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Implicit Traits to Consider for Psychological Treatment

Individuals can hold implicit theories about any self-attribute (e.g., intelligence, math ability, morality, personality), and can hold different implicit theories for different self-attributes. This means that an individual could hold an incremental view towards intelligence while also holding an entity theory towards health.

State University of New York at Buffalo

Implicit theories of self describe and individuals' belief about the malleability of abilities and traits. These beliefs of self can be categorized into two groups, incremental or entity.

- Individuals with an incremental theory of self believe that abilities and traits are generally malleable and able to be changed.

- Individuals with an entity theory of self believe that traits and abilities are generally fixed and predetermined.

Research suggests that these theories have a strongest effect on a person during challenging conditions or big transitional points in someone's' life

Implicit Theories of Self

Schroder HS, Dawood S, Yalch MM, Donnellan MB, Moser JS. The role of implicit theories in mental health symptoms, emotion regulation, and hypothetical treatment choices in college students. Cognit Ther Res. 2015 Apr;39(2):120-139. doi: 10.1007/s10608-014-9652-6. Epub 2014 Nov 2. PMID: 35474696; PMCID: PMC9037854.

The role of implicit theories in mental health

Schreiber M, Dohle S. A Smartphone-Based Implicit Theories Intervention for Health Behavior Change: Randomized Trial. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2023 Jun 15;11:e36578. doi: 10.2196/36578. PMID: 37318864; PMCID: PMC10337348. https://doi.org/10.2196/36578

A Smartphone-Based Implicit Theories Intervention for Health Behavior Change: Randomized Trial

Implicit Theories of Self References

People who adopt a more incremental theory of self believe that in general, their traits are malleable and they have the ability make changes to their own themselves. Research has shown that having an incremental theory of self can have benefits in various fields: physical activity, weight loss, addiction, smoking, mental health.

Incremental Theory of Self

People who adopt an entity theory of self find that their performance is directly linked with their overall ability as a person. If an individual who holds an entity theory of self performs badly in a culturally or personally valued context, (ex. academics) this may reflect on themselves badly as a person. This connection between performance and ability can create unrealistic standards for a person and may possibly lead to feelings of anxiety or depression.

Entity Theory of Self

Research shows that the theory of self a person holds is something that can be susceptible to change. When shown a scientific article that argued for incremental or entity theories it was possible to get students to adopt the theory they were shown.

Changeability of Theories of Self

Environmental factors and Implicit Theories of Self

Individuals who hold a fixed implicit theory of the self (entity theorists) tend to be less sensitive to their immediate social situations. In contrast, those with a malleable implicit theory of the self (incremental theorists) are generally more sensitive and responsive to situational cues and social norms.

Implicit Theories of Self and Situational Sensitivity

Cultural patterns in implicit theories of self may be associated with self-construal, or how people understand themselves in relation to others. Interdependent self-construal is described as tending to align with an incremental theory of self and as being more common in Asian cultures. Independent self-construal is described as tending to align with an entity theory of self and as being more common in North American cultures. These statements describe broad tendencies rather than characteristics of every person within either cultural group.

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