Motivation, Grit, and Success: An Analytical Review

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Recommended: The Significance of Grit: A Conversation with Angela Lee Duckworth Deborah Perkins-Gough People who can set long-term goals and stick to them have a leg up on success in school and life

In pages 49-104 of How Children Succeed, Tough continues to assert on the importance of non-cognitive abilities as predictors to success. He explicates on the role of motivation and grit, and how these character traits will lead to academic success. Throughout the readings, Tough introduces and substantiates his assertions with the studies of the M&M experiment, coding- speed test, and Duckworth’s Grit Scale. While I do agree with Tough analysis for the significance and positive outcomes associated with motivation and grit, I do not in particular agree with his conclusions on the M&M experiment. In essence, I agree with Tough that development in character is crucial for short and long term success. However, I also believe his argument to lean towards the theoretical aspect, and does not provide the reader the tools for a heuristic approach to modify or refine the listed traits. …show more content…

For instance, Tough elaborates on the results of the experiment, by which he writes, “ What was the real IQ of an average “low-IQ” student? Was it 79 or 97? You’re supposed to try hard on IQ tests, and when the low-IQ kids had the M&M’s to motivate them, they tried hard … they must have already possessed it. So in fact, they weren’t low-IQ at all. Their IQ were about average” (Tough 69). His commentary on the study provides insight on the role of motivation and how it can be seen as an incentive to succeed. He argues that those who scored poorly on the IQ test had average IQ in actuality. The fluctuation in test scores were achieved when M&Ms were provided as an award incentive; thus cognitive abilities can be affected by motivation. While I do find it intriguing in Tough’s inquiry on

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