Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

Behavioural Research and Therapy
27
(1989): 505–9.
:
Leslie P. Kamen and Martin E. P. Seligman, “Explanatory Style Predicts College Grade Point Average”
(unpublished manuscript, 1985). Christopher Peterson and Lisa C. Barrett, “Explanatory Style and Academic Performance Among
University Freshman,” 
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
53 (1987): 603–7.
:
Toshihiko Maruto, Robert C. Colligan, Michael Malinchoc, and Kenneth P. Offord, “Optimists vs. Pessimists: Survival
Rate Among Medical Patients Over a 30-Year Period,” 
Mayo Clinic Proceedings
75 (2000): 140–43. Christopher Peterson, Martin

---

E. P. Seligman, “Pessimistic Explanatory Style Is a Risk Factor for Physical Illness: A Thirty-Five-Year Longitudinal Study,” 
Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology
55 (1988): 23–27.
:
Karen J. Horneffer and Frank D. Fincham, “Construct of Attributional Style in Depression and
Marital Distress,” 
Journal of Family Psychology
9 (1995): 186–95. See also, Horneffer and Fincham, “Attributional Models of
Depression and Distress,” 
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
22 (1996): 678–89.
On optimism and sales, see Martin E. P. Seligman and Peter Schulman, “Explanatory Style
as a Predictor of Productivity and Quitting Among Life Insurance Sales Agents,” 
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
50
(1986): 832–38. Shulman, “Explanatory Style.” See also Peter Schulman, “Applying Learned Optimism to Increase Sales
Productivity,” 
Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management
19 (1999): 31–37.
Martin E. P. Seligman, “Explanatory Style as a Mechanism of Disappointing Athletic Performance,”
Psychological Science
1 (1990): 143–46.
Lacey, interview.
Aaron T. Beck, A. John Rush, Brian F. Shaw, and Gary Emery, 
Cognitive Therapy of Depression
(New York: Guilford Press, 1979). Also note that, in the same era, Albert Ellis developed a similar approach. So Beck and Ellis are
jointly recognized as pioneers in what is now commonly referred to as cognitive behavioral therapy.
Robert J. DeRubeis et al., “Cognitive Therapy vs Medications in the Treatment of Moderate to Severe
Depression,” 
Archives of General Psychiatry
62 (2005): 409–16. Steven D. Hollon et al., “Prevention of Relapse Following
Cognitive Therapy vs Medications in Moderate to Severe Depression,” 
Archives of General Psychiatry
62 (2005): 417–22. Some
patients struggle with the aspect of CBT that involves trying to talk themselves out of their negative self-talk. These patients say
things like: “In my head, I know it’s not fair to call myself a loser. I’m labeling myself, I’m engaging in all-or-nothing thinking. But in
my heart, part of me still feels like a loser—like I’ll never be good enough.” A new form of CBT, acceptance and commitment
therapy (ACT), addresses these concerns. In ACT, the goal is simply to notice any negative self-talk and accept that it exists, while
not letting it control your actions.
Information on Teach For America’s mission and history can be found at 
www.teachforamerica.org
.
:
Claire Robertson-Kraft and Angela L. Duckworth, “True Grit: Perseverance and Passion for
Long-term Goals Predicts Effectiveness and Retention Among Novice Teachers,” 
Teachers College Record (1970)
116 (2014): 1–
24.
Carol S. Dweck, “The Role of Expectations and Attributions in the Alleviation of Learned Helplessness,”
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
31 (1975): 674–85.
:
This measure was developed by Carol Dweck, Sheri Levy, Valanne MacGyvers, C.Y.
Chiu, and Ying-yi Hong. For interested readers, I highly recommend Carol Dweck,