Angela Duckworth

Duckworth was born in 1970 to Chinese immigrants.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-limits-of-grit|title=The Limits of "Grit"|last=Denby|first=David|magazine=The New Yorker|date=2016-06-21|access-date=2019-11-21|language=en|issn=0028-792X|archive-date=2023-09-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925063553/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-limits-of-grit|url-status=live}} Her father Ying Kao Lee (1933-2020) was a chemist with DuPont and invented Lucite dispersion lacquer.{{Cite web|url=https://www.inquirer.com/obituaries/dr-ying-kao-lee-dupont-chemist-scientist-immigrated-invented-car-lacquer-died-20200415.html|title = Ying Kao Lee, DuPont inventor of lacquer that kept cars shiny, dies at 87| date=15 April 2020 }} She grew up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey{{Cite journal|last=Hartnett|first=Kevin|date=2012|title=Character's content|url=https://www.upenn.edu/gazette/0512/PennGaz0512_feature4.pdf|journal=The Pennsylvania Gazette|volume=May–June|pages=58–63|access-date=2019-11-21|archive-date=2021-09-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917232510/https://www.upenn.edu/gazette/0512/PennGaz0512_feature4.pdf|url-status=live}} and graduated from Cherry Hill High School East.Del Giudice, Marguerite. [https://web.archive.org/web/20200807033348/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/10/141015-angela-duckworth-success-grit-psychology-self-control-science-nginnovators/#close "Grit Trumps Talent and IQ: A Story Every Parent (and Educator) Should Read; Angela Duckworth and her team devise strategies to help students learn how to work hard and adapt in the face of temptation, distraction, and defeat."], National Geographic, October 14, 2014. Accessed February 12, 2020. "Angie's favorite teacher at Cherry Hill High School East was Matthew Carr, who taught English and has just retired after 40 years."

Duckworth earned a B.A. in Neurobiology at Harvard College in 1992.{{Cite web|url=https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/psychology-professor-angela-duckworth-give-penns-2017-baccalaureate-address|title=Psychology Professor Angela Duckworth to Give Penn's 2017 Baccalaureate Address|website=Penn Today|date=13 April 2017|language=en|access-date=2020-03-11|archive-date=2023-07-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722183607/https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/psychology-professor-angela-duckworth-give-penns-2017-baccalaureate-address|url-status=live}} She graduated from the University of Oxford in 1996 with an M.Sc. in neuroscience on a Marshall Scholarship, and from the University of Pennsylvania in 2006 with a Ph.D. in psychology.{{cite web |url=http://psychology.sas.upenn.edu/people/angela-duckworth |title=Angela Duckworth |publisher=University of Pennsylvania, Department of Psychology |access-date=2013-11-07 |archive-date=2018-10-19 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019110704/http://psychology.sas.upenn.edu/people/angela-duckworth |url-status=live }} She was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2013.{{cite web |url=http://www.macfound.org/fellows/889/ |title=Angela Duckworth |publisher=MacArthur Foundation |date=2013-09-25 |access-date=2013-11-07 |quote=Age: 43 |archive-date=2019-03-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190307171322/https://www.macfound.org/fellows/889/ |url-status=live }}

After obtaining a master's degree, Duckworth was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. She quit about a year later to become a math teacher at Lowell High School (San Francisco).{{cite book|last=Duckworth|first=Angela|title=Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance|year=2016|publisher=Scribner}}

Duckworth's first book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, was released in May 2016.{{Cite news|last=Cocozza|first=Paula|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/may/07/is-grit-the-true-secret-of-success|title=Is grit the true secret of success?|date=2016-05-07|work=The Guardian|access-date=2020-03-11|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=2023-07-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722183552/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/may/07/is-grit-the-true-secret-of-success|url-status=live}} It stayed on The New York Times bestseller list for 21 weeks.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2019/02/03/paperback-nonfiction/|title=Paperback Nonfiction Books - Best Sellers - Feb. 3, 2019 - The New York Times|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-11-21|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=2023-07-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722183553/https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2019/02/03/paperback-nonfiction/|url-status=live}} A review of the book in The New York Times called Duckworth "the psychologist who has made 'grit' the reigning buzzword in education-policy circles."{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/books/review/grit-by-angela-duckworth.html?_r=0|title='Grit,' by Angela Duckworth|last=Shulevitz|first=Judith|date=May 4, 2016|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=August 16, 2016|archive-date=January 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125020618/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/books/review/grit-by-angela-duckworth.html?_r=0|url-status=live}}

Duckworth was the co-host of the podcast No Stupid Questions on the Freakonomics Radio network for its 223-episode run from 2020 to 2024.{{cite web |url=https://freakonomics.com/nsq/ |title=No Stupid Questions |publisher=Freakonomics |access-date=2021-03-20 |archive-date=2021-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309151719/https://freakonomics.com/nsq/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://qz.com/work/1894910/the-best-job-interview-question-according-to-angela-duckworth |title=The best job interview question, according to Angela Duckworth of "Grit" fame |date=21 August 2020 |publisher=Quartz at Work |access-date=2021-03-20 |archive-date=2021-01-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124200305/https://qz.com/work/1894910/the-best-job-interview-question-according-to-angela-duckworth/ |url-status=live }}

Duckworth is best known for her research on grit, a strength she defines as passion and perseverance for long-term goals.{{Cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/cover_story/2016/05/angela_duckworth_says_grit_is_the_key_to_success_in_work_and_life_is_this.html|title=Is "Grit" Really the Key to Success?|last=Engber|first=Daniel|date=2016-05-08|work=Slate|access-date=2019-11-21|language=en-US|issn=1091-2339|archive-date=2023-07-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722183557/https://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/cover_story/2016/05/angela_duckworth_says_grit_is_the_key_to_success_in_work_and_life_is_this.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite journal|last1=Duckworth|first1=Angela L.|last2=Peterson|first2=Christopher|last3=Matthews|first3=Michael D.|last4=Kelly|first4=Dennis R.|date=2007|title=Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals.|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|language=en|volume=92|issue=6|pages=1087–1101|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.92.6.1087|pmid=17547490|s2cid=11159170 |issn=1939-1315}} She developed the Grit Scale, a measure of this construct.{{Cite journal|last1=Duckworth|first1=Angela Lee|last2=Quinn|first2=Patrick D.|date=2009-02-17|title=Development and Validation of the Short Grit Scale (Grit–S)|journal=Journal of Personality Assessment|volume=91|issue=2|pages=166–174|doi=10.1080/00223890802634290|issn=0022-3891|pmid=19205937|s2cid=15232924}}

Duckworth has found grit to be a common factor among the high-achievers she has studied. Her work suggests that grit is unrelated to IQ but closely related to conscientiousness. Grit has been studied across the lifespan, but Duckworth focuses primarily on how building grit can help adolescents. This falls under the umbrella of character education and the movement to expand school instruction beyond solely cognitive factors.

Since the introduction of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, there has been a growing call for effective ways to measure character strengths.{{Cite news|url=https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/01/06/essa-law-broadens-definition-of-school-success.html|title=ESSA Law Broadens Definition of School Success|work=Education Week|access-date=2018-03-05|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-12-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201206194551/https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/01/06/essa-law-broadens-definition-of-school-success.html|url-status=live}} However, Duckworth herself has encouraged caution when applying and, especially, testing character in classrooms.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/opinion/sunday/dont-grade-schools-on-grit.html|title=Opinion {{!}} Don't Grade Schools on Grit|last=Duckworth|first=Angela|date=2016-03-26|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-03-05|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=2023-09-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928065001/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/opinion/sunday/dont-grade-schools-on-grit.html|url-status=live}} One reason is that existing measures were designed for scientific purposes, and so as yet there are no reliable ways to measure grit in high-stakes situations, like college admissions or job applications.{{Cite journal|last=Duckworth & Yeager|date=2015|title=Measurement matters: Assessing personal qualities other than cognitive ability for educational purposes|url=https://www.dropbox.com/s/vb2ckly2l0duij0/duckworth_yeager_2015_measurement_matters.pdf?dl=0|journal=Educational Researcher|volume=44 |issue=4|pages=237–251|doi=10.3102/0013189x15584327|pmid=27134288|pmc=4849415}}

Some claim that focusing on grit would lead to the neglect of other important factors, like the positive socio-economic prerequisites necessary to deploy it.{{cite news|title=Why teaching kids to have 'grit' isn't always a good thing|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/05/14/why-teaching-kids-to-have-grit-isnt-always-a-good-thing/|last=Rose|first=Mike|newspaper=Washington Post|date=May 14, 2015|access-date=February 13, 2018|archive-date=December 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201054153/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/05/14/why-teaching-kids-to-have-grit-isnt-always-a-good-thing/|url-status=live}} Duckworth has acknowledged the importance of environmental factors, saying that it's not that one matters more than the other but rather that they both matter: "The question is not whether we should concern ourselves with grit or structural barriers to achievement. In the most profound sense, both are important, and more than that, they are intertwined."{{Cite web|url=http://angeladuckworth.com/qa/#faq-63|title=Angela Duckworth|website=Angela Duckworth|language=en-US|access-date=2018-03-05|archive-date=2023-10-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006003434/https://angeladuckworth.com/qa/#faq-63|url-status=live}}

Grit has had its share of critics. A 2017 meta-analysis found that "grit is only moderately correlated with performance and retention," and that it had not been adequately distinguished from several previously studied constructs, including conscientiousness, persistence, and industriousness.{{cite journal|last1=Credé|first1=M.|last2=Tynan|first2=M.C.|last3=Harms|first3=P.D.|date=September 2017|title=Much ado about grit: A meta-analytic synthesis of the grit literature.|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume=113|issue=3|pages=492–511|doi=10.1037/pspp0000102|pmid=27845531|s2cid=24361685}} In a 2021 article, Duckworth acknowledged that she had misinterpreted the psychometric properties of her Grit Scale.{{cite journal|last1=Duckworth|first1=A.L.|last2=Quinn|first2=P.D.|last3=Tsukayama|first3=E.|date=July 2021|title=Revisiting the Factor Structure of Grit: A Commentary on Duckworth and Quinn (2009).|journal=Journal of Personality Assessment |volume=103|issue=5|pages=573–575|doi=10.1080/00223891.2021.1942022|pmid=34254861 |s2cid=235808561 }}

{{Reflist}}

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• [http://angeladuckworth.com/ angeladuckworth.com], personal website
• {{Official website|http://psychology.sas.upenn.edu/people/angela-duckworth|Angela Duckworth faculty page}} at University of Pennsylvania
• {{TED speaker}}
• [https://freakonomics.com/nsq/ No Stupid Questions]
• [https://characterlab.org/ Character Lab]

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Category:1970 births

Category:Harvard College alumni

Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford

Category:MacArthur Fellows

Category:Marshall Scholars

Category:American women psychologists

Category:21st-century American psychologists

Category:American people of Chinese descent

Category:Living people

Category:Cherry Hill High School East alumni

Category:People from Cherry Hill, New Jersey

Category:Scientists from New Jersey

Category:21st-century American women

Category:McKinsey & Company people

Category:Schoolteachers from New Jersey

Category:Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor