Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Home
Hostname: page-component-7ccbd9845f-dzwm5 Total loading time: 0.544 Render date: 2023-01-28T11:22:51.084Z Has data issue: true Feature Flags: { "useRatesEcommerce": false } hasContentIssue true
  • English
Behavioral and Brain Sciences Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Article contents

Why we don't need built-in misbeliefs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 January 2010

Carol S. Dweck
Carol S. Dweck
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. dweck@stanford.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions[Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In this commentary, I question the idea that positive illusions are evolved misbeliefs on the grounds that positive illusions are often maladaptive, are not universal, and may be by-products of existing mechanisms. Further, because different beliefs are adaptive in different situations and cultures, it makes sense to build in a readiness to form beliefs rather than the beliefs themselves.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 32 , Issue 6 , December 2009 , pp. 518 - 519
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Cassia, V. M., Turati, C. & Simion, F. (2004) Can a non-specific preference for top-heavy patterns explain newborns' face preference? Psychological Science 15:379–83.Google Scholar
Cimpian, A., Arce, H., Markman, E. M. & Dweck, C. S. (2007) Subtle linguistic cues impact children's motivation. Psychological Science 18:314–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunning, D., Heath, C. & Suls, J. M. (2004) Flawed self-assessment: Implications for health, education, and the workplace. Psychological Science in the Public Interest 5:69–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heine, S. J. & Lehman, D. R. (1995) Cultural variation in unrealistic optimism: Does the West feel more vulnerable than the East? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 68:595–607.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, S., Dweck, C. S. & Chen, F. (2007) Evidence for infants' internal working models of attachment. Psychological Science 18:501–502.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kamins, M. & Dweck, C. S. (1999) Person vs. process praise and criticism: Implications for contingent self-worth and coping. Developmental Psychology 35:835–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kitayama, S., Markus, H. R., Matsumoto, H. & Norasakkunkit, V. (1997) Individual and collective process in the construction of the self: Self-enhancement in the U.S. and self-criticism in Japan. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 72:1245–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mueller, C. M. & Dweck, C. S. (1998) Intelligence praise can undermine motivation and performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 75:33–52.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Murphy, M. C. & Dweck, C. S. (2009, in press) A culture of genius: How an organization's lay theories shape people's cognition, affect, and behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.Google Scholar
Ross, L. & Nisbett, R. E. (1991) The person and the situation. McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Saffran, J. R., Aslin, R. N. & Newport, E. L. (1996) Statistical learning in 8-month-old infants. Science 274:1926–28.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spelke, E. S. & Kinzler, K. D. (2007) Core knowledge. Developmental Science 10:89–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vaish, A., Grossmann, T. & Woodward, A. (2008) Not all emotions are created equal: The negativity bias in early development. Psychological Bulletin 134:383–403.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vouloumanos, A. & Werker, J. F. (2007) Listening to language at birth: Evidence for a bias for speech in neonates. Developmental Science 10:159–64.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Watson, J. S. (1985) Contingency perception in early social development. In: Social perception in infants, ed. Field, T. M. & Fox, N. A., pp. 157–76. Ablex.Google Scholar
Woodward, A. & Needham, A. (Ed.) (2009) Learning and the infant mind. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
1
Cited by

Save article to Kindle

To save this article to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Why we don't need built-in misbeliefs
Available formats
×

Save article to Dropbox

To save this article to your Dropbox account, please select one or more formats and confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you used this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your Dropbox account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Why we don't need built-in misbeliefs
Available formats
×

Save article to Google Drive

To save this article to your Google Drive account, please select one or more formats and confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you used this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your Google Drive account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Why we don't need built-in misbeliefs
Available formats
×
×

Reply to: Submit a response

Please enter your response.

Your details

Please enter a valid email address.

Conflicting interests

Do you have any conflicting interests? *