Podcast Summary
Understanding the keys to success: grit and self-control: Angela Duckworth's research focuses on grit and self-control as key predictors of success in life, based on her experiences and academic background.
Angela Duckworth, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and the founder of Character Lab, has dedicated her career to understanding what predicts success in life, specifically focusing on the attributes of grit and self-control. Prior to her research, she was involved in educational initiatives and had a strong interest in helping people in meaningful ways, particularly children. Her experiences, including teaching, starting a summer school, and pursuing a neuroscience degree, all contributed to her eventual focus on psychology and grit. Duckworth's research has received widespread recognition, including a MacArthur Genius Fellowship, and she has advised various organizations and individuals on how to apply her findings to improve student achievement and well-being. Her first book, "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance," will be published May 3rd.
Angela Duckworth's pursuit of understanding grit: Angela Duckworth's personal experiences and intuition led her to study grit, a concept combining passion and perseverance for long-term goals, through scientific research.
Angela Duckworth, inspired by her personal experiences and driven by the desire to make a difference in children's lives, pursued a PhD in psychology at the University of Pennsylvania to understand the origins of sustained effort and learning. She felt that psychological science could offer more than traditional wisdom in addressing this issue. When she came across Martin Seligman's work, she found resonance with his practical approach and his research on helplessness, which is the opposite of sustained effort. During her graduate studies, Duckworth's research focus on understanding effort and achievement evolved into the concept of grit – passion and perseverance for long-term goals. She interviewed high achievers across various domains to uncover the commonalities behind their success, which led to the emergence of this theory. Duckworth's journey demonstrates the power of personal experiences, intuition, and scientific inquiry in driving groundbreaking research.
The definition of grit by Angela Duckworth: Angela Duckworth defines grit as the ability to sustain self-regulation towards long-term, abstract goals. High achievers consistently demonstrate great effort and dedication to their goals, even as tactics change.
Grit, as defined by Angela Duckworth, is the ability to sustain self-regulation towards long-term, abstract goals. Duckworth arrived at this definition through interviews with high achievers, who she found consistently demonstrated great effort and consistency in working towards their goals. She noted that these individuals admired others in their field and remained dedicated to their goals over time, even as tactics changed. Duckworth's latest definition, "greatest sustained self-regulation in the service of superordinate goals," builds upon earlier definitions and reflects the consistency of high achievers' interests at the most abstract level. This definition highlights the importance of having a clear, enduring goal and the ability to maintain focus and effort towards it.
Understanding the hierarchy of goals: A well-developed goal hierarchy has a superordinate goal, which is abstract and motivates multiple specific goals. Strive for the superordinate goal with passion and inhibit unaligned goals.
Our goals are not isolated but rather part of a hierarchical structure. Each goal has a reason behind it, and asking "why" leads us to the next level in the hierarchy. At the top of this hierarchy, we have our superordinate goal, which is our ultimate motivation. For example, a person might have a goal to be a professor, but the superordinate goal could be to contribute to knowledge. It's essential to have a well-developed hierarchy of goals, where the superordinate goal is abstract and has multiple ways to achieve it. Over time, we may substitute goals that are not aligned with our superordinate goal, leading to a more cohesive structure. This concept is known as an equal finality set, where we have multiple paths to reach our ultimate goal. It's crucial to strive for our superordinate goal with perseverance and passion while inhibiting goals that don't align with it.
The Power of Perseverance and Self-Control: Grit is about persisting towards long-term goals with passion and perseverance, while self-control is about making choices that benefit us in the long run, even if they are not immediately pleasurable.
Grit is about persisting towards higher level goals, even when faced with setbacks or lower level goals that may not be achieved as planned. Grit is not about being stubborn or unwilling to adapt, but rather about finding creative and flexible solutions to reach those higher level goals. Self-control, on the other hand, is about making choices between immediate and long-term rewards. Both grit and self-control are important for success, and while they overlap, they serve distinct functions. Grit is about persevering towards long-term goals, while self-control is about making choices that benefit us in the long run, even if they are not immediately pleasurable. It's important to remember that grit is not about being a robot or just doing what others say, but rather about passionately pursuing goals with perseverance.
Understanding Self-Control and Grit: Self-control and grit are related but distinct concepts. Self-control deals with regulating actions in the present, while grit involves persevering towards long-term goals.
Self-control and grit are related concepts, but they serve different functions. Self-control refers to the ability to regulate one's actions and behaviors in the face of temptations or distractions. It can be initiated by oneself or enforced by others. Grit, on the other hand, involves persevering through challenges and setbacks towards long-term goals that are personally meaningful. While both concepts fall under the broader domain of conscientiousness, they represent distinct aspects of self-regulation. Self-control deals with the day-to-day conflicts between short-term desires and long-term goals, while grit focuses on the commitment and passion towards achieving important, overarching objectives. It's important to recognize the differences between these concepts to better understand their unique contributions to personal growth and success.
Understanding the difference between grit and conscientiousness: Grit is a unique personality trait that predicts perseverance through challenges, while conscientiousness relates to self-control and organization. Passion, a component of grit, is consistently present in high achievers.
Grit, as a psychological construct, is distinct from other personality traits such as conscientiousness. While grit and conscientiousness are related, grit is particularly predictive of achieving challenging goals that require endurance and persistence. Conscientiousness, on the other hand, is more closely linked to self-control and organization. However, passion, an essential component of grit, is not directly measured by the grit scale but is strongly correlated with it. Research suggests that the consistency of passion over time is a notable characteristic of high achievers. In summary, grit is an important personality trait that predicts the ability to persevere through difficult challenges, and it is distinct from other traits such as conscientiousness and passion, which are related but not identical constructs.
People usually have one primary and one secondary goal in life: Individuals typically have a primary vocational goal and a secondary avocational goal, dedicating most time and energy to the former while pursuing enjoyment from the latter.
According to the speaker, it is uncommon for individuals to have multiple superordinate goals in life due to the limited time and resources. Instead, most people have one primary goal, often referred to as a vocational goal, which consumes the majority of their time and energy. However, some individuals may also have a secondary, avocational goal that they pursue for enjoyment and personal fulfillment. These avocational goals may not be as time-consuming or important as vocational goals but still play a significant role in their lives. The speaker also emphasized the importance of dedication and focus in achieving one's goals, as it can take a long time to fully understand and contribute to a field of study.
The formula for world-class expertise: skill x effort: World-class expertise requires both high skill and significant effort. Skill is built through effort, and the more effort, the greater the return. However, a minimum talent level is necessary for productivity.
Achieving world-class expertise requires both a high level of skill and a significant amount of effort. Skill is developed through effort, and the more effort put in, the greater the return on investment. The formula for achievement is skill multiplied by effort, which can be broken down further to talent times effort times effort. Effort counts twice in this equation because it contributes to building skill and making it productive. However, this only applies if a certain threshold of talent is met. Without sufficient talent, no matter how much effort is put in, there will be little to no gain in skill or productivity.
Nature and Nurture Shape Human Traits: Genes influence traits but environments matter too, and both can be developed through effort
Both nature (genes) and nurture (environment) play significant roles in shaping human traits, including grit and talent. Genes are not a destiny, but rather an influence, and environments can impact traits in various ways. For instance, height is influenced by genes, but environmental factors like nutrition have contributed to people getting taller throughout history. Grit and talent matter, and while some people may naturally have more of these traits, they can be developed through effort and environment. The misconception that genes determine everything is misguided and can lead to neglecting the importance of education and development. The recent study on grit's heritability highlights that people may differ in their natural grittiness, but it doesn't mean it can't be cultivated.
The complex relationship between grit, IQ, and standardized test scores: Grit, IQ, and standardized test scores have complex relationships, with grit predicting perseverance but not as well as conscientiousness, heritability estimates for grit varying, and standardized test scores not perfectly correlated with other measures of achievement
The relationship between grit, IQ, and standardized test scores is a complex one. The author discussed a study that found heritability estimates for grit ranging from 20% to 37%, depending on the aspect being measured. The author also noted that grit predicts outcomes, particularly perseverance, but not as well as conscientiousness. The author expressed disappointment that some of their comments were not included in the final article. They also pointed out that standardized test scores are not perfectly correlated with other measures of achievement, such as grades or graduation rates. The author argued that IQ tests and standardized tests are similar in nature and that if people looked closely at the questions on IQ tests, they would see that they are not significantly different from standardized test questions. The author emphasized that it's important to consider the complexities of these relationships and not to view them in simplistic terms.
SAT scores don't fully capture potential or abilities: SAT scores correlate with IQ but don't capture grit, which is important for success. New interventions aim to objectively measure grit and help develop it.
While standardized achievement tests like the SAT can provide valuable information, they do not fully capture a person's potential or abilities. The correlation between SAT scores and IQ is strong, but IQ and grit, which is the ability to persevere through challenges, are complex traits with both genetic and environmental influences. Grit is not perfectly summarized by test scores alone, and interventions like deliberate practice can help develop grit, even if they don't necessarily make someone "grittier" in a definitive sense. The recent finding that grit is heritable to some extent and that conscientiousness may be a better predictor of academic achievement than grit score alone should not oversimplify the complexity of human achievement. Exciting new interventions, such as role-playing exercises, are being explored to objectively measure grit and help individuals develop the skills and mindset to overcome challenges.
Teaching Deliberate Practice to Nonexperts: Inspiring nonexperts with deliberate practice concepts can boost achievement, but requires consistent reinforcement and identity alignment for sustained growth.
Educating nonexperts, such as middle school kids, about the concept of deliberate practice and its challenges can lead to increased deliberate practice and objective measures of achievement, particularly for those below average. However, the effect is not permanent, and reinforcement from teachers and consistent messaging is necessary for sustained growth. This research also explores the role of identity in learning and academic diligence. Criticism is essential for growth and learning, and Angela Duckworth remains open to being wrong and continuously improving her work.
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