Developing and Validating a Growth Mindset Scale for Young Children (GM-C)

Beliefs about the malleability of intellectual ability—mindsets—shape achievement. Recent evidence suggests that even young children hold such mindsets; yet, no reliable and valid instruments exist for measuring individual differences in young children’s mindsets. Here, we developed and made freely available an instrument for this purpose—the Growth Mindset Scale for Children (GM-C), suitable for children as young as 4. Among other psychometric properties, we assessed this instrument’s (a) measurement invariance, (b) internal consistency, (c) temporal stability (or test-retest reliability), (d) predictive validity, and (e) cross-cultural robustness in samples of US children (Study 1; N = 220; ages 4 through 6; 50% girls; 39% White) and South African children (Study 2; predominantly grades 4 and 5; N = 331; 54% girls; 100% non-White). The GM-C scale demonstrated invariance across age, as well as strong internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Further, the scale is valid: Four- to six-year-old children with higher GM-C scores oriented toward learning goals (Study 1). Similarly, second- to fifth-grade children with higher GM-C scores oriented toward learning goals, were more likely to take on challenges, and had better grades in math and English (Study 2). These findings suggest that the GM-C is a promising tool for measuring mindsets in young children. We offer practical recommendations on how the scale can be used in future research and discuss theoretical implications of the results.