STUDY: Attitude is a better predictor of success than IQ

Having a high IQ doesn’t necessarily mean that you are bound for success.

A new study carried out by Psychologist Carol Dweck from Stanford University revealed that an individual’s attitude is a better predictor of success compared to IQ.

According to Professor Dweck, there are two categories of people’s core attitude: a fixed mindset or a growth mindset.

Having a fixed mindset means believing you are who you are and you cannot change. When a person with a fixed mindset encounters a challenge that appears to be more than they can handle, he or she may feel hopeless or overwhelmed.

Meanwhile, a person with a growth mindset think they can improve with effort. Even when they have a lower IQ, they tend to outperform individuals with a fixed mindset. This is because they treat challenges as opportunities in order to learn something new.

“Failure is information—we label it failure, but it’s more like, ‘This didn’t work, and I’m a problem solver, so I’ll try something else,’” explains Dweck about people with growth mindset.

Dweck added that success boils down to the way people handle setbacks and failures.