The Relationship between Implicit Intelligence Beliefs and Academic Grit: The Mediating Role of Academic Motivation

Grit, a non-cognitive factor, plays an influential role in students’ academic achievement. It has two components: consistency of interest and perseverance of effort. Grit has been shown to be a stronger predictor of academic success among students compared to their exam scores and Grade Point Average (GPA), as it has a closer relationship with success criteria than intelligence (Duckworth et al., 2007). Therefore, investigating the factors contributing to students’ academic grit is essential. One important factor affecting students’ academic grit could be their implicit intelligence beliefs. These beliefs are key determinants of students’ emotional experiences in achievement situations and could affect their interpretations of their performance (Dweck & Molden, 2017). According to Dweck (2006), there are two major types of intelligence beliefs: entity and incremental. Individuals with entity beliefs think that they have a certain amount of innate talent and intelligence, which cannot be changed or improved. Conversely, those with incremental beliefs consider their skills and abilities as malleable and believe they can be improved through practice and effort (Sigmundsson, 2021). Incremental intelligence beliefs provide individuals with a framework for interpreting effort and practice. More specifically, individuals endorsing these beliefs value hard work and effort and consider failures and mistakes as opportunities for learning and growth, rather than signs of incompetence (Molden & Dweck, 2006). These individuals are not concerned about others' judgments and devote considerable time and effort to their learning processes. Earlier findings indicate a moderate relationship between intelligence beliefs and grit among students (Duckworth & Eskreis-Winkler, 2015). We hypothesize that enhancing incremental intelligence beliefs may result in increased effort among students, influencing their academic success (Kaya and Karakoc, 2022). Moreover, it is important to examine the underlying mechanism linking intelligence beliefs to academic grit. Identifying the mediating factors in this relationship could have theoretical implications and help design effective interventions for promoting students’ academic grit. Given previous research highlighting the role of motivation in grit (Karlen et al., 2019), we suggest that motivation could mediate the relationship between incremental beliefs and academic grit. This study examines the mediating role of students’ academic motivation in the association between their intelligence beliefs and academic grit.

This study employs a descriptive and correlational design. The sample comprised 380 undergraduate and postgraduate students from the University of Kashan, selected via multi-stage cluster sampling during the 2021-2022 academic year. Data were collected using Clark and Maleki’s (2019) Academic Grit Scale, Fattah and Yates’ (2006) Implicit Theories of Intelligence Scale, and Lepper’s (2005) Academic Motivation Scale. After the exclusion of incomplete questionnaires and outliers, the data from 360 students (257 females and 103 males) were subjected to Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analysis using AMOS (Version 22) and SPSS (Version 22).

The results indicated a positive and significant relationship between incremental intelligence beliefs and academic grit, while no significant association was found between entity intelligence beliefs and academic grit. Incremental intelligence beliefs were significantly and positively associated with intrinsic motivation, but not with extrinsic motivation. Similarly, intrinsic motivation, but not extrinsic motivation, had a direct and significant association with academic grit. Consequently, entity beliefs about intelligence and intrinsic academic motivation were excluded from the structural model. The model fit indices suggested that the proposed model was adequately fitted (χ2/df = 1.83, GFI=.95, CFI=.97, TLI=.96, NFI=.94, RMSEA=.048). GFI, CFI, TLI, and NFI values greater than .90 and .95 are considered acceptable and very good, respectively. As for RMSEA, values below .08 are considered acceptable. The results indicated that incremental intelligence beliefs were positively and directly related to academic grit (β=.58, p<.01) and intrinsic academic motivation (β=.49, p<.01). Furthermore, intrinsic academic motivation was positively associated with academic grit (β=.39, p<.01). Additionally, incremental intelligence beliefs were indirectly related to academic grit through intrinsic academic motivation (β=.19, p<.01).

The findings demonstrated that students’ incremental intelligence beliefs could predict their academic grit, aligning with previous studies that underscored the role of intelligence beliefs in students’ academic grit (e.g., Frontini et al., 2021; Karlen et al., 2019; Kannangara et al., 2018; Kim, 2020; Park et al., 2020; Sigmundsson, 2021). Students who believe in the malleability and improvability of their intelligence exert more effort and show greater perseverance in achieving their goals, while those with entity beliefs, who view their competence and skills as unchangeable, do not persevere in achieving their goals (Sigmundsson, 2021). In essence, students who subscribe to incremental beliefs about their intelligence and skills are optimistic and hopeful, which motivates them to exert more effort and sustain their interest. Moreover, the findings revealed that intrinsic academic motivation could predict academic grit and mediate the relationship between incremental intelligence beliefs and academic grit. In other words, students who hold incremental beliefs about their intelligence have higher intrinsic motivation, which results in higher levels of academic grit. This finding is consistent with previous research indicating the link between intelligence beliefs and motivation (Betsy, 2018; Rhew et al., 2018; Xu et al., 2021) and the positive association between motivation and academic grit (Bagheri Sheykhangafshe et al., 2020; Chen et al., 2021; Gyamfi and Lai, 2020; Karlen et al., 2019; Zhao et al., 2018). When students have incremental beliefs about their intelligence, they have a more positive and optimistic view of their talents and skills, which enhances their motivation and makes them exert more effort and show more interest in their studies. Zhao et al. (2018) found that students endorsing incremental intelligence beliefs are more inclined to have intrinsic motivation and show interest and perseverance in their learning. Given that this study is correlational, caution should be exercised in inferring cause-and-effect relationships. Moreover, care should be taken when generalizing the findings to other universities or educational levels (e.g., high school). Future research could adopt an experimental design to investigate the role of intelligence beliefs in academic grit and the possible underlying mechanisms. Additionally, further research could explore the relationships in the proposed model in different domains (e.g., mathematics) and cultural contexts.