How you view intelligence can, and will, influence your learning potential. In some countries, people generally believe that intelligence is innate and fixed; intelligence is viewed in a quantitative light, that each person has certain gifted qualities. In other countries, people view intelligence as a malleable quality that can be enhanced through effort. Although there are some levels of intelligence that are difficult to attain regardless of effort (think extreme giftedness), humans can improve their cognitive abilities.
Ways our cognitive abilities can improve
Using logical and reasonable thinking can improve cognitive performance
Practicing critical thinking through things like logic, the scientific method, and statistics can help improve analytical thinking and problem solving.
Improving working memory can enhance information processing
Although prenatal and genetic factors play a role in working memory capacity, parents can help boost working memory by eliminating distractions, breaking down tasks, encouraging verbal rehearsal, and more.
Parents should fuel and inspire their childs’ curiosities. Researchers found that when children were curious about a subject, they tended to retain more information. They concluded that childrens’ brains were more receptive to new information when they were curious.
Practice and effort
Perseverance, effort, motivation, and support allow you to gain new abilities and develop expertise in specific areas.
Children with a growth mindset are more willing to learn from mistakes
In a study comparing how groups of students who subscribed to differing beliefs of intelligence, they found that the group who subscribed to the growth mindset responded more positively to their mistakes. On a neurological level, the researchers found that the brain activity of growth minded students showed evidence of deeper, sustained processing. Overall the children who believed they could improve their intelligence showed greater improvements in learning.
Researchers theorized that this difference in mindset is because of the fear of failure. Growth-minded individuals firmly believe in their capacity for improvement and view mistakes as vehicles for improvements. As a result they are also more eager and fearless when tackling new challenges. In contrast, individuals who believe intelligence is fixed are more often scared of failure; failure poses a threat to their perception of their abilities and intelligence. They believe if they fail, they fundamentally lack that ability and cannot improve upon it.
Sources
https://www.parentingscience.com/theory-of-intelligence.html
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