From climate change to the ongoing pandemic (大流行病) and beyond, the issues facing today’s world are increasingly complex and dynamic. Yet solving problems like these requires new approaches that extend beyond traditional ways of thinking. A study led by Yale Professor of Psychology, Paul O’Keefe, found that having a growth mindset (思维倾向) of interest may spark this type of innovation.

        Professor O’Keefe established in earlier studies that people hold different beliefs about the nature of interest. Those with a growth mindset of interest tend to believe that interests can be developed and cultivated, while those with a fixed mindset of interest tend to believe that interests are inherent (与生俱有的) and simply need to be ‘found’. Building on these findings, the latest research examined how a growth mindset of interest can boost integrative thinking across the traditional disciplinary boundaries of arts and sciences.

        For example, in one task, research participants were instructed to create new college majors by combining two or more existing academic Arts or Science programs at their university. After coding and analyzing the ideas they generated, the team found that people with a growth mindset of interest were more likely to bridge programs across the arts and sciences to create new majors like computational economics rather than creating majors that drew from only one of those areas, like computational chemistry.

        As Professor O’Keefe pointed out, “This research provides a useful direction for organizations whose products and services call for integrated and creative solutions. Take smartphones for example. You need not only computer science and engineering knowledge, but also an understanding of psychology and visual design to create a better product. Employees with a growth mindset may be more likely to devise innovative ideas that bridge multiple areas of knowledge to achieve better solutions.”

        The benefits of a growth mindset of interest may also extend to those seeking employment. This is a pressing issue because many people are becoming unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Having a growth mindset of interest can help job seekers expand their interests and become more adaptable to different fields, and take the initiative to lean new skills.

解析：C。根据题干中的Professor O’Keefe和earlier study可定位至原文第二段第一句。该句提到，奥基夫教授在早期的研究中证实，人们对兴趣的本质持有不同的看法。C项与此内容相符，其中的divided对应该句的different beliefs，the nature of interest原词复现，故C项为正确答案。

错项排除：A项中的change with age在原文中无依据，故排除。B项利用原文中多次出现的interest和mindset进行干扰，但文中是说成长型的兴趣思维模式，并不是兴趣决定思维模式，故B项排除。D项利用常识进行干扰，但文章中并未提到不同年龄的人思维模式不同，故D项错误。