Creating Better Opportunities in the South West Through a Growth-Mindset-of-Opportunity Intervention, 2024-2025

Many university graduates struggle to adjust to post-university life and the transition to the workforce. We developed a growth-mindset-of-opportunity intervention and evaluated whether it could help with that transition, relative to an active control condition.

Around the date of receiving their undergraduate degree, participants were randomly assigned to complete an online module. The module contained a series of reading and reflective writing exercises designed to either help students adopt a stronger growth mindset of opportunity (intervention condition) or it addressed important sources of life satisfaction (active control condition). Pre-treatment and demographic surveys collected socioeconomic status and other demographic and academic information. Follow-up surveys were conducted approximately 5 months later (Time 2) and 10 months later (Time 3). Surveys assessed their current employment status, job search strategies, qualities of their current position (for example, compensation, satisfaction) their current mindsets and beliefs related to opportunity, their long-term work plan, and contributions to economic development and innovation through their work plans.