Is there a “crisis in mindset theory” in much the same way there is a "crisis in cosmology"?

Photo by NASA Hubble Space Telescope on Unsplash

A few weeks ago, I shared a paper that included a systematic review of a diverse range of mindset theories that co-exist around the world. I’m excited to share an updated and expanded version of this paper.

Revised paper: A systematic review of mindset theory

The TLDR of what I found is that, in general, mindset theories don’t appear to acknowledge the existence of one another, nor do they appear to study how all the different theories belong to a coherent and comprehensive view of mindset psychology. It is my hope this paper helps raise awareness around the many different types of theories that co-exist in the mindset field, and supports the development of more coherent and comprehensive perspectives.

As I reflected on these research findings, I came across a video that described how there is currently a “crisis in cosmology”. The basic gist of this crisis is that as astrophysicists and cosmologists attempt to understand the physics of the Universe, they have discovered incoherences and divergences between some of the theories that exist and actual evidence. This realisation has resulted in lots of inquiry and research in an attempt to resolve this crisis in the field of cosmology.

Learning about this crisis made me wonder, if most mindset theories seldom acknowledge the existence of one another, nor do they study how all theories belong to a coherent and comprehensive view of mindset, how would we know if a “crisis in mindset theory” is occurring or not? I use the term “crisis” here, not to sensationalise this situation, but to speak to the terms dual meaning of there being a problem and also being a change opportunity.

The current situation in the field of cosmology is that there are two major theoretical methods for measuring the expansion rate of the universe. At present, these two methods are producing different results that are incongruent with one another and with actual evidence, and thus, they are referring to this situation as a “crisis in cosmology”.

Based on the findings of this systematic review, there are some 30+ mindset theories that co-exist in the mindset field, and in my experience, it isn’t very clear how congruent or incongruent they are with one another and with people’s direct experience. Therefore, it could very well be that there is also a crisis occurring in relation to mindset theory, however at present it is by and large a silent or unacknowledged crises, because almost no one in the field is studying and cross-checking all of the different theories to see how coherent and comprehensive they all are.

Thus, a central recommendation of this research is to investigate if there is indeed a “crisis in mindset theory”, and to undertake this investigation as part of a broader process of developing more coherent and comprehensive theories of mindset.

This research is part of a larger body of work I am developing in relation to the psychology of mindset. If you would like to stay in the loop of this body of work, consider subscribing to this newsletter -> ✨