Whose ability and growth matter? Gender, mindset and performance in physics

International Journal of STEM Education

Table 1 Survey items included in the study

Survey item text	λ
My growth (α = 0.84)
I can become even better at solving physics problems through hard work	0.76
I am capable of really understanding physics if I work hard	0.83
I can change my intelligence in physics quite a lot by working hard	0.82
My ability (α = 0.84)
Even if I were to spend a lot of time working on difficult physics problems, I cannot develop my intelligence in physics further	0.64
I won’t get better at physics if I try harder	0.64
I could never excel in physics because I do not have what it takes to be a physics person	0.87
I could never become really good at physics even if I were to work hard because I don’t have natural ability	0.87
Others’ growth (α = 0.84)
People can change their intelligence in physics quite a lot by working hard	0.82
If people were to spend a lot of time working on difficult physics problems, they could develop their intelligence in physics quite a bit	0.82
People can become good at solving physics problems through hard work	0.77
Others’ ability (α = 0.68)
Only a few specially qualified people are capable of really understanding physics	0.67
To really excel in physics, people need to have a natural ability in physics	0.73
If a student were to often make mistakes on physics assignments and exams, I would think that maybe they are just not smart enough to excel in physics	0.55

The Survey Item Text column contains factor names and internal consistency using Cronbach’s α, in addition to the survey item text. The λ column contains standardized factor loadings, using both pre- and post-survey results (N = 781)