Cintia Hinojosa

All Publications

• A national experiment reveals where a growth mindset improves achievement. Nature Yeager, D. S., Hanselman, P. n., Walton, G. M., Murray, J. S., Crosnoe, R. n., Muller, C. n., Tipton, E. n., Schneider, B. n., Hulleman, C. S., Hinojosa, C. P., Paunesku, D. n., Romero, C. n., Flint, K. n., Roberts, A. n., Trott, J. n., Iachan, R. n., Buontempo, J. n., Yang, S. M., Carvalho, C. M., Hahn, P. R., Gopalan, M. n., Mhatre, P. n., Ferguson, R. n., Duckworth, A. L., Dweck, C. S. 2019

  Abstract

  A global priority for the behavioural sciences is to develop cost-effective, scalable interventions that could improve the academic outcomes of adolescents at a population level, but no such interventions have so far been evaluated in a population-generalizable sample. Here we show that a short (less than one hour), online growth mindset intervention-which teaches that intellectual abilities can be developed-improved grades among lower-achieving students and increased overall enrolment to advanced mathematics courses in a nationally representative sample of students in secondary education in the United States. Notably, the study identified school contexts that sustained the effects of the growth mindset intervention: the intervention changed grades when peer norms aligned with the messages of the intervention. Confidence in the conclusions of this study comes from independent data collection and processing, pre-registration of analyses, and corroboration of results by a blinded Bayesian analysis.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41586-019-1466-y

  View details for PubMedID 31391586

• Using Design Thinking to Improve Psychological Interventions: The Case of the Growth Mindset During the Transition to High School JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY Yeager, D. S., Romero, C., Paunesku, D., Hulleman, C. S., Schneider, B., Hinojosa, C., Lee, H. Y., O'Brien, J., Flint, K., Roberts, A., Trott, J., Greene, D., Walton, G. M., Dweck, C. S. 2016; 108 (3): 374-391

  Abstract

  There are many promising psychological interventions on the horizon, but there is no clear methodology for preparing them to be scaled up. Drawing on design thinking, the present research formalizes a methodology for redesigning and tailoring initial interventions. We test the methodology using the case of fixed versus growth mindsets during the transition to high school. Qualitative inquiry and rapid, iterative, randomized "A/B" experiments were conducted with ~3,000 participants to inform intervention revisions for this population. Next, two experimental evaluations showed that the revised growth mindset intervention was an improvement over previous versions in terms of short-term proxy outcomes (Study 1, N=7,501), and it improved 9th grade core-course GPA and reduced D/F GPAs for lower achieving students when delivered via the Internet under routine conditions with ~95% of students at 10 schools (Study 2, N=3,676). Although the intervention could still be improved even further, the current research provides a model for how to improve and scale interventions that begin to address pressing educational problems. It also provides insight into how to teach a growth mindset more effectively.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/edu0000098

  View details for Web of Science ID 000373687300007

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4981081