Grit

by

Angela Duckworth

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Grit makes teaching easy.

Marty Seligman Character Analysis

Marty Seligman is an influential American psychologist who studies depression, resilience, and optimism. He is widely known for founding the field of positive psychology and discovering the phenomenon of “learned helplessness” alongside Steve Maier in the 1960s. Seligman was also Duckworth’s advisor during graduate school, and she remembers when he told her that she “ha[d]n’t had a good idea in two years” because she had no theory to explain her findings about achievement. Now, they are colleagues and occasional research collaborators at the University of Pennsylvania.

Marty Seligman Quotes in Grit

The Grit quotes below are all either spoken by Marty Seligman or refer to Marty Seligman. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Passion, Perseverance, and Success Theme Icon
).
Chapter 9: Hope Quotes

Collectively, the evidence I’ve presented tells the following story: A fixed mindset about ability leads to pessimistic explanations of adversity, and that, in turn, leads to both giving up on challenges and avoiding them in the first place. In contrast, a growth mindset leads to optimistic ways of explaining adversity, and that, in turn, leads to perseverance and seeking out new challenges that will ultimately make you even stronger.

growth mindset  optimistic self-talk  perseverance over adversity

Related Characters: Angela Duckworth (speaker), Carol Dweck, Steve Maier, Marty Seligman
Page Number: 191-2
Explanation and Analysis:
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Grit PDF

Marty Seligman Quotes in Grit

The Grit quotes below are all either spoken by Marty Seligman or refer to Marty Seligman. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Passion, Perseverance, and Success Theme Icon
).
Chapter 9: Hope Quotes

Collectively, the evidence I’ve presented tells the following story: A fixed mindset about ability leads to pessimistic explanations of adversity, and that, in turn, leads to both giving up on challenges and avoiding them in the first place. In contrast, a growth mindset leads to optimistic ways of explaining adversity, and that, in turn, leads to perseverance and seeking out new challenges that will ultimately make you even stronger.

growth mindset  optimistic self-talk  perseverance over adversity

Related Characters: Angela Duckworth (speaker), Carol Dweck, Steve Maier, Marty Seligman
Page Number: 191-2
Explanation and Analysis: