[This post is written by the Society's Director, Dr. Eric Johnson (Southern Seminary)]

For many reasons—both practical and clinical—how we understand the psychospiritual development of the Christian is extremely important. There are many facets of such development that distinguish Christians from non-Christians, including the activity of the Holy Spirit, the experience of communion with God, and role of faith, and the (paradoxical!) growing recognition of one’s sinfulness. However, God has so constituted human life, that much of its development is common to all humans, regardless of their faith. Carol Dweck (2000; 2006), the noted social and developmental psychologist, has identified two sets of beliefs that would seem to have a significant impact on many kinds of human development, including uniquely Christian development.

Based in a social cognitive framework that owes much to the theories of Albert Bandura, over the course of three decades of research on beliefs that people possess about themselves and their capacities, Dweck discovered there are generally two kinds of theories they form: an entity theory, an interrelated set of beliefs that their capacities are fixed in nature and cannot change, no matter how much effort one exerts; and an incremental theory, that their capacities are more or less malleable, and can be enhanced by effort. Most significant, these theories lead to very different patterns of behavior. For example, early on Dweck found that students with an entity theory of intelligence treated difficult tasks as a threat to their self-esteem, and therefore preferred easy tasks, were more concerned with their perceived performance in relation to others than their actual competence, had difficult coping with setbacks, and did not try very hard to improve themselves. On the other hand, students who held to an incremental theory perceived more difficult tasks as challenges through which they might grow, were more likely to seek out moderately challenging tasks which challenged them, but were realistically attainable, viewed actual competence as more important than perceived performance, and were more likely to improve themselves through greater effort, strategy use, and seeking the help of others.

As her research broadened in scope, Dweck realized that she had discovered patterns of greater significance than merely one’s theory of intelligence. She has concluded that people form “belief systems” about their ability to change, that affect how they act, relate to others, and perform in school, work, athletic competition, and counseling. Her life work has been the study of people’s lay theories about whether people can change.

I bring up Dweck’s work today because it would seem to have rich implications for how one views the Christian life and one’s psychospiritual development. Next week I’d like to offer some integrative thoughts in this direction. In the mean time, I invite readers to share how these two kinds of theories might apply to our understanding of Christian psychospiritual maturation?

References

Dweck, C. S. (2000). Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and
development. Philadelphia: Psychology Press.
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random
House.