Linking Growth Mindset with Student Creativity: A Chain Mediation Model

As a core competency of the 21st century, creativity is of great significance to students’ academic success and lifelong development. However, there remains a lack of systematic exploration regarding the underlying psychological mechanisms through which a growth mindset influences student creativity. Based on Amabile’s theory of the components of creativity, this study constructs a chained mediation model to examine the mediating roles of achievement motivation and resilience in the relationship between a growth mindset and student creativity. Using data from Suzhou, China, in the Social and Emotional Skills Survey (SSES) conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), this study employed structural equation modeling to test the mediating effects. The results indicate that (1) a growth mindset is significantly positively correlated with student creativity; (2) achievement motivation mediates the relationship between a growth mindset and creativity; (3) resilience mediates the relationship between a growth mindset and creativity; and (4) Achievement motivation and resilience exert a chained mediating effect between growth mindset and creativity. This study reveals the multiple psychological pathways through which a growth mindset influences student creativity, providing theoretical grounds and empirical support for enhancing student creativity in educational practice by fostering a growth mindset, stimulating achievement motivation, and strengthening resilience.