Duckworth, who is at the forefront of research on grit, became interested in what makes students successful while teaching. She noticed how the students who worked the hardest were most successful, not necessarily the fastest learners. She left to pursue a doctorate in psychology and while doing research on grit found that across everywhere she looked, grit was the highest predictor of success. In Duckworth and Peterson’s paper “Grit: Perseverance and Passion for Long-Term Goals” they detail the research that hinted at grit before them.For example, in 1892, Galton found the high achievers had “ability combined with zeal and with capacity for hard labour.” A number of other similar studies found similar traits were more responsible for success than IQ alone.