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© Chalabala / stock.adobe.com (detail) If you don't believe in yourself, it's easy to get discouraged. (symbolic image)
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Speaking of a weakness has consequences

Spektrum der Wissenschaft
20.4.2024
Translation: machine translated

Are things not going so well in one area? Then be careful with your choice of words: It influences how high we rate the chances of change.

The second experiment, this time with female and male students, was conducted in the same way as the first, except that the words "weakness" or "potential for improvement" were used even more frequently. With similar results: Once again, the effect was particularly large when students rated their self-management skills as below average.

The author's conclusion: Talking about a "weakness" can lower the expectation of being able to change something about a problem because it therefore appears to be less changeable or controllable. An unfavourable choice of words could therefore actually have a demoralising effect, especially for people who don't believe in themselves anyway.

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Original article on Spektrum.de
Header image: © Chalabala / stock.adobe.com (detail) If you don't believe in yourself, it's easy to get discouraged. (symbolic image)

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