Summary of the follow-up: the heart of the 'Growth Mindset' is believing that one's intelligence is changeable; the other aspects of the theory are consequences

Summary of the follow-up: the heart of the 'Growth Mindset' is believing that one's intelligence is changeable; the other aspects of the theory are consequences of that central proposition. So, while the choice to praise effort (rather than immediate ability) is a natural consequence of believing that intelligence can improve, it's not enough to skip over the point about changeable intelligence, and only praise effort, for example. This makes a lot of sense: if people believe their intelligence is changeable, they'll understand the value of effort on their own. More than anything, praising effort is just another way of getting across the point that one's intelligence can be improved.