Psychology of Memory and Expertise

Genius: Born or Made?

• Expertise can be a result of genetics (traits born with)
• Or, expertise can be a result of environmental factors (hard work, coaching)

Short-Term Memory

• Average short-term memory capacity is seven items, plus or minus two
• Practice might improve short-term memory

Skilled Memory Theory - The Case of SF

• An average college student's initial digit span from memory is 7
• 250 hours of practice increased the digit span from memory to 82
• Chunking information into meaningful units aids memory
• Examples include phone numbers or a marathon time

Skilled Memory Theory - Why is this important?

• Expertise is skill specific
• Good memory is not a natural gift but developed through skill and training
• Expertise can be taught to others
• Average people can become experts with effective practice

Daniel Tammet

• Tammet has Asperger's Syndrome
• Recited pi to 22,514 decimal places
• Savants have abilities far beyond average

What makes an Expert? Chess Study

• Novices could only accurately recall 6-8 pieces on a chessboard
• Experts could virtually recall an entire random chessboard

Chess Study

• Experts' chess placement recalled virtually entire gaming position
• Expert performance is domain specific, using pattern recognition to bypass short-term memory limitations

Expert Chess Players

• Expertise is domain specific
• Pattern recognition is key to expertise
• 10,000 hours/10 years of dedicated practice is indicative for becoming an expert

What about Sports?

• Experts have faster reaction times (e.g., hockey goalies)
• Experts have better visual abilities (e.g., baseball batting)
• Hockey coaches believed players had faster reaction time, and better peripheral vision (tests confirmed this)

Anticipation

• Studies using eye-tracking devices in sports (hockey, squash, soccer, and tennis) show experts anticipate better than average individuals
• Experts utilize advanced cues and pattern recognition to gain anticipatory advantage

The Importance of Practice

• Anders Ericsson (Florida State University) believes expertise is a result of time spent training and not genetics
• Expertise results from 10,000 hours of practice

Expert Musicians

• International violinists practiced approximately 10,000 hours by age 20
• Concert violinists practiced approximately 8,000 hours by age 20
• Average violin teachers practiced approximately 5,000 hours by age 20

Deliberate Practice

• Expertise is driven by hard work, not just natural talent
• The number of hours spent practicing isn't the only determinant of expertise
• The quality of practice is just as important as the quantity

Deliberate Practice - Characteristics

• Deliberate practice involves high effort and concentration
• Practice must be directly relevant to enhance performance
• Deliberate practice is not always enjoyable
• It requires approximately 10,000 hours of dedicated practice to achieve expertise in any field

Deliberate Practice - Expert Violinists

• Expert violinists practice approximately 51 hours per week in music-related activities, some of which are considered as deliberate practice (26 of the total hours)

Maximizing Practice Time - The Case of Figure Skating

• Elite figure skaters are active 85% of their practice time, while intermediates/novices are active 50%
• Skaters' intentions are to acquire and master new jumps for success, while they actively practice already well-established jumps

Maximizing Practice Time

• Elite skaters incorrectly estimate the number of jumps they practice (7 double and 20 triple jumps).
• In reality, they practice a higher number of double jumps than estimated.
• Novice skaters similarly misjudged the types of jumps.
• Skaters tend to rehearse known rather than new skills

Just like Us...?

• Experts started their careers at a young age
• Experts had an advantage over others due to resource access
• Most experts' career peak in their early 20s occurred before reaching the absolute top of their profession

How would you test this theory?

• Measuring expertise/skill development after the fact is a common method
• Evaluating and tracking practice habits and resultant performance, as a means to verify a hypothesis, may be worthwhile

The Polgar Sisters

• Laszlo Polgar (Hungarian psychologist) penned "Bring Up Genius" describing 1% talent and 99% hard work
• Early and intensive subject specialization is essential
• Klara, a Ukrainian woman of Hungarian descent, conducted Laszlo's grand experiment with the Polgar sisters

The Polgars - Testing the Theory of Deliberate Practice

• Encouraged a mother (Klara) to conduct an experiment on deliberate practice with her daughters (Polgar sisters) , in order to test the "deliberate practice" theory

The Polgar Sisters - Women's Chess Olympiad

• Judit, aged 12; Sophia, aged 14; and Susan, aged 19, participated in the Women's Chess Olympiad
• All sisters were home-schooled

Susan Polgar

• Ranked #1 female chess player in the world at age 15
• First woman to qualify for men's chess world championship

Judit Polgar

• Youngest ever Grandmaster at age 15
• Ranked #1 female chess player, and #8 male chess player in the world
• First woman in the top 10 ranked chess players

Extreme Environmentalism

• The notion that genetics do not play a role in developing expertise
• Anyone can achieve high skill if properly trained and coached.
• Expertise development motivation can be enhanced through proper training

Extreme Environmentalism - Negatives

• May provide false hope if genetics play a significant role
• Puts emphasis on resources (e.g., coaching, training) which can be expensive
• May cause parents to put excessive pressure on their children

Genetic Testing

• Genetic testing can predict the natural athletic strengths of a child
• ACTN3 instructs the body to produce alpha-actinin-3 protein that is specifically located fast-twitch muscles

IQ

• The search for a general notion of intelligence has a long history,
• Intelligence can be innate and measurable through tests
• However, intelligence may be relatively fixed by environmental factors

The Politics of Genetics

• Differences between groups (gender, race, class) may be attributed to genetic factors
• Issues such as immigration policies and sterilization of those deemed "unfit" have been linked to genetics
• Science can be used as a political tool or weapon

This quiz explores the complex interplay between genetics and environmental factors in developing expertise and memory skills. You will learn about short-term memory capacity, the impact of practice, and notable cases such as Daniel Tammet. Dive into the fascinating world of cognitive psychology and discover how skills can be honed and taught.