This innovative text sheds light on how people work -- why they sometimes function well and, at other times, behave in ways that are self-defeating or destructive. The author presents her groundbreaking research on adaptive and maladaptive cognitive-motivational patterns and shows:* How these patterns originate in people's self-theories* Their consequences for the person -- for achievement, social relationships, and emotional well-being* Their consequences for society, from issues of human potential to stereotyping and intergroup relations* The experiences that create themThis outstanding text is a must-read for researchers in social psychology, child development, and education, and is appropriate for both graduate and senior undergraduate students in these areas.

Preface. Introduction. 1. What Promotes Adaptive Motivation? Four Beliefs and Four Truths about Ability, Success, Praise, and Confidence. 2. When Failure Undermines and When Failure Motivates: Helpless and Mastery-Oriented Responses. 3. Achievement Goals: Looking Smart vs. Learning. 4. Is Intelligence Fixed or Changeable? Students' Theories About Their Intelligence Foster Their Achievement Goals. 5. Theories of Intelligence Predict (and Create) Differences in Achievement. 6. Theories of Intelligence Create High and Low Effort. 7. Theories and Goals Predict Self-Esteem Loss and Depressive Reactions. 8. Why Confidence and Success Are Not Enough. 9. What Is IQ and Does It Matter? 10. Believing in Fixed Social Traits: Impact on Social Coping. 11. Judging and Labeling Others: Another Effect of Implicit Theories. 12. Belief in the Potential to Change. 13. Holding and Forming Stereotypes. 14. How Does It All Begin? Young Children's Theories about Goodness and Badness. 15. Kinds of Praise and Criticism: The Origins of Vulnerability. 16. Praising Intelligence: More Praise that Backfires. 17. Misconceptions about Self-Esteem and about How to Foster It. 18. Personality, Motivation, Development, and the Self: Theoretical Reflections. 19. Final Thoughts on Controversial Issues.