Behavioral Sciences Research Center Of (SBMU)
  • Register
  • Login

International Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences

  • Current
  • Archives
  • About
    • About the Journal
    • Indexing & Abstracting
    • Submissions
    • Editorial Team
    • Privacy Statement
    • Contact
Advanced Search
  1. Home
  2. Archives
  3. Vol. 12 No. 3 (2025): Summer
  4. Original/Research Article

Vol. 12 No. 3 (2025)

September 2025

Developing and Validating a Growth Mindset Educational Intervention Based on Dweck's Theory and Investigating Its Effectiveness on Girls' Intrinsic, Germane, and Extraneous Cognitive Load

  • Zahra Sohrabi
  • Fariborz Dortaj
  • Esmaeil Sa’dipour
  • Ali Delavar

International Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 12 No. 3 (2025), 20 September 2025 , Page 28-37
https://doi.org/10.22037/ijabs.v12i3.50274 Published: 2025-11-22

  • View Article
  • Download
  • Cite
  • References
  • Statastics
  • Share

Abstract

Introduction: The present study aimed to develop and validate a growth mindset educational intervention based on Dweck's theory and investigate its effectiveness on girls' intrinsic, germane, and extraneous cognitive load.

Method: This was an applied, mixed-methods study. The research was conducted in three phases: Phase 1 (qualitative) involved the development of the educational package, while Phases 2 and 3 (quantitative) focused on its validation and effectiveness. The statistical population for the validation phase consisted of 10 purposively selected specialists in the field. For the quantitative part, the population comprised second-grade high school female students in Tehran's Education District 2, studying in the 2024-2025 academic year. The sample included 30 students (15 in the experimental group and 15 in the control group), who were selected via random sampling. The experimental group received the growth mindset training over 10 sessions, each lasting 70 minutes, while the control group received no training. The Cognitive Load Scale by Klepsch, Schmitz, and Seufert (2017) was used as the research instrument. Data were analyzed using a one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS 24.

Results: The findings confirmed that the growth mindset educational package possessed appropriate validity. The results of the ANCOVA also indicated that the intervention was effective in improving students' cognitive load.

Conclusion: The growth mindset educational package can serve as a practical tool for enhancing adolescents' cognitive abilities and is effective in reducing their cognitive load.

Keywords:
  • Growth Mindset
  • Dweck's Theory
  • Validation
  • Cognitive Load
  • PdF

How to Cite

Sohrabi, Z., Dortaj, F., Sa’dipour, E., & Delavar, A. (2025). Developing and Validating a Growth Mindset Educational Intervention Based on Dweck’s Theory and Investigating Its Effectiveness on Girls’ Intrinsic, Germane, and Extraneous Cognitive Load. International Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences, 12(3), 28–37. https://doi.org/10.22037/ijabs.v12i3.50274
  • ACM
  • ACS
  • APA
  • ABNT
  • Chicago
  • Harvard
  • IEEE
  • MLA
  • Turabian
  • Vancouver
  • Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)
  • BibTeX

References

1. Shen, H., et al., Body mass index changes among children and adolescents in Suzhou before and after COVID-19 outbreak. 2021. Vol. 42, No. 5, 733-736

2. Hedayat, S.K., et al., The comparison of effectiveness of emotion-focused therapy with and without health-promoting behaviors training on high-risk behaviors and healthy lifestyles in secondary school students. IJABS, 2023. 10(3): p. 13-22.

3. Plass, J.L., R. Moreno, and R. Brünken, Cognitive load theory. 2010.

4. Sweller, J., J.J. Van Merrienboer, and F.G. Paas, Cognitive architecture and instructional design. Educational psychology review, 1998. 10(3): p. 251-296.

5. Paas, F. and J.J. Van Merrienboer, Cognitive-load theory: Methods to manage working memory load in the learning of complex tasks. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2020. 29(4): p. 394-398.

6. Kalyuga, S., Cognitive load theory, in Managing cognitive load in adaptive multimedia learning. 2009, IGI Global Scientific Publishing. p. 34-57.

7. Mayer, R.E. and R.E. Moreno, Techniques that reduce extraneous cognitive load and manage intrinsic cognitive load during multimedia learning. 2010: p. 131–152.

8. Suman, C., Cognitive load and mindset: A comprehensive analysis. Research Journal, 2012. 1.

9. Sweller, J., Element interactivity and intrinsic, extraneous, and germane cognitive load. Educational psychology review, 2010. 22(2): p. 123-138.

10. Sweller, J., Cognitive load theory, in Psychology of learning and motivation. 2011, Elsevier. p. 37-76.

11. Klepsch, M., F. Schmitz, and T. Seufert, Development and validation of two instruments measuring intrinsic, extraneous, and germane cognitive load. Frontiers in psychology, 2017. 8: p. 1997.

12. Jordan, J., et al., Optimizing lectures from a cognitive load perspective. AEM education and training, 2020. 4(3): p. 306-312.

13. Kalyuga, S. and J.L. Plass, Cognitive Load as a Local Characteristic of Cognitive Processesimplications for Measurement Approaches, in Cognitive load measurement and application. 2017, Routledge. p. 59-74.

14. Orru, G. and L. Longo. The evolution of cognitive load theory and the measurement of its intrinsic, extraneous and germane loads: a review. in International symposium on human mental workload: Models and applications. 2018. Springer. (p. 23-48)

15. Chen, O., S. Kalyuga, and J. Sweller, The worked example effect, the generation effect, and element interactivity. Journal of Educational Psychology, 2015. 107(3): p. 689.

16. Sweller, J., P. Ayres, and S. and Kalyuga, Cognitive load theory, in Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4419-8126-4. 2011.

17. Sweller, J., Cognitive load theory, learning difficulty, and instructional design. Learning and instruction, 1994. 4(4): p. 295-312.

18. Luo, S., Extraneous cognitive load: How to avoid it in online nursing education. Nursing made Incredibly Easy, 2023. 21(5): p. 42-45.

19. Miller, P., B. Hazan-Liran, and D. Cohen, Does task-irrelevant colour information create extraneous cognitive load? Evidence from a learning task. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2019. 72(5): p. 1155-1163.

20. Afshari, S., F. Alipour, and A. Farid, A Meta-Analysis of the Impact of School Climate on Academic Self-Efficacy Across Gender and Age Groups. International Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences, 2024. 11(4): p. 58-67.

21. Taylor, T.A., et al., Teaching in uncertain times: Expanding the scope of extraneous cognitive load in the cognitive load theory. Frontiers in Psychology, 2022. 13: p. 665835.

22. Zeitlhofer, I., J. Zumbach, and J. Schweppe, Complexity affects performance, cognitive load, and awareness. Learning and Instruction, 2024. 94: p. 102001.

23. Feldon, D.F., et al., Cognitive load as motivational cost. Educational Psychology Review, 2019. 31(2): p. 319-337.

24. Martin, A.J., et al., Assessing instructional cognitive load in the context of students' psychological challenge and threat orientations: A multi-level latent profile analysis of students and classrooms. Frontiers in Psychology, 2021. 12: p. 656994.

25. Lazarus, R.S., Emotion and adaptation. 1991: Oxford University Press.

26. Scherer, K.R. and A. Moors, The emotion process: Event appraisal and component differentiation. Annual review of psychology, 2019. 70(1): p. 719-745.

27. Scherer, K.R., A. Schorr, and T. Johnstone, Appraisal processes in emotion: Theory, methods, research. 2001: Oxford University Press.

28. Moors, A., et al., Appraisal theories of emotion: State of the art and future development. Emotion review, 2013. 5(2): p. 119-124.

29. Putwain, D.W. and W. Symes, Expectancy of success, subjective task-value, and message frame in the appraisal of value-promoting messages made prior to a high-stakes examination. Social Psychology of Education, 2016. 19(2): p. 325-343.

30. Uphill, M.A., et al., Challenge and threat: A critical review of the literature and an alternative conceptualization. Frontiers in psychology, 2019. 10: p. 1255.

31. Mayer, R.E., Incorporating motivation into multimedia learning. Learning and instruction, 2014. 29: p. 171-173.

32. Moreno, R. and R. Mayer, Interactive multimodal learning environments: Special issue on interactive learning environments: Contemporary issues and trends. Educational psychology review, 2007. 19(3): p. 309-326.

33. Dweck, C.S., Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and development. 2000: Psychology press.

34. Brom, C., T. Starkova, and S.K. D'Mello, How effective is emotional design? A meta-analysis on facial anthropomorphisms and pleasant colors during multimedia learning. Educational research review, 2018. 25: p. 100-119.

35. Skuballa, I.T., K.M. Xu, and H. Jarodzka, The impact of co-actors on cognitive load: When the mere presence of others makes learning more difficult. Computers in Human Behavior, 2019. 101: p. 30-41.

36. Miele, D.B. and D.C. Molden, Naive theories of intelligence and the role of processing fluency in perceived comprehension. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2010. 139(3): p. 535.

37. Dweck, C.S., C.-y. Chiu, and Y.-y. Hong, Implicit theories and their role in judgments and reactions: A word from two perspectives. Psychological inquiry, 1995. 6(4): p. 267-285.

38. Wilson, A.E. and J.A. English, The motivated fluidity of lay theories of change, in The science of lay theories: How beliefs shape our cognition, behavior, and health. 2017, Springer. p. 17-43.

39. Dweck, C.S. and E.L. Leggett, A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological review, 1988. 95(2): p. 256.

40. Haimovitz, K. and C.S. Dweck, The origins of children's growth and fixed mindsets: New research and a new proposal. Child development, 2017. 88(6): p. 1849-1859.

41. Dweck, C.S., Mindset: The new psychology of success. 2006: Random house.

42. Dweck, C.S., Mindsets and human nature: promoting change in the Middle East, the schoolyard, the racial divide, and willpower. American psychologist, 2012. 67(8): p. 614.

43. Blackwell, L.S., K.H. Trzesniewski, and C.S. Dweck, Implicit theories of intelligence predict achievement across an adolescent transition: A longitudinal study and an intervention. Child development, 2007. 78(1): p. 246-263.

44. Molden, D.C. and C.S. Dweck, Finding" meaning" in psychology: a lay theories approach to self-regulation, social perception, and social development. American psychologist, 2006. 61(3): p. 192.

45. Kapasi, A. and J. Pei, Mindset theory and school psychology. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 2022. 37(1): p. 57-74.

46. Burnette, J.L., et al., A growth mindset intervention: Enhancing students’ entrepreneurial self-efficacy and career development. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2020a. 44(5): p. 878-908.

47. Mueller, C.M. and C.S. Dweck, Praise for intelligence can undermine children's motivation and performance. Journal of personality and social psychology, 1998. 75(1): p. 33.

48. Ba, Y., W. Ming, and H. Zhang, Unlocking academic success: How growth mindset interventions enhance student performance through self-belief and effort regulation. Acta Psychologica, 2025. 256: p. 104977.

49. Xu, X., J. Broadbent, and Q. Zhang, Cultivating mathematical mindset via online video interventions: a mixed-methods investigation in Chinese higher education. Frontiers in Psychology, 2025. 15: p. 1494702.

50. Moser, J.S., et al., Mind your errors: Evidence for a neural mechanism linking growth mind-set to adaptive posterror adjustments. Psychological science, 2011. 22(12): p. 1484-1489.

51. Schroder, H.S., et al., Mindset induction effects on cognitive control: A neurobehavioral investigation. Biological psychology, 2014. 103: p. 27-37.

52. Xu, K.M., et al., A growth mindset lowers perceived cognitive load and improves learning: Integrating motivation to cognitive load. Journal of Educational Psychology, 2021. 113(6): p. 1177.

53. Yeager, D.S., et al., A national experiment reveals where a growth mindset improves achievement. Nature, 2019. 573(7774): p. 364-369.

54. Cook, D.A., et al., Measuring achievement goal motivation, mindsets and cognitive load: Validation of three instruments’ scores. Medical education, 2017. 51(10): p. 1061-1074.

55. Chen, I. and C.-C. Chang, Cognitive load theory: An empirical study of anxiety and task performance in language learning. 2009.

56. Hawthorne, B.S., D.A. Vella-Brodrick, and J. Hattie. Well-being as a cognitive load reducing agent: a review of the literature. in Frontiers in Education. 2019. Frontiers Media SA.

57. Vytal, K., et al., Describing the interplay between anxiety and cognition: from impaired performance under low cognitive load to reduced anxiety under high load. Psychophysiology, 2012. 49(6): p. 842-852.

58. Wolcott, M.D., et al., A review to characterise and map the growth mindset theory in health professions education. Medical education, 2021. 55(4): p. 430-440.

59. Bianco, F. and S. Lecce, Translating child development research into practice: Can teachers foster children's theory of mind in primary school? British Journal of Educational Psychology, 2016. 86(4): p. 592-605.

60. De Koning, N., Could Combining Growth Mindset and Task Complexity Affect Motivation, Cognitive Load, and Performance? An Experimental Study. 2021, Master Educational Sciences. Open University.

61. Zhao, Y., et al., From Belief to Brain: How Growth Mindset Optimizes Cortico-Striatal Dynamics for Cognitive Development. bioRxiv, 2022: p. 2022.07. 11.499525.

62. Delavar, A., Theoretical and Practical Foundations of Research in Human and Social Sciences. . Vol. 9. 2017, Tehran: Roshd Publications. 99-144.

63. zahed, s., et al., structure and validation of the Persian version of the Cognitive Load Questionnaire. Cognitive Psychology Journal, 2021. 9(1): p. 39-54.

64. Lawshe, C.H., A quantitative approach to content validity. Personnel psychology, 1975. 28(4).

65. Waltz, C. and B. Bausell, Design, statistics and computer analysis. Nursing Research, 1983: p. 39-116.

66. Koorn, P., How does a growth mindset affect cognitive load and learning performance. 2019, Master Thesis. Heerlen: Open Universiteit.

67. Mansoukhi, Z., Examining the effect of Dweck's mindset-based training on intellectual beliefs, motivation, and learning behaviors of Nayshabur's first-grade high school students in the academic year 2019-2020, in Master's thesis, Qom University, Faculty of Literature and Humanities. 2020.

68. Dweck, C.S. and D.S. Yeager, Mindsets: A view from two eras. Perspectives on Psychological science, 2019. 14(3): p. 481-496.

69. Renninger, K.A. and S. Hidi, The power of interest for motivation and engagement. 2015: Routledge.

70. Hidi, S., An interest researcher's perspective: The effects of extrinsic and intrinsic factors on motivation, in Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. 2000, Elsevier. p. 309-339.

71. Gubbels, J., A. Netten, and L. Verhoeven, Vijftien jaar leesprestaties in Nederland. PIRLS-2016, 2017.

72. Burnette, J.L., et al., A growth mind-set intervention improves interest but not academic performance in the field of computer science. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2020b. 11(1): p. 107-116.

  • Abstract Viewed: 123 times
  • PdF Downloaded: 94 times

Download Statastics

  • Linkedin
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google Plus
  • Telegram

Developed By

Open Journal Systems
  • Home
  • Archives
  • Submissions
  • About the Journal
  • Editorial Team
  • Contact
Powered by OJSPlus