On Translating Beliefs Into Action: Theories of Ability and Their Application in an Instructional Setting

Some individuals (instructors) taught a card trick to two other individuals (pupils). Prior to teaching the card trick, instructors acquired a theory about the nature of ability. Some instructors learned that ability is produced by factors extrinsic to the pupil, such as thorough instruction (extrinsic theory); others learned that ability emerges spontaneously from the natural development of pupils' intrinsic capabilities (intrinsic theory). In addition, instructors were led to believe that one of the pupils possessed high ability (high ability label) and the other possessed low ability (low ability label). When instructors operated with the extrinsic theory, they adopted teaching strategies that caused pupils to provide behavioral confirmation for their initial beliefs: pupils labeled as having high ability outperformed those labeled as having low ability. By contrast, when instructors operated with the intrinsic theory, they adopted teaching strategies that caused pupils to provide behavioral disconfirmation for their initial beliefs: pupils labeled as having low ability outperformed those labeled as having high ability. Whether pupils had behaviorally confirmed or discontinued the instructors' initial beliefs, instructors always asserted that pupils labeled as having high ability outperformed those labeled as having low ability. Moreover, pupils labeled as having high ability asserted that instructors had more confidence in their ability than pupils labeled as having low ability. Theoretical and social implications of these findings are discussed.