Limits on the Predictive Power of Domain-Specific Experience and Knowledge in Skilled Performance

It is clear from decades of research that, to a very large degree, success in music, games, sports, science, and other complex domains reflects knowledge and skills acquired through experience. However, it is equally clear that basic abilities, which are known to be substantially heritable, also con...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current directions in psychological science : a journal of the American Psychological Society 2011-10, Vol.20 (5), p.275-279
Main Authors: Hambrick, David Z., Meinz, Elizabeth J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Baseball
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition. Intelligence
Domain knowledge
Experiential learning
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human
Knowledge
Learning. Memory
Memory
Miscellaneous
Music
Music practice
Musical performance
Political campaigns
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Sight reading
Skill development
Working memory
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Summary:It is clear from decades of research that, to a very large degree, success in music, games, sports, science, and other complex domains reflects knowledge and skills acquired through experience. However, it is equally clear that basic abilities, which are known to be substantially heritable, also contribute to performance differences in many domains, even among highly skilled performers. As we discuss here, our research shows that working memory capacity predicts performance in complex tasks even in individuals with high levels of domain-specific experience and knowledge. We discuss implications of our findings for the understanding of individual differences in skill and identify challenges for future research.
ISSN:0963-7214
1467-8721
DOI:10.1177/0963721411422061