People with a positive attitude are built differently

A positive attitude, what researchers call a ‘growth mindset’ or belief in growth, is associated with both higher willpower and passion, according to a new large study.

"People who believe they will succeed are far more passionate and have greater willpower than those who do not have that belief," says Hermundur Sigmundsson, a professor at NTNU's Department of Psychology.

He has worked for many years to find out what makes people succeed in reaching their goals. Now, he and Professor Monika Haga from the Department of Teacher Education have joined forces.

Assessed passion, willpower, and attitude

The two looked at 1,548 participants aged 13 to 77. They wanted to explore various factors needed to become good at something.

First, they considered the participants’ passion, determination, and belief that they would succeed in their goals. There are, of course, large individual differences here.

Then, they compared the participants who had the most positive attitude with the participants who had the least belief that they would succeed. 

The differences are clear.

“We find large differences in passion and determination when we compare the five per cent who have the most positive attitude with the five per cent who are the most negative,” says Sigmundsson.

These groups are clearly different. High passion and determination are directly related to positive attitudes in adults.

Can help motivate us

“Our results can help us better understand the connections between different factors. These are, in turn, related to how satisfied people are with their lives, how they feel, what they have already achieved, and learning,” says Sigmundsson.

He explains that by knowing more about what characterises people with different attitudes, we can better understand how to motivate different groups.

We can thereby encourage people to set long-term goals and make an effort to achieve these goals. T

his is what Sigmundsson calls ‘getting the I CAN feeling.’

“The belief in growth is important for large parts of our society. This is true for school, sports, work, and family life,” he says.

Reference:

Sigmundsson, H. & Haga, M. Passion and grit in individuals with high levels of growth mindset are different than in individuals who have low growth mindset, Acta Psychologica, vol. 250, 2024. DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104480

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