What is implicit theories?

Implicit theories are people's beliefs about the nature of human

attributes. People differ substantially and meaningfully in the
beliefs they hold about human characteristics. While most people
may agree on the basic principles that are the foundation of the
physical world (e.g., gravity), there is much more variation in
people's understanding of the basic principles of the social world
—of the workings and characteristics of people and groups.
Research on implicit theories focuses specifically on beliefs about
people's potential for change, growth, and development (Dweck,
1999). implicit theories are beliefs about people's ability to control
or change attributes when motivation, opportunity, and instruction
are present. For example, both those who hold an entity theory
and those who hold an incremental one may believe that some
people start out with more talent than others and that aptitude can
deteriorate with age, but they will differ in their beliefs about
people's potential to create change and improve upon their ability.
Note on lay belief about health and illness.
 Lay concepts of health and illness include particular ideas
about the way the body functions, and they also highlight
particular symptoms as being of special significance. For
example, in the Western world, the body is often thought of
as an intricate machine which must be kept "tuned-up," and
illness is viewed as a breakdown of the machine. This
contrasts with the Ayurvedic concept of the body, a concept
prevalent in India and South Asia, in which health is seen as
a state of balance between the physical, social, and super-
natural environment and illness can result from disturbances
in many different spheres. In the Western world, a symptom
such as chest pain has a particular cultural significance and
tends to be regarded with alarm. In Ayurvedic medicine,
chest pain is also regarded with concern but as a symptom
of emotional upset and not as the organic breakdown of
bodily function. In South Asia, the symptom of "semen loss,"
a symptom generally regarded as innocuous in the Western
world, is regarded with alarm. Cultural differences in the
meaning of symptoms can lead at times to a delayed
diagnosis of potentially serious conditions. For example,
abdominal pain associated with appendicitis may not be
interpreted to be serious, or a lump in the breast may be
attributed to injury rather than to a potentially malignant
process.