Critical Role of Beliefs re One's Own Abilities to Change & Overcome Adversity

     Which is preferable, a mastery- or a helpless-oriented self-regulation strategy? Every parent, health-care professional, and all other educators need to become skilled at fostering an unshakable belief in each individual's ability to help themselves rise above the many & varied adversities that are a natural part of life.
     "Belief in one's efficacy to exercise control is a common pathway through which psychosocial influences affect health functioning. This core belief affects each of the basic processes of personal change - whether people even consider changing their health habits, whether they mobilize the motivation and perseverance needed to succeed should they do so, their ability to recover from setbacks and relapses, and how well they maintain the habit changes they have achieved."             Bandura A. Health promotion by social cognitive means. Health Educ Behav 2004; 31(2): 143-64.
 
     People who assume that fundamental attributes (such as intelligence or personality) are static traits that are relatively fixed & not subject to personal development are said to be "entity theorists." Those who hold that these human attributes are, instead, dynamic qualities that can be cultivated & can be developed & changed incrementally through personal efforts are referred to as "incremental theorists."
     Research shows that belief in one or the other of these theories has a major impact "on immediate self-regulatory responses to setbacks, including a) responding to failure, b) coping with dysphoria, c) overcoming negative stereotypes, & d) managing personal conflict in intimate relationships. 
     If attributes are seen as fixed, then success or failure provides diagnostic information about how much of these fixed attributes one possesses (& will ever possess). Therefore, for entity theorists, failure often signifies that abilities are permanently lacking in some way. Following failure, any self-regulation in which these individuals are engaged is thus likely to focus primarily on suppressing the importance of this failure or on coping as best they can with the negative emotional impact. 
     In contrast, if attributes are seen as malleable, then success or failure provides diagnostic information about the level to which these attributes have thus far developed. Therefore, for incremental theorists, failure may signify that their abilities require improvement through further attention and effort. Following failure, any self-regulation in which these individuals are engaged is thus more likely to focus on determining how to bring about this improvement." 

       Molden DC, Dweck CS. Finding "meaning" in psychology: a lay theories approach to self-regulation, social perception, and social development. Am Psychol 2006; 61(3): 192-203.