Grit: Does it have a dark side?

Introduction GRIT: DOES IT HAVE A DARK SIDE? Grit, two ways… -n. firmness of character; indomitable spirit; pluck. She has a reputation for grit and common sense. --v.t. grit one’s teeth, to show tenseness, anger or determination by or as if by clamping or grinding the teeth together. Clench (the teeth), especially in order to keep one's resolve when faced with an unpleasant or painful duty. Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, 2001 Said to be a better predictor of achievement than IQ. Has been labeled a “character trait”. The latest trend in “character education”. Lead researchers on grit admit that “we really don’t know how to teach grit”—yet the concept is fast becoming entwined in school curriculum as a teachable and measurable skill.

What is grit? According to Duckworth, et al., grit is “perseverance and passion for long term goals, working strenuously toward challenges, maintaining interest over years despite failure, adversity, and plateaus in progress. The gritty individual approaches achievement as a marathon, his or her advantage is stamina. Whereas disappointment or boredom signals to others that it is time to change trajectory and cut losses, the gritty individual stays the course”. Naturally, this led us to wonder…. When is the relentless pursuit of a goal an unhealthy behavior? Stalking seems like an activity which involves a high level of grit by the above definition—involving a sustained interest in the goal regardless of failure and adverse consequences. Do gritty individuals believe that the “ends justify the means”? How are they at self-regulation? What about substance abuse?

The Research on grit States… Grit positively correlates with the Big 5 traits—particularly conscientiousness. Individuals who score high on the grit scale were 35% less likely to be career-changers (always a positive??) Attainment of higher-education is associated with gritty behavior—however in Duckworth’s study there is an admission that older, non-traditional students tend to have more life experience, and are therefore grittier as a result (could it be that life itself teaches us to be gritty?). Duckworth found a significant interaction between grit and self-control (from a longitudinal study conducted on international spelling-bee participants). Limitations of the grit studies include… The vulnerability of the grit scale due to the transparency of the questionnaire—susceptible to social desirability bias. Underestimations of the correlation between IQ, grit, and achievement—it is likely that high IQ, and grit are more closely correlated than what was reported.

Our Assumptions Given what we learned in our literature review, we made certain assumptions regarding grit and its relationship to different dimensions of personality, and emotional intelligence. If gritty people are persistent individuals who are able to sustain passion and interest over the long- term, they should be good self-regulators as well. A gritty individual would likely possess an above average emotional intelligence, which is sometimes considered to be as important, if not more so, than IQ in predicting success and achievement. A high-grit individual may have a Machiavellian orientation to the world which would help them achieve their goals in the face of opposition.

measures GRIT Duckworth, A. L., & Quinn, P. D., (2007). 12 items. Measures an individual’s perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Two factors: 1) Consistency of Interests 2) Perseverance of Effort. Factor 1) e.g. “My interests change from year to year” (all factor 1 items are reverse scored). 5-point Likert-type scale: 1 (very much like me) to 5 (not like me at all). Factor 2) e.g. “Setbacks don’t discourage me”.

measures SELF-REGULATION QUESTIONNAIRE Carey, K. B., Neal, D. J., Collins, S. E., (2004) 63 Items Measures an individual’s ability to regulate behavior to achieve desired outcomes—based on Miler and Brown’s seven-step model of self-regulation, (Brown, 1998), (Miller & Brown, 1991). Two factors: 1) Impulse Control 2) Goal Setting e.g. “It’s hard for me to notice when I’ve “had enough” (alcohol, food, sweets). 5-point Likert-type scale: 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) Lower SRQ scores associated with binge-drinking, and abuse of other substances including tobacco, and marijuana.

measures EMOTIONAL QUOTIENT (EQ) IHHP. Institute for Health and Human Potential, n.d. Web. (3 Dec. 2014) 12 items Measures an individual’s emotional intelligence; "Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth” (Mayer & Salovey, 1997) Mayer & Salovey suggest that high emotional intelligence consists of 5 components, self-awareness; self- regulation; internal motivation; empathy; and social skills. e.g. “It’s easy for me to shake off things that have upset me”. 5-point Likert-type scale: 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree)

measures MACHIAVELLIANISM MACH-IV: Machiavellianism Test. n.p., 2007. Web. (30 Mar. 2015) 20 items. Measures an individual’s tendency toward manipulation tactics to push through self-beneficial goals. e.g. “It’s hard to get ahead without cutting corners here and there.” 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). High scores indicate an individual is at risk of practicing anti-social behaviors.

Methods Undergraduate psychology students from the University of Idaho were offered extra credit points for participation in our study. 116 participants (40 males, and 66 females) completed questionnaires, including The 12-Item Grit Scale The 63 Item SRQ (Self Regulation Questionnaire) A 12-Item Emotional Intelligence scale The 20-Item Mach IV Scale Scores were compared using Pearson’s Correlation, after which, pairwise comparisons were made for each of the scales to see how they were related. We compared mean differences by gender, but found no significant result. Year in college and age differences were also not significant.

results P < .01 Highlighted rows indicate a significant correlation between scores.

No significant correlation between Mach-IV scale and Grit. results No significant correlation between Mach-IV scale and Grit. High Grit scores did significantly correlate with high EQ scores. Low Self-Regulation scores were significantly correlated with high Grit scores.

Discussion & IMPLICATIONS

Discussion & IMPLICATIONS Low SRQ scores indicate a tendency toward impulsivity, and anti-social behavior such as substance abuse. If a gritty individual is inclined toward anti-social behaviors, negative consequences may not have much impact. Emotional intelligence was to 1990s character education what Grit is to character education in the present day. High emotional intelligence paired with a high IQ can lead to manipulative behaviors, such as disguising an emotion while expressing another for personal gain. Negative implications if any other personality disorder is present.

Discussion & IMPLICATIONS Concerns… Character education is fast becoming a one-size-fits-all prescription for schools across the country. Standardized “character development” does not control for the disparity of children’s experiences, including: individual emotional development social support systems personal motivation poverty cultural differences

Discussion & IMPLICATIONS Concerns… KIPP Public Charter School systems (162 schools) Character Point Average—follows kids from K-12 Interplay between grit and emotions U.S Department of Education reports on grit: “Persevering in the face of challenges or setbacks to accomplish goals that are extrinsically motivated, unimportant to the student, or in some way inappropriate for the student may potentially induce stress, anxiety, and distraction, and have detrimental impacts on the students’ long-term retention, conceptual learning, and well-being”.

Future… More research needed on grit: most has been conducted with high-performing students at elite schools. Classic example of sample bias. Promoted in low income schools—students who are pushed to be gritty may also be pushed to regulate emotion to the point of suppression. Does not promote cognitive reappraisal, which helps kids develop critical thinking skills. What happens when kids leave the supportive environment?