Increasing perseverance in math: Evidence from a field experiment in Norway
通过挪威实地实验，研究发现学校通过干预学生对自己学习能力的信念（即心态），能在三周后持续提升学生的数学毅力和成绩，尤其对原本信心不足的学生效果显著。
Research by psychologists and economists demonstrates that many non-cognitive skillsare malleable in both children and adolescents, but we have limited knowledge on what schools can do to foster these skills. In a field experiment requiring real effort, we investigate how schools can increase students’ perseverance in math by shaping students’ beliefs intheir abilities to learn, a concept referred to by psychologists as “mindset.” Using protocols adapted from psychology, we experimentally manipulate students’ beliefs in their ability to learn. Three weeks after our treatment, we find persistent treatment effects on students’perseverance and academic performance in math. When investigating subsamples, we find that students, who prior to the experiment had less of a belief in their ability to learn, generate the treatment effect. The findings suggest that a low-cost intervention focused onstudents’ mindset can improve students’ engagement and performance.