong allegiance despite innumera-

ble alternative pursuits and inevitable mistakes, failures, and

other obstacles. Very generally, we assume that commitment

to a superordinate goal is a function of that goal’s feasibility

and desirability, and thus that the diverse psychological ante-

cedents to such valuations (e.g., growth mindset, optimism,

attribution style, locus of control, counterfactual style, core

self-evaluation, intrinsic motivation, interest, approaches to

happiness) are logical targets for intervention and inquiry.

In closing

Research on self-control has illuminated the importance

— and inherent difficulty — of aligning actions with valued

Angela Duckworthis the Christopher Browne Distinguished Professor

of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of Grit:

The Power of Passion and Perserverance (Collins, 2016). She is also the

founder and scientific director of the Character Lab, whose mission is

to advance the science and practice of character development. This arti-

cle summarizes her paper, “Self-Control and Grit: Related but Separable

Determinants of Success”, co-authored with Stanford’s James Gross

and published in Current Directions in Psychological Science.

How Gritty Are You? The 8-Point Grit Scale

1. New ideas and projects
   sometimes distract me
   from previous ones.
   Very much like me
   Mostly like me
   Somewhat like me
   Not much like me
   Not like me at all


2. Setbacks don’t
   discourage me.
   Very much like me
   Mostly like me
   Somewhat like me
   Not much like me
   Not like me at all


3. I have been obsessed
   with a certain idea or
   project for a short time
   but later lost interest.
   Very much like me
   Mostly like me
   Somewhat like me
   Not much like me
   Not like me at all
   4. I am a hard worker.
   Very much like me
   Mostly like me
   Somewhat like me
   Not much like me
   Not like me at all
   5. I often set a goal but
   later choose to pursue
   a different one.
   Very much like me
   Mostly like me
   Somewhat like me
   Not much like me
   Not like me at all
   6. I have difficulty
   maintaining my focus
   on projects that take
   more than a few months
   to complete.
   Very much like me
   Mostly like me
   Somewhat like me
   Not much like me
   Not like me at all
   7. I finish whatever
   I begin.
   Very much like me
   Mostly like me
   Somewhat like me
   Not much like me
   Not like me at all
   8. I am diligent.
   Very much like me
   Mostly like me
   Somewhat like me
   Not much like me
   Not like me at all

SCORING:

For questions 2, 4, 7

and 8 assign

the following points:

5 = Very much like me

4 = Mostly like me

3 = Somewhat like me

2 = Not much like me

1 = Not like me at all

For questions 1, 3, 5 and

6 assign the following

points:

1 = Very much like me

2 = Mostly like me

3 = Somewhat like me

4 = Not much like me

5 = Not like me at all

Add up all the points and

divide by 8. The maximum

score on this scale is 5

(extremely gritty), and the

lowest score on this scale

is 1 (not at all gritty).

Following are a number of statements that may or may not apply to you. For the most accurate score, when responding, think

of how you compare to most people — not just the people you know well, but most people in the world. There are no right or

wrong answers: just answer honestly.

goals when momentarily more rewarding actions become

available. Separate research on grit has suggested that in-

dividuals differ in their pursuit of superordinate goals of

enduring significance. Our hierarchical-goal perspective on

self-control and grit advances the understanding of the re-

lated but distinct psychological mechanisms that underlie

these two key determinants of success.