{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T12:15:46Z","timestamp":1785413746629,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"National Academy of Sciences","issue":"30","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,21]],"date-time":"2026-07-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784592000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000001","name":"NSF","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["BCS-1733897"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BCS-1733897"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000001","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100005246","name":"ED | Institute of Education Sciences","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["R305A200355"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R305A200355"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100005246","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Institute of Human Development and Social Change","award":["NA"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NA"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000001","name":"NSF","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2229612"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2229612"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000001","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.pnas.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Biographies of scientists are widely used to spark children\u2019s interest and broaden participation in science. In telling the stories of successful scientists, these books convey implicit \u201crecipes for success\u201d\u2014yet no study has systematically examined whether these recipes align with what motivation research recommends. Here, we provide the first large-scale analysis of motivational messages in children\u2019s science biographies (422 best-selling books, 1,355 protagonists). Four main findings emerged. First, scientific ability was portrayed equally often as fixed and as malleable, a pattern unlikely to support motivation. Second, interest in science was overwhelmingly portrayed as fixed: Most scientists were said to be captivated by science from a young age. Third, scientists in physics, engineering, and computer science were portrayed as more reliant on fixed ability than scientists in other fields. Fourth, biographies of female scientists disproportionately emphasized effort even after adjusting for the obstacles they faced, consistent with stereotypes attributing women\u2019s success to hard work over talent. These findings suggest that well-intentioned efforts to diversify science through role model exposure in children\u2019s science biographies may fall short.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2612021123","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,21]],"date-time":"2026-07-21T18:00:45Z","timestamp":1784656845000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.cm10313","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Children\u2019s books about scientists convey demotivating messages"],"prefix":"10.1073","volume":"123","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6030-6288","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jessica R.","family":"Gladstone","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/047426m28","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Department of Educational Psychology, University of Illinois","place":["Champaign"]},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/0190ak572","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Department of Psychology, New York University","place":["New York"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gabrielle","family":"Applebaum","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/0190ak572","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Department of Psychology, New York University","place":["New York"]},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/045x93337","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Clinical Psychology Program, Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University","place":["Bronx"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3553-6097","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrei","family":"Cimpian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/0190ak572","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Department of Psychology, New York University","place":["New York"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"341","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_3_1_2","volume-title":"Diversity and STEM: Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities 2023","author":"National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics","year":"2023","unstructured":"National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Diversity and STEM: Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities 2023 (National Science Foundation, 2023)."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2015.00049"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1613117114"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_4_2","unstructured":"Science\u2013Core Knowledge Foundation Core knowledge science. https:\/\/www.coreknowledge.org\/science\/. Accessed 3 April 2026."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_5_2","unstructured":"WeTeachNYC TeachingBooks. https:\/\/www.weteachnyc.org\/resources\/resource\/teachingbooksnet\/. Accessed 3 April 2026."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_6_2","unstructured":"D. F. Halpern \u201cEncouraging girls in math and science\u201d (Tech. Rep. IES Practice Guide NCER 2007\u20132003 National Center for Education Research 2007)."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11191-004-7933-2"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/tea.21447"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_9_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/edu0000092"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_10_2","volume-title":"Mindset: The New Psychology of Success","author":"Dweck C. S.","year":"2006","unstructured":"C. S. Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (Random House Publishing Group, 2006)."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_11_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s40594-021-00315-x"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_12_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0956797618780643"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_13_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1261375"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_14_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.aba7377"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_15_2","unstructured":"C. S. Dweck Recognizing and overcoming false growth mindset. Edutopia. https:\/\/www.edutopia.org\/blog\/recognizing-overcoming-false-growth-mindset-carol-dweck. Accessed 3 April 2026."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_16_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0146167296225008"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_17_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0146167212468332"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_18_2","unstructured":"J. R. Gladstone G. Applebaum A. Cimpian Data from \u201cChildren\u2019s books about scientists convey demotivating messages.\u201d Open Science Framework (OSF). https:\/\/osf.io\/4mqvt\/overview?view_only=1530f33b0f744a479914c5eab20e883b. Deposited 18 May 2026."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_19_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/mot0000381"}],"container-title":["Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/pnas.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1073\/pnas.2612021123","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"https:\/\/pnas.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1073\/pnas.2612021123","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,21]],"date-time":"2026-07-21T18:01:23Z","timestamp":1784656883000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/pnas.org\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.2612021123"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,21]]},"references-count":19,"journal-issue":{"issue":"30","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1073\/pnas.2612021123"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.2612021123","relation":{},"ISSN":["0027-8424","1091-6490"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0027-8424","type":"print"},{"value":"1091-6490","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,21]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2026-04-06","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-06-17","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-07-21","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}],"article-number":"e2612021123"}}