1. Write 150 words (minimum) that explore some preliminary ideas you have for relating Dweck’s mindset ideas and some of Lukianoff/Haidt’s ideas 

I believe there are some very obvious similarities between these ideas. Dweck’s idea of a fixed mindset, I believe, can be seen in Lukianoff and Haidt’s idea that trigger warnings are keeping people stuck in their anxieties. Dweck claims that those with a fixed mindset believe the cannot become better or they are stuck on believing they are will never get back up or reach the top. Similarly, Lukianoff and Haidt claim that the use of trigger warning stunts people’s ability to overcome their fears and traumas. Along that same vein then, it would make sense that if someone had more of a growth mindset, they would be less inclined to be dependent on trigger warnings. Dweck claims that people with growth mindsets understand that they can get better, they can improve, they just haven’t mastered that skill yet. To them, perhaps, trigger warnings would simply be a hinderance to their recovery.

2. Using the Barclay’s Formula Guide, attempt one Barclay’s Formula paragraph. This paragraph likely builds on earlier homework and ideas, but it should be a paragraph that attempts the elements of Barclay’s Formula

Dweck and Lukianoff/Haidt have similar ideas surrounding how people’s thought processes and tendencies are stopping them from learning and growing. Dweck claims that those with a fixed mindset are, ” gripped in the tyranny of now”. She means that they are stuck on what is happening and being said, they are trapped inside their minds and they cannot fathom getting out. They maybe even don’t want to get out. Lukianoff and Haidt feel that trigger warnings keep people stuck in a fixed mindset. They state, “According to the most-basic tenets of psychology, the very idea of helping people with anxiety disorders avoid the things they fear is misguided”. By saying this they mean that trigger warnings are doing the exact opposite of helping people. They are keeping them stuck in their minds, trapped in a room away from what scares them. The fixed mindset keeps people trapped. They are too scared to leave the room and brave the words flying at them. To them, it is safer to be stuck in the now, in the rose-colored room blocking out the brutal real world. Both Dweck and Lukianoff/Haidt believe it is this kind of thinking that hinders people from actually learning and growing.

3. Locate a solid Dweck passage for each of her key concepts: Growth Mindset and Fixed Mindset. Consider the final section of “The Coddling,” where the authors explore “What We Can Do Now?” (para. 57+) and keep the earlier sections in mind. Attempt to connect specifics from Dweck to specifics in “The Coddling.” Might growth mindset be part of what “we can do”? Do you find fixed mindsets in some of the problems Lukianoff and Haidt identify? (Yes, we’re trying to build our own ideas from what we see in the relationships between these texts!)

Lukianoff and Haidt state that, “One of the great truths taught by Buddhism (and Stoicism, Hinduism, and many other traditions) is that you can never achieve happiness by making the world conform to your desires. But you can master your desires and habits of thought”. By this they mean that one must overcome their need to prove their worth to the world and instead must prove their worth to themself and the world’s perception of them will follow suit. Similarly, Dweck claims that, ” Before, effort and difficulty made them feel dumb, made them feel like giving up, but now, effort and difficulty, that’s when their neurons are making new connections, stronger connections”. She means that they, meaning the students, have learned to persevere and push through the tough parts. They have learned to let themselves grow instead of being stuck on how they think the world perceives them. The fixed mindsets come into play when people are too adamant about keeping the bad away, they need, not just prefer, trigger warnings. Lukianoff and Haidt feel that that kind of thinking is what holds people back.