Graydon Lea

Monson
Writing Week Five
18 October 2019
Accepting Negative Criticism

I love the brain. It sounds silly, but the idea that a weird looking muscle could make such an
impact on my life is fascinating. I developed my love for psychology at a young age and, with that love
for psychology, went on to study behavioral psychology in high school. One major focus of my first
course was a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset. My instructor explained a growth mindset was more
open and made learning easier, while people with fixed mindsets might have a harder time learning. I
wanted to develop this growth mindset, so I started by asking what I needed to start doing. The answer
came clear as day; By more fully accepting negative criticism, I can help develop my own growth
mindset.

Accepting negative criticism is one way to show that your mindset is changing from a fixed one
to one that grows with opportunities presented to you. One example of this is Skinner’s Operant
Conditioning, more commonly referred to as Positive and Negative Reinforcement. In 1948, Burrhus
Frederic Skinner developed a theory of behavioral psychology. He believed that by either reinforcing an
act with an extra reward, such as extra treats or more space in a cage (a positive reinforcement), or by
taking away a punishment, such as removing a shock for certain actions performed after a different
desired action was performed (a negative reinforcement), he could control the behavior of his subject.
However, if the wrong action was performed, the target would receive a punishment, such a shock. These
“punishments” were designed to show the brain that the action performed was incorrect at the time. He
was, of course, correct as his studies are used today to train animals around the world and to help parents
guide their children to enforce certain rules in the household. These ideas are even applied to the criticism
we give others. When we are given negative feedback by others, we are loathe to make the same mistake
again. But if we accept the negative criticism, we are then rewarded for the right action by being able to
see things in a different light. I have my own experiences with accepting negative feedback. When I was
younger, I found that I’m not like other kids when it comes to learning. I had a tough time with subjects I
couldn’t touch, was prone to episodes of drifting off in my own mind when confronted with purely
auditory or visual stimulation, and constantly had headphones in during class or a book in my hands. I
also held to the belief that homework was a waste of brain power. Some of my teachers told me they were
going to take away my devices or books, but that only made me a distraction to others, as I would talk to
my friends with nothing else to do. Then, I met Mrs. Loosli. Senior year was my introduction to algebra,
and I had already gotten into my head. I was failing assignments. However, she never said it was my fault
I wasn’t learning; she simply took me in after class and said, “Graydon, you did this problem wrong. I
know you are smarter than that. Would you like me to show you how to do these problems?” I accepted.
Soon, my fourth period study hall was spent in Mrs. Loosli’s room, helping her grade tests, working on
my missing assignments, and getting additional help from someone who never gave up on me. She would
occasionally say that I got a question wrong and while that would put me down, she always told me how
to fix it and related it to me in a way I understood.

Upon introspection, I discovered I had a rather fixed mindset. I set out to change that, and with
help from my teachers and studying other things, I achieved that goal. Performing these actions and living
with this advice in mind, we can all learn to focus on the bigger picture and grow in our thinking rather
than stagnate in one place.