The relationship of growth mindset and social exclusion of burdensome members: the moderating effect of perceived effort

Abstract

People are more likely to exclude team members who do not contribute or are perceived as burdensome. A person’s mindset may influence their tendency to reject such burdensome members. Individuals with a fixed mindset may believe that burdensome members have low ability and that ability cannot be changed. In contrast, those with a growth mindset believe that ability is malleable, which may make them less inclined to reject burdensome members. This study explores, through two experiments, whether the relationship between an individual’s growth mindset and social exclusion of burdensome members is moderated by perceived effort. In Experiment 1, the Atimia paradigm was used to examine the role of perceived effort in the relationship between a growth mindset and the exclusion of burdensome members access to a group. The results revealed that individuals with a growth mindset were less likely to deny access to burdensome members who demonstrated effort. Experiment 2 employed the Atimia paradigm to further investigate whether a growth mindset reduces the likelihood of removing burdensome members and found similar results: individuals with a growth mindset were less likely to remove burdensome members who exhibited effort. In summary, these findings suggest that perceived effort plays a moderating role in the relationship between a growth mindset and social exclusion of burdensome members. Our study extends theories related to a growth mindset and social exclusion, providing a pathway for reducing social exclusion, particularly for individuals with high effort and low capacity.

Full text

Current Psychology (2025) 44:6040–6051
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-025-07498-4
regarding the need for autonomy and relatedness (Deci &
Ryan, 2000; Legate et al., 2013).
Social exclusion of burdensome members
Despite its negative eects on individual well-being, exclu-
sion is used by both human and non-human social animals
as a means of exerting social control over deviant or burden-
some members (Kurzban & Leary, 2001). Individuals may
choose to remove others when they recognize an inability
to keep up with group tasks or perceive potential harm to
the group or themselves (Wesselmann et al., 2013). Recent
studies indicate that people are more inclined to exclude
those who fail to contribute or are seen as a burden on the
team (Doolaard et al., 2020; Wesselmann et al., 2015).
Although hardworking individuals are generally perceived
as more positive and capable, leading to less aversion or
anger toward them (Beames et al., 2016), burdensome
members who negatively impact group interests are viewed
unfavorably (Wirth et al., 2015). Furthermore, excluding
Introduction
Social exclusion is a phenomenon where an individual is
excluded or rejected by a group, resulting in an individual’s
belonging and relational needs not being satised (Wil-
liams, 2007). Previous research has demonstrated that social
exclusion can lead to cognitive impairment in the excluded
(Ciarocco et al., 2001), increased depletion of cognitive
resources (Sommer & Yoon, 2013), a frustrating need to
belong (Gooley et al., 2015), and diminished satisfaction
Yang Yang
yy20111219@163.com
1 Department of Psychology, Northwest Normal University,
Lanzhou 730070, P. R. China
2 Northwest Normal University Center for Education
Development in Northwest Ethnic Minority Areas, Lanzhou,
China
Abstract
People are more likely to exclude team members who do not contribute or are perceived as burdensome. A person’s
mindset may inuence their tendency to reject such burdensome members. Individuals with a xed mindset may believe
that burdensome members have low ability and that ability cannot be changed. In contrast, those with a growth mindset
believe that ability is malleable, which may make them less inclined to reject burdensome members. This study explores,
through two experiments, whether the relationship between an individual’s growth mindset and social exclusion of bur-
densome members is moderated by perceived eort. In Experiment 1, the Atimia paradigm was used to examine the role
of perceived eort in the relationship between a growth mindset and the exclusion of burdensome members access to a
group. The results revealed that individuals with a growth mindset were less likely to deny access to burdensome members
who demonstrated eort. Experiment 2 employed the Atimia paradigm to further investigate whether a growth mindset
reduces the likelihood of removing burdensome members and found similar results: individuals with a growth mindset
were less likely to remove burdensome members who exhibited eort. In summary, these ndings suggest that perceived
eort plays a moderating role in the relationship between a growth mindset and social exclusion of burdensome members.
Our study extends theories related to a growth mindset and social exclusion, providing a pathway for reducing social
exclusion, particularly for individuals with high eort and low capacity.
Keywords Social exclusion · Perceived eort · Burdensome · Growth mindset · Fixed mindset
Accepted: 4 February 2025 / Published online: 4 March 2025
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2025
The relationship of growth mindset and social exclusion of
burdensome members: the moderating eect of perceived eort
YangYang1,2 · TangxinMa1,2· AnqiLi1,2· HuanLuo1,2· XuhongWang1,2
1 3
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