 3. Toward an Integrative Theory of Motivation, Personality, and Development 97
being. They may then test hypotheses about 
underlying BEATs and goals. Take the case 
of self-  control or prosocial behavior. Both 
have sometimes been portrayed as rather sta -
ble individual differences, yet both have been 
shown to be influenced by underlying beliefs. 
For self-  control, these include the belief that 
self- control is abundant rather than highly 
limited (Job et al., 2010); that the world and 
the people in it are reliable (e.g., Kidd, Palm -
eri, & Aslin, 2013); and that the resources at 
your disposal are plentiful rather than scarce 
(Mullainathan & Shafir, 2013). For proso -
cial behavior, these include expectations of 
benevolence arising from the experience of 
reciprocity (Barragan & Dweck, 2014), the 
belief that others’ negative acts toward us 
are often not purposeful (Dodge & Frame, 
1982), and the belief that those who have 
performed negative acts do not have fixed 
personalities (Yeager, Trzes  niewski, Tirri, 
Nokelainen, & Dweck, 2011). Perhaps al -
most all prominent pattern of acts and ex -
periences have underlying BEATs that can be 
identified and fruitfully explored.
3. Personality disorders can be studied in 
terms of underlying BEATs that foster mal -
adaptive patterns of goals and online acts 
and experiences. Examples of such BEATs 
might include exaggerated beliefs about the 
danger of or safety of certain situations, too-
rapid triggering of extreme emotions, and 
exaggerated approach (impulsive) or avoid -
ance (withdrawal) tendencies. Often these 
BEATs can be overly rigid and resistant to 
change with new experiences, but some -
times they may be highly reactive to experi -
ence, such that each new experience super -
sedes past ones, leading to a roller coaster of 
self- esteem, trust, or feelings of control.
The great contribution of Aaron Beck 
and his colleagues (2001) has been to point 
to beliefs that play a role in psychopathol -
ogy. A task for the field is to continue to 
identify important constellations of BEATs 
that accompany or underlie particular dis -
orders and to test targeted ways of influ -
encing them. Perceptions of goodness and 
control—  considered in relation to self, oth -
ers, and the world, and in relation to the dif -
ferent needs—can provide an initial frame -
work for thinking about the ways in which 
BEATs can go awry.Personality  Development
1. Within the current theory, much of de -
velopment can be seen as motivated BEAT 
building. Studying the BEATs that children 
construct is essential for understanding 
social—  personality development. However, 
much socialization research has taken the 
form of large correlational studies, with lit -
tle attention to psychological mediators (see 
Olson & Dweck, 2008). For example, the ef -
fects of negative life events on children’s well-
being have been extensively studied, but not 
typically in terms of the BEATs these events 
may promote. However, research shows that 
the particular BEATs that follow on the 
heels of negative life events, whether they are 
beliefs, emotional tendencies, or behavioral 
tendencies, may be key to subsequent well-
being (e.g., Feiring, Taska, & Lewis, 2002; 
Grych, Jouriles, Swank, McDonald, & Nor -
wood, 2000; Nolen-  Hoeksema, Girgus, & 
Seligman, 1992). In a similar vein, rearing 
practices, such as the effects of authoritar -
ian, authoritative, and permissive parental 
policies (Baumrind, 1966), have been wide -
ly studied but not typically in terms of the 
BEATs they foster in children. An important 
research goal, then, is to identify BEATs that 
are pivotal to optimal development and the 
experiences and socialization practices that 
promote them.
2. Temperament, in the current theory, 
is an important contributor to personality 
development through its influence on moti -
vation and the formation of BEATs. It can 
exert this influence, for example, by mak -
ing certain needs stronger or weaker, or by 
fostering certain perceptions, affective reac -
tions, or action tendencies in given contexts. 
In this way, temperament can have marked 
effects on the representations that children 
construct and carry forward with them. 
Moreover, these BEATs can either augment 
or diminish the effects of early temperament 
over time (see Dweck, 2017, for an extended 
treatment of temperament and personality). 
Future research can seek to understand the 
impact of temperament on personality de -
velopment by examining more closely the 
BEATs children build as they act on and ex -
perience their worlds (see Rothbart, 2011). 
Indeed, this view brings to life the idea of 
temperament and environment as interactive 