Monday, April 15, 2019

Understanding Underachievement: Mind-Set, Perfectionism, and Achievement Attitudes Among Gifted Students


This study compared differences between mind-set beliefs about intelligence (fixed vs. growth), dimensions of perfectionism (Concern Over Mistakes, Doubt of Action, Personal Standards, Organization), and achievement attitudes among gifted underachievers (n = 15) and gifted achievers (n = 169) in Grades 6 to 8 and examined the relationship between mind-set beliefs and dimensions of perfectionism.

Gifted underachievers had higher fixed mind-set beliefs about intelligence (d = .79), lower scores on Organization (d = −1.01), and lower Self-Regulation/Motivation (d = −1.17) when compared with gifted achievers. These factors also were statistically significant in logistic regression models predicting achievement status. In addition, for the entire sample of gifted students (N = 264), fixed mind-set beliefs predicted both dimensions of Evaluative Concerns Perfectionism (Concern Over Mistakes, β = .35, p < .0001; Doubt of Action, β = .28, p < .0001), while growth mind-set beliefs predicted both dimensions of Positive Strivings Perfectionism (Personal Standards, β = .35, p < .0001, and Organization, β = .21, p = .001).

These findings provide a clearer picture of the relationships among underachievement, perfectionism, implicit theories of intelligence, and achievement attitudes, providing guidance for affective interventions.

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