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Trajectories of implicit theories of intelligence and emotional intelligence in secondary school

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Abstract

This study examined and compared how the trajectories of two types of implicit theories (IT; general intelligence and emotional intelligence EI) evolve over the 3-year period of the Portuguese secondary school period. The effects of students’ gender, academic achievement, and EI on the developmental path of IT were also explored. Two hundred twenty-two students participated in a 3-wave study from 10th to 12th grade, were aged 14 to 18 years old (Mage= 15.4; SD = 0.63) in the first round of data collection, and were mostly female (58.6%). The findings indicate the stability of students’ implicit beliefs of intelligence over secondary school and, in turn, the continuous evolution of students’ incremental IT of EI. Students’ gender and previous levels of trait EI influenced the IT’s change patterns. The findings are discussed based on the relevance of the educational context to foster incremental beliefs about school-related attributes for all students.

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Notes

  1. In Portugal, secondary school corresponds to the 3rd level of the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), lasts for 3 years, comprises 10th, 11th and 12th grades, and covers adolescents aged 15 to 18 years old. Access to secondary school is achieved after the successful completion of 9 years of basic education and its completion is mandatory for progression to college educational period.

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Funding

This study was funded by the Portuguese Science Foundation (Postdoctoral Grant awarded to Ana Costa and supervised by Luísa Faria SFRH/BPD/117479/2016) and CPUP (UID/PSI/00050/2013).

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  1. Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Ana Costa & Luísa Faria

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Costa, A., Faria, L. Trajectories of implicit theories of intelligence and emotional intelligence in secondary school. Soc Psychol Educ 26, 191–209 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-022-09695-6

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