Grit

Introduction

According to Duckworth and Quinn (2009) , grit is trait-level perseverance and passion for long-term goals and it can be used as a predictor, i.e. grit entails the capacity to sustain effort and interest in long-term projects, even in the absence of positive feedback.

“Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, and Kelly (2007) introduced the construct of grit, defined as trait-level perseverance and passion for long-term goals, and showed that grit predicted achievement in challenging domains over and beyond measures of talent. For instance, at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, cadets higher in grit were less likely to drop out than their less gritty peers, even when controlling for SAT scores, high school rank, and a measure of Big Five conscientiousness. In four separate samples, grit was found to be either orthogonal to or slightly inversely correlated with intelligence.” Duckworth and Quinn (2009)

Eskreis-Winkler et al. (2014) examined “the association between grit, defined as passion and perseverance for long-term goals, other individual difference variables, and retention in four different contexts: the military, workplace sales, high school, and marriage. Grit predicted retention over and beyond established context-specific predictors of retention (e.g., intelligence, physical aptitude, Big Five personality traits, job tenure) and demographic variables in each setting. Grittier soldiers were more likely to complete an Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) selection course, grittier sales employees were more likely to keep their jobs, grittier students were more likely to graduate from high school, and grittier men were more likely to stay married.”

Eskreis-Winkler et al. (2014) also define grit as promoting "showing up" and "keep showing up".

“Some synonyms for grit are tenacity, persistence, resilience, stamina, and perseverance. Each of these by itself could certainly be considered as a predictor of achievement, but the combination of qualities can “create[s] a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.”” (Goodwin & Miller, 2013, p. 74), cited by Reed and Jeremiah (2017)

Instruments

Duckworth et al. developed self-positionning questionnaires to measure grit.

GRIT-O

“Duckworth et al. (2007) identified a two-factor structure for the original 12-item self-report measure of grit (Grit–O).” Duckworth and Quinn (2009)

(1) Consistency of Interest

1. I often set a goal but later choose to pursue a different one.

2. New ideas and projects sometimes distract me from previous ones.

3. I become interested in new pursuits every few months.

4. My interests change from year to year.

5. I have been obsessed with a certain idea or project for a short time but later lost interest.

6. I have difficulty maintaining my focus on projects that take more than a few months to complete.

(2)Perseverance of Effort

7. I have achieved a goal that took years of work.

8. I have overcome setbacks to conquer an important challenge.

9. I finish whatever I begin.

10. Setbacks don't discourage me.

11. I am a hard worker.

12. I am diligent.

GRIT-S

Duckworth and Quinn (2009) presented a shorter scale with 8 items, again in two dimensions:

(1) Consistency of Interest

1. I often set a goal but later choose to pursue a different one.

2. New ideas and projects sometimes distract me from previous ones.

5. I have been obsessed with a certain idea or project for a short time but later lost interest.

6. I have difficulty maintaining my focus on projects that take more than a few months to complete.

(2)Perseverance of Effort

9. I finish whatever I begin.

10. Setbacks don't discourage me.

12. I am diligent.

11. I am a hard worker.

Limitations

The Grit Scale, like all self-report scales, is vulnerable to social desirability bias (Lucas and Baird, 2006) cited by Eskreis-Winkler et al. (2014) . However, in their study Eskreis and Winkler argue that this concern is mitigated because grit scores are different across samples from different types of populations and that “grit was associated with retention after controlling for other self-reported measures (e.g., Big Five personality traits)”.

References

Other

• Angela Duckworth and James J. Gross, Self-Control and Grit: Related but Separable Determinants of Success, Current Directions in Psychological Science October 2014 23: 319-325, doi:10.1177/0963721414541462

• Duckworth, A., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and passion for long term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol 92, no 6. P. 1088-1101. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.92.6.1087.

• Goodwin, B. & Miller, K. (2013, September). Grit + talent = student success. Educational Leadership, p. 74-76.

• Pappano, L. (2013). ‘Grit’ and the new character education: Researchers study how certain performance traits help students learn. Education Digest, May, Pp. 4-9