Angela Duckworth

Angela Duckworth is an American psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania whose research focuses on effort, self-control, motivation, and sustained commitment. After working in management consulting, she taught mathematics in public schools and later completed a doctorate in psychology. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance argues that long-term achievement often depends on continued effort toward enduring goals, not talent alone. Duckworth combines research studies with examples from education, sport, business, and the military to describe interest, practice, purpose, and hope as components that can support perseverance. Grit is a statistical and psychological construct, not a moral ranking of people or a guarantee of success. Measurements of grit overlap with other personality traits, and critics have questioned how much it predicts beyond circumstances and existing measures.