Marketing Research Seminar - Liat Levontin, Technion University

Does a growth mindset positively influence other-focused behavior, such as prosocial behavior? This relationship is puzzling as although people tend, intuitively, to connect prosocial behavior, therapy sessions and willingness for compromises with outgroups with making a change (e.g., “Give Well  - Your donation can change someone's life”; “Time for change foundations”), mindsets theory and empirical findings suggest and show mixed results, including positive and negative relationships, between growth (vs. fixed) mindset and pro-others behavior, including prosocial behavior. I will discuss some conflicting hypotheses and findings from my own research and the results of two meta-analyses that were conducted to synthesize the findings. Results suggest that both growth and fixed mindsets may lead to other-focused behavior, depending on the context. I will discuss some theoretical and managerial implications for using mindsets to encourage prosocial behaviors.