Surprisingly, evidence linking grit and performance is beset by contradictory empirical results. Given the widespread attention and initial evidence, one would expect to find copious studies showing that grit predicts performance. These developments are seemingly occurring for good reason: prior studies have found that grit relates to several intermediaries of success, including increased deliberate practice ( 4), sustained retention in difficult jobs ( 5, 6), and task persistence ( 7). Grit has also crept into educational policy throughout the United States, influencing the design of school curriculums to boost their future success by making students “grittier” ( 3). Her subsequent 2016 book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, became an international best-seller ( 2). Angela Duckworth’s 2013 TED talk introduced grit to a broad audience and described it as an important predictor of future success the talk clearly resonated with audiences, as it has over 14 million views to date ( 1). The concept of grit has captured the public imagination. By adequately measuring both perseverance and passion, the present research uncovers grit’s true predictive power. The present results help resolve the mixed evidence of grit’s relationship with performance by highlighting the important role that passion plays in predicting performance. A final study measured perseverance and passion attainment in a sample of students ( n = 248) and linked these to their grade-point average (GPA), finding that the combination of perseverance and passion attainment predicted higher GPAs in part through increased immersion. Second, in a survey of employees matched to supervisor-rated job performance ( n = 422), we found that the combination of perseverance, measured through the grit scale, and passion attainment, measured through a new scale, predicted higher performance. We first metaanalyzed 127 studies ( n = 45,485) that used the grit scale and assessed performance, and found that effect sizes are larger in studies where participants were more passionate for the performance domain. We suggest that combining the grit scale-which only captures perseverance-with a measure that assesses whether individuals attain desired levels of passion will predict performance. We propose that this inconsistent evidence has occurred because prior research has emphasized perseverance and ignored, both theoretically and empirically, the critical role of passion, which we define as a strong feeling toward a personally important value/preference that motivates intentions and behaviors to express that value/preference. As a result, commentators have increasingly declared that grit has limited effects. Prior studies linking grit-defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals-to performance are beset by contradictory evidence.
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