8 Summary

The main learning points from this session are:

• The main features of fixed or growth mindsets stem from people’s beliefs about ability and incorporate attitudes and behaviours towards challenges, obstacles, effort, criticism and the success of others.
• Mindset beliefs influence the overall control people feel they have over their learning and when striving for continuous improvement. For a player with a growth mindset, failure and mistakes are viewed as feedback opportunities.
• The behaviour and communication of coaches, teachers and parents influence beliefs about ability and hence a growth mindset.
• There are similarities between the ideas of mental toughness and the psychological characteristics of developing excellence (PCDE). The nine items used in the description of PCDE encompass a breadth of skills that psychologists often develop for performance in music, sport and education.

In the next session, you will discover how psychological skills and strategies are used to help make sense of fear, anxiety and emotion in sport. It is a fascinating topic.

You can now go to Session 6.