Does True Grit Equal True Intelligence?
When the going gets tough, they say the tough get going. This characteristic can be called anything from courage to perseverance to the commonly-used “grit.” This is persistence in the face of adversity and set-backs and the ability to keep focused on a goal. For younger generations not familiar with the adjective grit used in this sense, it’s part of the phrase to grit your teeth—and usually inferred as to grit your teeth, and get on it with it. Unveiling the connection between True Grit and intelligence sheds light on the complex interplay of perseverance and cognitive abilities.
Describing yourself or people you know as being gritty is usually meant as a compliment; someone who copes with the less desirable parts of a process, life, or a job, and usually succeeds because they didn’t give up. Not everyone has this ability, so does it come from the heart or from the brain? New research suggests that it is tied to cognitive performance, but not necessarily in the way that we might think it is.
Grit and Mindfulness
Researchers from Spain’s University of Granada continued previous research into this behavioral characteristic which used the Grit Scale, a reference assessment which evaluates and quantifies grit within someone’s personality. The Grit Scale breaks it down into measuring levels of grit, mindfulness, and impulsivity. The new study focused on 134 participants who took questionnaires and computer tasks which tested their cognitive performance, covering everything from how well the brain filtered down what information was relevant versus irrelevant in working memory to cognitive flexibility and cognitive inhibition.
What surprised researchers is that those who scored higher on the Grit Scale did not have an overall higher cognitive performance score. Participants high in grit exhibited elevated mindfulness and reduced impulsivity, suggesting a link to self-control and the essence of grit.
Participants with high grit didn’t outperform others overall, but their cognitive processes showed unique patterns, indicating nuanced differences. They demonstrated refined cautious control, keenly attending to present information while filtering out irrelevant stimuli, showcasing advanced cognitive processing. They relied less on past information, instead carefully filtering what was present, indicating a strong focus on the moment.
Grit likely links to mindfulness and self-regulation rather than excelling in all cognitive performance aspects. It’s an example of “it’s not what you do, but how you do it.”
Further Reading
Nuria V. Aguerre, Carlos J. Gómez-Ariza, M. Teresa Bajo. The relative role of executive control and personality traits in grit. PLOS ONE, 2022; 17 (6): e0269448 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269448
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