Theories of Intelligence: Young People’s Views on what Intelligence is, and what Influences Their Beliefs about Intelligence

A literature review identified studies that investigated potential influences upon a child's ability attributions and beliefs about intelligence.

Some studies suggested teachers and their teaching style, or even more specifically the feedback teacher's give, can impact upon a child's attributions about intelligence.

Other studies showed gender was influential, with females being more likely to make academic attributions involving effort instead of ability, and males being more likely to believe in ability over effort.

There was also some indication that peers could affect intelligence beliefs.

There was conflicting evidence concerning the influence of parents, with some studies suggesting they were not influential, and other studies suggesting they were.

Due to the small amount of studies found, the review identified that more research was needed in this area.

With this in mind, a mixed methods study was created to explore what factors influence a young person's theory of intelligence.

The study also sought to further explore Dweck's previous research on implicit theories of intelligence, investigating whether similar findings could be found in a UK context.

Focus groups were carried out to explore participant's beliefs about intelligence and what they believed influenced their theories.

Themes from the focus groups were then tested quantitatively using questionnaires.

The study suggested that UK pupils can hold either 'entity' beliefs about intelligence (believing that intelligence is fixed and cannot be changed) or 'incremental' beliefs (believing that intelligence is malleable and can be increased through mastery).

Qualitative data suggested that participants believed parents, siblings, and the education system all affected their beliefs about intelligence.

When these themes were tested quantitatively, there were significant results for parent supportiveness and sibling influence.