ABSTRACT
College students are encouraged to major in subjects they are passionate about but less often advised about what to do when passion is low. What self-regulatory strategies do students use to up-regulate their passion toward their subjects, and how might they be oriented toward using such effective strategies? Three studies examined how the belief that passion is developed - a "develop" mindset - relates to students' intentions to use strategies to actively grow their passion. The more strongly students endorsed a develop mindset, the more of these "cultivation strategies" they reported using, and in turn, the larger their increase in reported passion toward their subject majors (Study 1). Instilling a develop mindset causally increased students' intentions to use more cultivation strategies (Study 2) - with some effects lasting up to a year (Study 3). Instilling a develop mindset can potentially help students to ignite their passion when its flame burns low.
