Katherine Lynch's application of Stanford Professor Carol Dweck's growth vs. fixed mindset paradigm to individuals' ability to control their personal motivation, achievement, and desire for academic rigor was hailed by Long Island Science Fair judges as one of the finest projects at this year's competition.
Katherine's study, "Mindset over Matter: Can Implicit Theories of Intelligence Regulate Motivation, Achievement, and Desire for Academic Rigor?," was among three behavioral science projects advanced to state competition, from among 122 BEH entries - the largest and most competitive category among the 579 overall projects.
Katherine's work was aided by none other than Carol Dweck herself. Dr. Dweck shared survey instruments and research expertise with Ms. Lynch throughout the eight month process. Why would a legendary psychologist help a high school student with her junior thesis? "I don't know. Maybe because I asked nicely? What did I have to lose?" According to Dr. Stephen Sullivan, Sacred Heart Academy Research Advisor, Katherine's next step is submission to a scholarly journal, then phase 2 data collection before submission to the Regeneron Science Talent Search. "This is really ground-breaking work." Let's see what Professor Dweck thinks of the results. I'll bet she's pretty pleased with her young protegee." The entire SHA community couldn't be prouder.