Exploring the role of implicit theories of talent in subjective well-being, academic buoyancy, and perceived physical health: A study in the Philippine context

Abstract

Prior studies commonly emphasized the beneficial impacts of a growth mindset on students’ success and well-being. However, recent evidence cast doubts on the ability of a growth mindset to optimize desirable achievement and psychological outcomes. This study contributes to this line of evidence by exploring the association of mindsets in talent—a new domain of implicit theories encompassing belief about the nature of talent—with students’ subjective well-being, academic buoyancy, and general health among selected Filipino high school students. Results of structural equation modeling indicate that whereas incremental theory in talent (or growth mindset) was more strongly and positively correlated with academic buoyancy, school connectedness, and joy of learning, entity theory (or fixed mindset) was more strongly and positively associated with educational purpose and general health. These findings underscore the mental health rewards associated with cultivating both growth and fixed mindsets about talent in school contexts.