The Pursuit of ExcellenceThrough Education

Edited hy

Michel FerrariUniaersity of Toronto

lEf IA*RENC[. EltI.t]ALJM A'',(IIATES, puBLIStIEIts

2002 lUatrwatr, New .f ersey l.ondon

chapter2

Attaining Excellence T"hroughDeliberate Practice: Insights Frornthe Study of E*pert Performance

K. Anders liricssrln'l"lle F'lorida Strt te (ln'iuersit)

Alrnnst evcryorre can rernember being awed by the public performances ofclitc rnusicians and athletes. All of us have looked at sculptures and paint-irrgs and read novels thilt clearly r.ranscend a level of perfbrrnance that weanrl ottrer people in our immecliate environment, could attain. F-or a longtinre it tras been consitlered nbvious that some individuals' allility toachieve at a level srrperior to that of other motivated individuals nrust re-ller:t an unobtainable diflbrence, sornc genetically deterirrined, and there-li:rc innatc, talent. If'there were no irnmutablc inborn limit, why wouldn'tever"y highly nlotivated irrdividual reach the highest level?

'l'lre nrost otrvious approach to determining how individuals excel is tosttrrly those who have achieved mastery. As I show by quoting internationalrnasters discussirrg cxcellence later in this chapter, rlost masters empha-size the role of' rnotiv;rtion, concentration, and the willingness to workhard on improving perftlrmance. In contrast to the general populationand less accornplished per{brmers, the nrasters seern to consider inborncrrll:rcities and innate talent as relatively unimportant in comparison totheir attainecl abilities ancl skills. I-Iowever, most people who have unsuc-cessfirlly pursued high excellence in a domain find it very dillicult to ac-ccpt the rnastcrs' eilrphasis on motivation and the continued need to workhard in inrproving perfcrrmance. Many ol'us have worked hard to improveil skill over a period o['weeks without catching up or perhaps not evennrnrkeclly gainirrg on ttre individfials who perform at rhe highest levels.Could it be tlrat the masters were praising rnotivation and effclrt due ro

2t

22 l,:l{ l( tss( }N

{alse rnorlesty? Perlrap* tlrey siruply r.lo not kntm tfre cr.irilul {itt.rur"s thlrrleaq"l thcm toward excellence.

In this clrapter, I dernon$trate how the rna$ter.s'descl.ilrtiurrr o{'rlrc r'r iri-cal role played t y rnotivation and willingness to work cnu be untlrrstoorl asil nrani{bstation of"tlre specially designed training activirit:s tlrtt mv tul-leagues ancl I refer to as rlelitrerate practice (Ih"icss()n, l{}tXi, lt}g?, l${)fl;liricsson & Charness, l$94; Hricssorr, Kr-arnpe, & "l'esclr-Riirrrcr, ltX}ltlHricsstln & [...e]rnrann, lSt]6]. [n the first section, I ar"grre tlrilt once rr.(, dr-fine excellence as consistcntly superior achievrrncllt in thr t()r.t: activitirsol'a rlotnlrin, an interpretahle picture errrerse$. Hven tlre lrvtl ol';rclrit:r,e*rnenI of'the rn(]st. "talerrtecl" clevelops Sr.atlually anrl, wittr l.ilr.e (:xcrl]tions,ir takes at least l0 years of ilctive involvementwithin a delnurirr tc r.rur.lr;ulirttcrttational level. l'Ioweverr tlre vast ruajority of active irrrlivitlrrals in rl,r-rnains such as golf"ancl tennis show nrirriural perlix.nrarrtc irnl)r.or(:rnt:ntseven afier decades o{'partir:ipation. In t}re sccorrrl sertion, I rlisctrss tlrc rlil-lbrer"lr:e henurcn illere participatir:n in clonrain-relat"ed at tivit.ies, unrl nr'-tivities clcsigned [o iurllrove perfbrrnance*cleliherilre 1:r.;rcrict:.

THA SCIf,NTITIC STUDY OF EXPERTPERTORMANCE

M;ury u['the ill()st tlar.zling aud amaeintrq &ccornplishrrrmrts o['gcniusr:s,suclr;rs tlrclse try ttretruuou$ rutrslcian, Pagarriui, alrd t]rc lanrorrs nrathq:rrra-tician, ()auss, retbr to everrts that cann()[ hc irrclepenrlrntly verifictl(tr'.ricsson, l $Sfi, l tl0?, I$t)B), ()ur" only krrorvlrdgc alxxrt rnost o[' rlrrscactrievenrerrts is based r)rl reports in tlre fiu'rrr ul';lrrt:ctilrtrs aborrr tlrt'ir.childhuotI toltl by t]re fhrnotrs individualr at rhe cntl ol. llrir.c;u.ecr'. [_irrrtrEr-

t"hese cinctnn$tances it wuuld be reasorratrlc to exllrlct distnr"tir:ns ul'rncnr-ory and even cxaggeratiuns. 'I'(l study ext'elltional aclriovr".rnrrrt st-irnti{i-cally, ir is rle('essary tlrat we disl:e$ard cluestinnal^lle anrt'rlutrs ilrrtl lix'tr.r nrrthe errrpirical evidence that relects stahle 1:henrxnfina tllilt ciru lrt.irrrlc-pcntlently vcriliud, and, icleally, I'eprtxtuced unrlcr. c()ntrollcrl r.ix.turr-sl,an{:es. (}nce we restrict ttre resenrch findirrgs t(} t}ris clcirr.ly clc{incrl cn}*pirical eviderrcc thcn reviews (F}'icsson & l,chrnunn, l{}l}fi; llr-irsti(}n &Snrith, I ${} I ) slruw an orderly and consiste nt hncly o[ knorulrclgc e\,en {irr.ex(eptiorrul achievemerlts and perlirrnlitrr(:c.

Iu tlt()$t durnains ul'expertise, ilrclivirhlals have bt:err intcrestr-tI in ari-

sessittg ttre level o{'perfi:rrnarrcc uncler fair and corrtrr-rllerl circunrsl;rnt:t:s.hr atlrletic cumpetitions, ttris lras resulted in highly starrrliu.diznl corrtli-tiutts that approach the controlled conditiurrs useql [o stutlv llerlirr.rrurrrcein the lalxx'at()ry. [na sirnilar rnanner, rnusicians, clarrcer'li, arxl cl](,$ri 1rl;r!'-rl's perftlrnr under controlled conelitions ctrlring r'ornlletititln\ nnrl turu'!ra*

?. t:xfil:t,l,liNi(:fl t'l"IR()L'cII DEt"tBliltAI'[ IIRA(:'I"lcti ?5

nrents. 'l'hese conrl)etition.q $erve several pul'lJoses beyond itlerrtilying tlrcbest p*r'forrners nncl pl"esieilting awill.ds. lior y(]unger perfbrrner$, -qilceess-

flrl perlirrnrancc at c()mpetitions is necessary to gain acce$s to the hesftear:hers ancl trairrirrg envir"onr"nents, whictr, in turn, increascs the cluincenof'attaining orle of tlre small nunrber of'openinss a$ full-tiure prolessinnalsin the tlornain.

[,]r'icsson and Snrith ( I S0I ] rliscussed hnw one could use sirrrilar teclr-niques to measure various typus of' professional expertise. More recentrcviews shuw tlurf effilrts to dentonstrate the superior perfirrmance r:l'ex-

lrert,s ure n()t alwayrniuccesslul. For example, trlglrly experieucecl psycho-rherirlrists arc rxlt nlore successlul ln treatment of' patietlts than nrrvicetlrenrpists (l)ur,r,es, I{}t}4}. More Hetrerally, tlrc lengttr o[.profbs*iorrnl expe-rience a{ter"cornpleted tr"aining has ofien lreen fiouncl to he a weak prerlic.-tor trl'1lerfilrruuuce in reprs$entative protbssiunal activities, such as rllecli-cal tliagnusis (Nururan, Cutrlentz, Bxxlks, & Ilabcook, lS{}2; Schmirlt,Norrnan, & lhrshuizen, lS90), auditing (Hidard & Chi, l(}$S; Ilonner &Perrninston! ltXll), text etliting (ltosson, 198$), rnd judgrnent ilild rleci-siorr makins (Carnel.rr &Juhn$()n, ltlsl: $trallteau & Stewilr't" l{}{}2). trf'we

are interested in understanding the stntcturs and acquisition o[' exccl-lerrce in ttre rt:llrcsicntative activities that tlcfine expertise irr a given do-rrraiil, we need tc restrict our.$elves to domains irr wlriclr experts sxhibit oh-jectivrly superiur pt:rfbrmarlce.

Il'expert lrcrlbrrner$ can re lintrly reprocluce their perfrx'rnance in putr-lic, it is likely rlrat thry cnultl do the sarte during training, and even under.lahuratory cunrlitiorrs, a lintlirrg continned hy recent research (f.ricsson &I.ehrnann, I {XXi}" [Jnlilrtur]ately, the c*nditions ol" natur;rlly (]ccuri'ing ex-

1ler"t yrerliu'lrranct: ar* ttruitc complex arrd f}equently ditlbn nrarkedlylufilonl{ per{bnncrs withirr ar dqrrnilin. Sor t:xample, nrtrsicians are allowcdto selrct thcir'o1vrr grieces ot'rnusic lirr tlrcir perforrrrance nnd ttre seqrrenceuf"nrol'es c:hcss 1lla1'el'$ rnake irt a Sanre is never the satne. Ilowever, mosfduuurin* o{'rxpcrtisc require that expertti ilre atrle to excel atcertain typesuf

'r-cpresen[rtive tasks or else tlrey woukl not meet tlre delinition of'a lnte

rxpert. *,r'iess{}rr anrl .lirnirlr (ttX}l) discussed htru to itlelrtily representil-tive tlrsks tlrirt cilpture tlrc c$scr]ce of'expert perfbrn]ance in a rlolnain andlrow trl rcprnduc:r this perlhrmarlce under controllecl lnboratory condi-tions $o tlrat inye$tisators cmld identify the responsible mediating mecha-ttisrtts.

Figtrrc ?.1 illustriltcs threc typeri of tasks rhat have ["reen {irund ro cap-trn"e tlre e$sfirlcc of'*xflcrtise, where ttre measured perform&nce is closelyrelated to the level ol'naturally occurring perfrlrnran(e. "['o stutly c]re$s ex-pertisc, playt'rs irt diflerent skill levels are a$ked to generute the lrest utr]v(lirr tlre $anre unfhrniliar r:hess positirlns"'Iypists are given the sanle tuatr-rial tn typc as first as lxlrisitrle, ildusicianri are askecl tu play farniliar {}r unfir-

Z4

f IC. 2. L 'I.lrree exarnples of'laboratory tasks that t'aptut'e the coltristettt lt'

superirlr pedirrmanee ol'dotttaitr experts in chess, tyJrirrg, altd tnttsit . Iiruttt"F,x1lertise," t y K.A. F-r'icsson ant{ Andreas (l- Lrltntantl, l$0U, l)nry,'li4tediuol Creatiuity. (lopyright by Acadernic Pt'ess. Reprinted with perllrissiotr ol'tltt'authors.

nriliar pieces, then askecl to repeat their perfiu-tnitnce. Wltt'rt tnusiti:ulsare irrstntcted to l'epeat their oriS;inal perfbrnlallce, exl)et'ts r;ttt tkr it rt'itlrntuch less deviation than less skilled musiciitns, tltus exhibiring gt"eittt-'t'

control over their per'{bnnance.Considering only the sul)erior perfur"mmtce o{ expet'ts, it is possiblc to

iclentily sevcral clainrs atrout expertise that Heneralize acl'()sti rlotttititts.Iiirst, I review evidence showi*g that superior exprrt perfirrtnattce is lrri-nrarily :rcquired, and that extensive domain-relatetl expericll(:e is Ilcces-

saty but not, sulTicient fi:r its tleveloprnent, I show that man)'thous;ttrds of'

hours of'deliberate practice ancl training are necessary to rcat'lt thc higlr-est levels of perfbrmance. Then I descritre in depth tlre t ogtritivc tttttlphysiological processes proposed to nrediate the ctevelopnre llt o["t'x1)crlperfirrmance and strow horv cleliberat"e practice optimizes the efii:r:t o['these processes on perfbrmatrce.

2, EX(;EI..[,T.N(:E'I'I{ROIJL;II DEI,IT}ERA"I'[: TRAC'I'ICE 25

The Necessity of Domain-Specific Experience

Recent reviews (Iiricsson, 1996; Ericsson & Lehmarn, 1996) show that ex-t"ended engagement in domain-related activities is necessary to attainexpert perfirrmance in ttrat domain. What is the process in acquiritg ex-pertise? First, longitudinal assessments of performance reveal that per-lbrrnance inrproves gradually, as illustrated in Fig. 2.2; there is no obiec-tive eviclence for trigh initial level of performance without any relevantexperience and practice nor {or abmpt improvement of reproducible per-fbrmance when it is regularly tested. Even t]re performance of child prodi-gics in rnusic ancl chess, whose performance is vastly superior to that oftheir peers, show gradual, steady improvernent over time. If elite perfbrrn-ance was limited primarily by thc functional capacity of the body andbrain, one woulcl expect per{brnrAr}ce to peak around the age of physicalrnattrration: the late teens in industrialized countries. However, experts'best per{ilrmance is nften attained many years, and even decades, later, flsilltrstrated in F ig. 2.2.'fhe age at which performers typically reach their

Peak of career

InternationalLevel

over l0 vcars- - --}-sincc starl10 20 30 4a

Age

fIG. 2.2. An illrrstration o{'ttre gradual increases in expert performance asa firnction of'ilge, in clomains such as chess. T'he international level, which isattainetl after rr)ore tlurn around l0 years of irlolvement in the dornain, is

inrlicated hy the horizontal dashed line. From "f,xperti$e," by K. A.fi,ricsson and Andreas C. Lelrmann, 199S, Enclclopedia of Creatiaity. Crpy-right by Ar:adernic Press. Reprinted with permissiorr of tlre authors.

t,:RI(;SSON

Domain Presented lnformation Task

lhess

['yping

vlusic

Select the best chess

move for this position

Type as much of the

presented text as possihlewithin one minute

Play the same piece ofmusic twice in same

manner

Ib (ryr.rl C.rdkqp tu 5y :aqnr d .rFur { s t^Ilu Lt r* hlivld..l. &[ th.hgrrd hwk of sliG6nt tr. {.ilar. ud s}t $ lGr Bh lhl brl lknu. Svtt tlts.B.q| irath . l.llrL{!t, lo qgarrtrtxJt &t (b?.r) Lvdr d rhrrc'B. I u,iF{ Fls0a.*a F feF rr areau qrs ffi aaGta Lwll (:ildt*rlr. lE ruud rrFE t 6 br rMl 6 L F€rl c)..Effi d lh. ffi lsi5' l,Ht,h ba l!! b rlrlc a s, hil (crFr, br.lr r d.an ol slFra hcli de -.1 uotE rgryy }}rr, rrlcc 6,€ Ig slEu Ea lo fE Dlrr..d tJ! Ery, &sm.f6to \elra|r DO rld,.l (trnr.i" ,5lm.c. t ,rF.t l Frlme saq as)Ir.l.l(r{aa. rd tlq, rul dld -al ilftuld lcLtu r tExd .{x$t rrd {lralat ilL.Ost Blrol Frror{Ea &hffi.r. [ *8t, &uraois lt lclFu dstEl iD |IHdts rtfirtaara sl a uslltFx6. ffir. .Fa

- Otr&t{r. Er*t LE h.6 p-

ecd b E n9o.arba. s [m ra $o ns bt rb{r6id h . hrla crtr l, tlGa fx!x.(uorf. $o, * ha (Nlaa .f .ilalB. lE r.|m oa rb El$E rnlrrB ot hrucrsry .rg! la cr,l'r rbrt,B i.E b.t irt rel, itll{n & u! lL'.b d dr sullrrry lls rFde llr alsvacu ol sF.ts nl o LE wrri6 ., ]lal rrctr olftfi{ cLr-trurix cnld tt Drlfrl &ug! thrhlpnt {a lnrst llr$. lli anrtrrll MrOy orrr ab q.- rqryle curfaar rful lra lrts[r] and Ugr btn F.run*y d s rurrr ltu{odtr ro{ n r0t$h[s lt iatloa rad (.W1s d ilrBr

Ftinlrg lq ccalrvuy !d la{r *ill l* Nhtd.

26 t'Rl(,5S(,lJ

trighest Icvel cl'pcr'firrrllar]('e in rrlatry vigor'(]us slx]r"ts is tlrc rrrirl tn lirtt'll()s; frlr" thc arts antl st'ience, it is a tlecarle latt:r", irr [[rr: l]0s urrtl lOs (.rt:t'Sinr()nt{rn, ttl$7, lirt' a review). Corttinued, o{ie n extenrlcrt, rlt'vclo1)rnt:lrtof'cxllcrtise 1:ast 1:lrysical nralurity shows tlult exllerienrc is rrr:t't:ssirr'1' Iiu"

iurproving tlre cxperts' pet'{t)rma!rce. Ii'inally, tlre rn(}st ('(}lrrllcllirrg t.r'itk:rrrt:lilr"rhe r-olc o['vast experietrce in expert.ise is that evetr thc rrrust "tlrlr:nlt)t["tteccl :rrorrnd l0 year"s o{'intense itrvolvernent lreli;r'c tlrt:\' r"c;u'lr iln irrrt:nr;r-tiorral lcvel, untl {irr rnost inclividuals it rakes corrsiclt:r'ulllv hrrrgcr'.

Sirne rrr ;rnd (lIritse ( l07il) originally pt"ol]oscd thc I (]-r,'car rrrlt"., sIrtnvirrutlutt n() tttodet.tt cltcss nrastrr had r"cllchccl thc irrterrrirtiorurl lt:r,'t:l irr lt:ss

Llurn a[)[)roxinrately l0 ],ears o['pliryirrg. Sr-rhserluent re:vicrls slrurv llnrt t]rt,l()-year t.ttlc uxttrrds to mtrsic conrlxrsitiorr, as rvell as l.o slrorts, s('iclt(t,"itntl itrts (l,,r'ir:ssrlrt, Kranlpel &'['esclr-lttin]er, 1t]U3). In srurr, tlrr: ltt:t tlr;rterrgagctnenf in specitic, clorrurin-relatetl activities is rre(es.-\lu"],to:tltllrilt'expcr.tise is rvell cstablishcd. Most inrl:ortlrnlly, givt n ttrnt vt:l'1, lt:rv irrrlivitl-rrlrls srrstuitt cornrnitrrtent lbr rnor"e tltart a fbrv rIl()trths, rrrrrt.ir lcss \rriu ri,

rno$it irrclividuals will rlcvet'knorv thc uppet"lirnit clf'ttreir'prr'[i]t"ntirn('r.

Gaing Beyond Mere Experience: Activities That MediateImprovements of Performance

li.xtensivc experiettce and itrvolverTrent in a ttorn;"ritt is ll(]('cssntv lilr tlrt'sr-lect gr'oup uf"elite indivirluals who steaclily irrcrease the ir" Jlcrlirrruun( c ;urtlrear:h very lrigh lcvcls. Irr conlrastr tlrc vast nrajority of inclir,itltr;lls stnll4glcto rcacll an lt(ceptable level of. per{brmance, arrd lravirrg rlunc s(], ;rllu*,t"trcir pt:r'filrtilIance to rcmaitt relatively stable {i-lr yeur'$ a,n(l t:verr tkt'ltlcs.( lonsider tlle exunlple ot' recreatiunal golfbrs, tertnis plityn's, ancl skiu's"'l'lre striking cliflbren(e lretwecn elite artcl ilverirge perlirrnr:tn(:c ]i{j('nr$ t(}result nut.iust frotn ttre duratiorr o['an indivirtual's activitr', lrut li'urrr tlrt:particrrlar tvpes otr' dornain-rtlated activitics they clrunse.

Ii't'onr l'elrttspective irrten'iews ol'intenrittintral-lel'el 1lt'r'tirrrrrcr-$ irrrnilny rlonl;tins, llloom (ltltls} sh*wed that elire per.ftrnnr:r'$ ilre 11,;rir.nllv

irttrodtrced to tlreir future rkmnain in a playflrl tnannet'. As so{}n us tlrt'y (:n-

.inry ttre activity anrl shrrw pr"orni$t: {:orrtparcrl t(} pcnl'; in Ihe rrt:ighlrorlroo(1,they are encoilrased to seek out a teucher arxl initiutr r'('l4rrl;rr 1rr"rrt"t ir.r.Illrxrnl untl his urlleagues sltowecJ the intpnrtarlc(: o{';lt:r:rss to tlle llcsttrainirrg eltvirorlrnents and the most qualitied teache rs. '['llt' l]arcntr ul'llrt:l'ut"ure clite llcrlin'rn*r$ spend large $umli ot'ntrlney firr teaclr(r's antl t:r1rri1r-

nrent, and devute cortsicleratrle tilne to esc'crtirrg their clrilrl In tnrirringand weckentl ccxlrl)f,tition$. lrr sonte ca$e$, the pertbrmcr arrrl tlrryir'litrtrilveven relocate to be closer to ttre ttacher and the trnining Iutilities. IlrrsutIon tlreir intervitws, Bltmtn ( 1985) argue(l tlrat acce$$ tu thc trcst tr uirrirrgrclxlurces wa$ ne(es$ary to reach the highest levcls.

t. F.Xfll;:L.t,I:NCli ',l'l IlL()t r(;l I 1)r:LtBtiRA"l'[ ItRA(;l"l(:H 27

()iven ttre lirnitt:d upportutrities available to work with the best teaclters

anrl trainillll t't:s()ul'ce$, orrly tlre most qualified individtrals &re admitted at

eaclr stage. (luuld it he that the riuperilr trainirrg resource$ del ttrrt reallyenhance the t'a[e of illlprovenrent, attd tlre higtrty selected individualswonld irnprove jtrst as wcll by tttetnselvesl '["he best single source of cvi-dcnce firr the value o{' cun"(nt training methocls coilles frorn historicalcorrlparisotrs (L,ricsson, Krantpe, & 'l'esch-Rtinrer, t 993; ["ehtnanl"l &llricsrott, t99tt). "l-lle Ino$t rlrantittic irnprovements in the level tll'perlbrtn-a!rce {}ver histuricill tittre are lirturd in rpnrts, In some evetrts, suclt as llre

rnural,trorl and swinrttring evstlls, tllany scn'icltts amateur$ of' totlay ctluldertsilv beat the gerld nredal winne rs eil'the early Olympic games. lior exftln-ple, aficr tlre IVtlr Olynrpic ()atnes in 1908, ttrty alnrost prtlhihited the

rlnutrle somersault in clives hecatrse thev believed that tltese dives were

tlarrgerorr$ ilntl rro huluan w*uld ever ht: able tCI contrrll them. Similarly,sornc music c()tnpositions decrned nearly impossible to play in the ltlthcentur.t, lravt heconre part of't"lre standard repertoire todtry. Exceptionallevels ol'perfbt.ntatnce are origirrally attained only hy u singlc entinent" per-

ftlrmer. I{owevel", after some titrte other indivitluals are able to ligtrre out

trilining trtethods so they calt iutain that. $amc level of'perforffrance. Even'tually, this trainirrg become$ parl" o[ regj.rlar instntctiutr arrd all elite pnr-

tirrmers ill the dornnin are expecterl to attain the new higher stanctrarcl. Incornpetitive ckrtnnilr$, stlctr at baseball, it is sontetimes diflicult to clernon-

str'&te the increasetl level of"today's performers hecau*e buth the level o{"

thc pitclrer nnd the hatter has irnprovcd concurrently (fiould, lg0S)'tI t}re lrest indivirluals itr a discipline already diflbr frorn nther irrdividu'

Irls at the start ol.t.raining with ma$ter teaclrers ancl coacltes, how (.an we

explairr these r{illbrences irr perfi)rmance prinr to this advanced level? Can

rve also explain irrclividual eliflerence$ in the rate of impr{}vement ilmorlgindividtr*ls itr the rifrIlrr rainittg environment?'Ib determine which activi'ties could irnprttve irrdividuals' ;lerfarmflnce developrntnt prior to ad-

vnnccd trainirrg, otre slrould flrst, consider activities with cottditionu trerreti-

cial tu lcarning and cffcctive perlbt'mance improvement. A century tll'laboratory re$cilrch has revealed that learnillg is most eflbctive when it irr-cludrs lircuscd goals, such as irnproving a speci{ic aspect of perlirrffiance ;

fuedbat:k t"hat conrpare$ tlte actual to ttre tlesired perfbrntance; and ,op-

portunities fbr repetition, so the desired level ol' pet'filrmance car] he

ae ltievetl.Rased on interviews with exprrt violinists at ttre tnusic acadtury in

Berlirr, my colleagues and I (t rics$on, Krampe, & 'f'esch-Rcimer, I (}{)3)

iclentilied activitie* for whictr wt cottld trace ttrs duratiorl of the nrusic stu-

dents' elrga1gernent durirrg the period prior to tlreir entry in the musit:

acarlerny. Wc werr partirxlarly interested in those activities ttrat had lreert

specilically designetl to improve perftrr'iltarlce, which we callerl d*tiberat*

28 I.-RI(:,SSON

pru,ctice. A Jlrinre exarnple of deliberate practice is thc urusic sttrdents' soli-tary practice in which they work to master specific goals cleterminccl trytheir music teacher at weekly lessons. We tvere able [o cornpare tlre tirnt:use amonpf several groups of rnusicians diflbring in their levt:l of'nrusicper[brmance, based on daily diaries and retrospective estinriltes. Ilvcnanrong these expert groups we were able to lincl that tlrc rrx)st ac(:orn-plished rnusicians had spent rnore tinre in irctivities classified as deliber"arepractice during their development (see Fig. 2.3) and tlrat thesc dillbrenceswere reliably observable before their adrnittance to thc acadcnry at arounrlage 18. Ily the age of 20, the best musicians lracl spent over I0,0()0 lrourspracticirg, which is 2,500 and 5,000 hours rnore thun [wo less ilccorn-plistred groups of expert nrusicians, respectively, and t],000 lrotrrs nl()rettran amateur pianists o{' the sarne age (Krampe & Er"icsson, l9{)6).

Several stuclies and reviews have fllund a colrsistent relation betwcr:nperfrlrmance level and the quality ancl amount of de.lil:erate practir:e inchess (Charness, Krampe, & Mr,y., 1996), sports (Ilelsr:n, Starkes, &

2. I.,X(IIiL.I.I.,N(:I.:'I'}{R()T]CH D[,I,IBF:RAT}. PIUTC'I'ICE, 29

I-[oclggcs, l{}98; Horlges & Starkes, I $96; Starkes, Deakin, Nlard, Horlges,& Hayes, 1996), and music (Ifu'ampe & [ricsson, lgg6; [.ehmarnn &L,ricsson, 1996; Sloboda, 1996). 'fhe concelrt clf cleliberate pract"ice alsopr<lviclcs accotrnts lirr nrarry earlier findings in other domain.s, strch as

uredicine, sof'rware design, briclge, snooker, typing, and exceptional nlem-or'y pcr'lilrnlance ([ricsson & [.ehmaofl, 1996), as well as frrr the resultsfrorn thc rare longituclin:rl sturlies of elite perfrrmers (Schneider", 1993).

\Vhcn nrosr Jreople irnagine a chilcl practicing the piano, rhey rend tothink ol' sontc()ne rnindlessly repeatirg the same short piece, while tlres()untl rcnr:rins unnrusical, aversive, and withotrt any noticeable improve-nrerrt. Nolrody in ttreir right mind woulcl argue that poor or me(liocre pi-an() sttrdcrrts r:otrlcl beconre outstanding nrusicians rnerely by spendirrgrn()l'e tinre on tlris type of rner:lurnical practice. Mindless repetition is theclirect. opposite ol'cleliberate practice, when individuals concentrate onar:tivcly trying to go beyond their current abilities. Consistent with theIncntal clernancls of'problem solving and other types o[ learning, deliber-ate pra<tice is done in lirnitecl periods ol'intense concentration. Diaries o[ttre expcrt rnusicialrs revealed tlrat they only engaged in practice witlrr:utrest {or arotrnrl :rn }rour and they preferred to practice early in the nrorn-ing when their rninds were fresh (Flricssor, Krampe, & Tesch-Rrinrer,1993). [.ven lnor(: interesting, the best expert musicians were ftlund toJlractice, on the average, the same amount every d"y, including week-enrJs, ancl t.he anrount of practice never consistently exceeded 4 to 5hours pcr day. 'l'he experts told us durirrg interviews that it was primarilytht:ir abilit.y to sust:rin the concent.ration necessary for deliberate practicettr:rt linrited their hotrrs o['practice. And ttreir diaries reveal that t]re morethe exllerts practiced, the ntore time they spent restirrg and sleeping; theinr:r'eirsecl sleep was primarily in the form of afternoon naps. Our review ofotlrcr rosearch (liricsson, Kranrpe, & Tesch-Romer, 1993i showed [hat thelinrit ol'4 to 5 hours o[claily cleliberate pracrice or similarly demanding ac-tivities held trtre flor awicle range of elite performers in different domains,suclr as writinti by fanrous atrttrors (Cowl.y, lg59; Plimptor, lg77), as didttreir irrcreased tendency to take recuperative naps. Furthermore, uillessthe tlaily levcls o['practice were restricterl, such that subsequent rdst anrlrriglrttirne slecp alklwed the inclividual to resrore their equilihrium, incli-viclrrals worrld etrcounter overtraining iniuries, and eventu ally, incapacitat-ing "l)ut'rrr)ut."

Do the lrcst perfbrmers in a clomain als<l need deliberate practice toperli:r:t tlre ir skills, or art: they fiunclamentally difftrent? Fortunatcty, manyol'thc lhnrous nrusicians and acclaimed rnusic teachers have been intcr-vien,ed atlout the structure of" the ir practice. f'heir answers are remarkablyconsistent ;lnd are eloquently summarized by one of'the best-known violintcachers ancl virtuosi, Ilmil Sauer (1913):

Eg*6..). l.{EIgE15 .H

*Ed i..aHP.

rF{*.a

rfr

11000

r0000

9000

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

046 810L2L4L6

Age of the Musicians (Years)18 20

FIC;. 2.3. Estimatetl anrount of time ltrr sr:litary practice as a lilnctiorr ol-age for the rniddle-aged pn{essional violinists (triangles), t}re Dc.rl exllerr vio-lirrists (squares), the good expert violinists (enrpty circles), tlre lea.st u(il)nt-plished expert violinists (filled circles) ancl amaleur pianists (diarnorrrts).From "'lhe Role of Delibeftrte Practice in the Accluisition of llx1lert I'el{brur-ance," by K.A. Ericsson, R. Th. Krampe, anrl C.'Iesclr-R(inrer, It]93, I'sy-clmlogical Reuim4 100(5[ p.379 and p.384. Copyright t993 bv Anrerit"arrPsychological Association. Adaptecl witlr permission.

Violinists

-€-------o--------<}-Pianists

ProfessionalsBest ExpertsGood ExpertsLeast Accornplished Experts

Amateurs

I

I

i

I

30 I,,l{l(:q5( }N

()ne lrr-rur ol'r'onr:rntrated practit'e with the rnind [i'eslr irrrtl tlru llotly rt.srt.rlis [rcttcr tharr lklur lrours ol'rlissil)ated practire rvirtr tlre rnintl st;llt: ;rrrrl tlrr..

botly tired. .. . I find in rny ()wn tlaily practi(e rhat it is bcsr tirr rrrt.ro llr;r(.tice [wu trours in ttre rrrornirrg arrd therr twcl lrour.s latcr- irr t]rc rlur,. \'\'lrt.rr I

anr lirrislretl lvitlr two lrours o['lrartl study I anr cxtraustcrl f i"nrrr t.lt)5(, (.()n( (.tl-trutiorr. I lrave also nuted that any tinre ()ver this pcriorl is lrasterl. (lr. ?il,tt

It is clear" that tlre neecl fbr spcci{ic types ol'pr';x:ticr, sllclr ;rs cturh:s urrtls(llcs, tlirrritrishes lirr nrusiciar]s who ]urve ah'early attairrctl rt,r'lrrrit'irl nr:r:irery, btrt nol Llrc neer.l Ibr rleliberatc practice irr rrurster"in.g nc1\'1licr:cs: "\\'illrthc lirrritecl tirnc I travc to practice nowadays] I apply rnysell'irruuc(liutt,l\,ruworks tlrat I arrr prepal"irrg," writes Katinrs (lS7?, 1r. ?3[l) arrrl lru argu(:s tlrirlrnasterirrtrl pieces lbr ulx:onring concer"ts presenfs the sllet:ilir. r-hallt'ngcsthert gr"ride cleliherate l)rat:tice. Many elite nrusiciiuls are ahlc ro t:ng;rgr: irrnrerlt;rl practice: "I have a fhvorite silent study that I rlo ull of'tlrc tirnt:, I rloit trcfb,'* t sturt practicing. I clo it on the trairi durinH rrly rt'ilvr.l, urrrl hclirr.cI crrnre otrt on the plattbrnr. I tlo it cnlls[atrtly" (ltrirnr(]se, lt]T?, []. :.1 fl)With such il 11encralized definitiorr ol practire, evrrr the firrrrr)us \,iolirris{.[.'r'itz Kreisler (lll72, p. 1]8), who clainrerl tr: havc never "l)r'a{tir:etl," rvuulrlhave cngaged in Jlractice: "[Iow sad it is tlurt in thcse rlays tlrc crnplursis is

on trow many lrotrrs one l)ractices. Wtren ttre ilgrr (:on(cr'to rt,irs rlcrlitirtt:tlto ntc I ncver put it finger on t]re fingertroarcl.'l-hen I sarv lr l)lssirgc I

thought I could irnprnve, arrd spent six lxlur"s un it."-['he ne(essity nf'c(]nct:ntr"ation ft:r succe$s{irl prilcticc i:i r-r(.ogrrizt.rl t,}

all acttrlt per"f?rnrrcrs ancl s()rne ot'thern can cven recall rvherr thcv g;rirrt:tlthat irrsight: "lior the first I'ive years of nrusical rxpr:r"i(:r]ce, I sinrlrlr,plnvetlthe lliano. I playctl cvrl"Itlring, soltiltas, (:oncer'tos-e vetr.t lring; l;rr.gcworks wcre ahsur"l:erl fi'orn orlt: lesson to the ncxt. Wherr I rvus itllutrt trvt:lr.r,I hegan to awake to the nccessity [i:r'scrior;s sturly; t.hcn I rrlrllt,lrt:Hiur tnpractice in earnest" (Sctrnitzer, l9lli, I, .217), Irr firct, n];ury ol t[lc irrrlivicl-uul cliflbrun(:e$ arnong )'uunH rrrltsic strrderrts pra('ticing llre sirnl(: lrnr(]unto[ rirrre r]lay be attrit:utlrtrle to cJitl'erelrces irr tlrc r;trality ol-tlrt.ir. pr-;rr tiu,."l'hc {;.rrnorrs violirr teaclrer Ivan Galamian (l$7?) arguerl:

Il'tve analyre tlre clcvclullnrcnt ol'tlre well*knou'n urrist.s, w(: qc(, rlr;rt irr ;rl-tnost rvery cilsr tlre sUccc.\s r.l['t]rcir errtirc cal'cct'was tlellelt(lerrt llltorr tlrt,rprality u{'tlreir llrat tir:irrg. In practically rach cusc, t}re pr"acticitrH \\,ils (on-starrtly su1rcruised eitlrcr by thc teacher ot'ail assistarrt t() tl)(. t(.*tt lrer.,'l'lrt.lessr:rr is rrot all. ()hildren do not knorv lrow to n,ork alurre.'l"lrr: tr;rt llr:1. lnrr\t(:olrrit;rntly tcach the child lrcw to pra(:tir:e. (p. :f 5 l)

Recent an;rlyses ol'Iaurous chilel procligies in nrusic shrlrvt:tl that rrll ol'them had been closely superuiscd fi'onr a ynung age by skillrrl rntrsici*rrs([.e]rmann, I1lg7; l..ehntilnn & [,r'icsst:n, 1${}8). "l'he sul)(.r"\,isintrq ;rrhrlr

:1. t':XC[t"l,l']Nilf 'l'lll{.(}t"l(;}'l t)F.I"ll}I:lR.{l'}'; fl{Ac'fl(lli, 3t

c()rrld then grtidc tlre yurrrlg child's tttentiorr by appropriate activitier* andalso lrelp t:lirninatt: tnist;rkes and prxlr techniqtre. H,qually imllortant, theadult c*ultl nr*nit,or the r:lrild's attention and rrever push the chiltl beyorrdrtreil'ability to susruin (oncentration. Thtrs, tlrr: tririning wuuld lx re-strlcted to relativr:ly l:rief periods tt the star"t of systematic training. More

S*nrrally, Iitarkes ct al. (ltlsfi) showed ttrat the drrratiutr o[ daily traininggiven {irture exl}ert perftn'firct'$ wal;'very siurilar acr(}ss sevt:l'al tfulmaitts,such as nlusic trrd sports. I)urittl{ tlre lirst year, tlre daily level of practicewar; arourxl l5 to ll$ nrinut"es, on aver'ilSe, with steady irtcreases lilr eacltadtlitionul year, r"*ncleirrg 4 ta 5 lrr:ut's after arouncl a decade. Starkes r:t al.lixrntl an irrtriguinpl sinrilarity berween increases in the arnount o{'pract.icelilr spt)rt$ whert tlre athletes startcd practice around age [2, and n]u$ic,wh*n st;rrt ol.prnclit'e is closer to fi to ? years nf'age. If this pattern of're-sults is firuntl consistently acrori$ all clomains, it woutrd $ugsest that tlrclevel uf irrcrea$ml tr;rining ilray reqtrire a slow physiokrgical adaptation tothc clernurrcls o['srrstained practire, wlriclr nray he relatively insertsitivc trr

t:tu"ortological nge.It has beetr showr"l t"hat the attaintnent of expert perftrrnilnce requires

i{n rxterrded lxrind of'trigtr level rteliberate trrractice, whet'e the durntionrrf"practice is tinritcd by the atrility to su$tain con(entration, ft rapacity thatal]tr)ears t(] innrase a$ n furrctiorr ofyears of'practice in the domairt. (lonse-(lucntly, a certain anr$rrnt of deliberate practice nrffy be necessary to reaclrtlre highest perfrlrrnance levels, attd individual diffrrences, rven anrong(:xl)el'tri, rnay rellt:ct rlillbrenctrs in tlre amount and quality ol' practice.I lowever", rnost prople would ar15tte t"ltat there are distinct limits to the in-ilucnce of'pr"at:tice, und that inlrorn capacities antl innate mlentwill play a

ver\r irnporttnt role in deterrrrlning perli)rfitlrnce, e$pecially at the highestlcvels within il cknnnin, It tras evelr lreen pl'oposecl by Sternberl{ (l$(}6}tlutt ilrclivirluals with rnrlr"e irtnutr taletrt woulel lx more successfrrl rluringpractit.e, erntl thus rn()re willing to cngnge in practice*possitrly explainirrgat lc;rst pm't o['tlrt: t'elntiorr hetrveen Elnotltrt of clcliberate practice ancl per-Iilrrnartr:e.

lrr tlrr rertraitrrlcr" uf'this clrapter, I grrnpose lrow various type$ of train-ing activitic$ (an, ()vcr tirnc, t:hangt the boctry acctrrdin$ to well*under*st.trud plrysiologit:al principles, snd that expert perfbrrnance can he viewedas the enrl prcxlurt ol'an ext"erlded s*ries ol' p*yclrological mndificationsantl phy*iologit:al adaptatinns, Mr;st, pr()p()$etl individual dilXbrence$ tre-twcen rlite pertrilrrnrrs tlrat have lleen attrihuted to innate talcrrt ciln morcparslrnuniotrsly lrc explainetl as atlaptations to extended, itrten$e practice.l.-urt.her"ilror"e, I exgrlain h*w expert perfirrrnance is rnediatrd by conrplexrne nlruy rnrelulnisrrrs nnd representat"ions that have trcen acquired as a re-.qult of practice, and huw these trtecltatristrts are r"ritical to cnntinrrerl per-lirrrrrance i tttprovfi rnen t.

32 l',R ICSS( )r{

CHANGE THROUGH DELIBERATE PRACI'ICE:SEARCHING FOR THE CAUSAL BIOLOGICALAND COGNITIVE MEC}IANISMS UNDERLYINGTHE ACQUISITION OF EXPERT PERFORMANCE

Mclst people find it inconceivable that the dramatic difl'err:nces llctwt:errexpert ancl novice perfbrmance can be explained hy a series of inr.r"r:nren-tal irnproverlents startingat the novice level.'[-hey br:lievc that rnost ol'tlrt:bene{its of learning are attained rapidly wit}rin weeks or rnorrrhs as is rlrt:case fbr most everyday skills and leisure activities.'['hcy,rrc surlrriscrl tohear th:rt it takes years, even clecacles, of'gradual irnproverrlents firr. r:verrthe rnosf "talented" to reac]r the highest levels of' perlbr-rniulcc.

Why is it that everyday perfornrance rapidly reaches a stablc lt vel,whereas expert per'flormance continues to irnprulve? '['he l.eltsoll iU)lx,arsto be primarily nlotivational. Iior example, why tlon't tlrost of'trs reaclr irphysical litness level that we would like? In this case ther"c is arnple scien-tilic evidence that increasing the duration and intensity ol'our. daily exrr.-cise would eventually get us close. T o keeJr doing what lve nonrrally do iseasy, but changing orrr titness level requires altering oul' habits. (lhnnge isellortfirl until a new halritual stat.e tras been attained. '['he grrinrary clral-lenge appears not to be nraintaining ttre desired level of'activity once it hasbeerr reached, but theprocess oJ'chg,nging f'rotn one stcady statc to alrothcr.I"Iowever', to sustain improvenlents over extended periods, tlre asl)ir.ingexpert performer nrust constantly keep working tclwarcl tlre next higherlevcl oI' perfcrrmance.

When consiclering physical fitness it is well known t]rar nrcrell' wanringto be fit is sirnply not enough to attain fitness. Sirnilarly, tlayrlrcitmirrgabclut trow good it would f'eel to be fit does not clo it either. l)esire ro :rrrairrsonle level of rnastery in a donrain of expertise is rlot l:y itscll'crrotrgh roreach ttre clesired level. Until we can speci{y the r:atrsal rnt:t'tr;rrrisrns tlr:rtlink deliber:rte practice directly to ttre otrservcd inrprovcrnr:nrs ol' pcr"-Iorrnance, an account trased on delitlerate practi(:e is rrot clualirativclv rlif-lbrent fi'onr onr bascd on prayer or rnere intensity <ll' rlcsirt . (lollse-qrrently, we need to strow that deliberate pritctice influetrccs per'ftrrnrllrrccin a nrarrner consistent with scientifically well-establishecl rrrechanisrrnot throtrgtr divine interuention or nrere wish f'ultillrnent..

A relatetl obstacle is the c()rnrnon sense conception ol'thc linritctl rn:rl-leability o[' tlre body and rnind as a firnction o{'exren(led ar:riviry. IMostadults have very linrited recent experience of changirrg rtreir"lroclicsthroutrgh regtrlar physical exercise or acquiring high lcvcls of'rrrasrery in lr

new dornain. J'heir experience is generally consistent rvith tlre vierv thrrrgradual irnprovement"s are possible, but a relatively statrlc lirnit is soonrcached that is deternrined by stable characteristics, presurnably derer-

2" T:XCT:I,LF]NCF] ]'[{ROU(;H DET.II}ERAI-F: PRA(:'TICE 33

nrined l:y rrnrno(lifiable genetic factors. Ilecause most individuals neverachieve very high levels of perfbrmance in a domain, they are unac-

quainted witlr lrigtrly refined, intense cleliberate practice and the conrplexmechanisrns nrediating expert perforrnance.

Discussions abottt cxpert perfclrmilnce and other types of' superiorachieventent have revolved arouncl dichotoil*lies, such as whether this level

of'perlbrrnance can be attritltrted to acqtrirecl strategies or tlasic abilities,hardwerre or sofiware, environrnent or geltetics. A mot'e prolnising pathtowarrl better undet'standing ol' expert perfklrmance involves tlevelop-ment o['explicit rnodels illustrating the mechanisms that mediate expertperlbrmancc, ltrrw training chatrges tltese mechanisnts, and how these

changcs alter tlre body and the nervous systenr.I listorically, various rnetaphors atrd rnodels have been proposed to rle-

scribe the structut'e ol' conrplex per{ormance. 'fhe first proposals de-

scrillerl cornplex activity as tlte result of"an intricate mechartical clock or as

a hydraulic system consisting o[troses tilled with liquids under pressure. Arnaior lrreakthrough came when electronic computers ntade it pclssible toeflicientlv progptrnr strategies using a srnall set of basic operations. I{<lw-

ever, all machine metapltors nrislead us about the limits of'lrttman modi-Iiability. Alter all, cornputer hardware remains fixed until charrged by a hu-

rnan operator. Biological systems and animals calr change in ways thatnrachines canlrot, and these biological comParisons have important irnpli-r:ations fbr htunan performance. I.et nre give you one striking exanrple.

As many of'yoll protratrly know [i'om introductory courses in biology, i['a newt (a type o[ salarnatrder) loses a leg, the leg regenerates. H'nrztmrnalslose a leg it will not grow back, but some manrmalian organs do regener-ate. For instance, if a surgeon l'emoves over half of the liver, the remaini^gtissue will grow llack to70% of its original size . I{'a kidney is removed dur-ing an organ clonation, then the remaining kidney will grow as rnuch as

lt}Vo in the following week. Most ol"the internal organs can regenel'ate lost

parts, and, most inrportantly, Ilrany ol'their characteristics, including size,

are adaptively deterrnincd by demand. Unlike other mechanical and elec-

tric rnachines ttrat wcar out with use, the human body's efliciency increases

as a fLrrction of' the amount of similar activity.Scveral types of processe$ lead to physiological changes, and therehy to

ctranges in perlbrmance. 'l'lte processes that have been most studied inpsychology c()rrespontl t"o associative leartting, and the acquisition ol'

knowledg", proccdures, and skills-in essence, thc traditional delinitionol' learning in psycholu5?. 'fhese processes result in specific neuralchanges in the cent.ral nerv<lus system. I return to this type of' learninglater in the chapter. A seconcl nrajor type of process resulting in physiolog-ical change that has heen studied extensively in exercise ptrysiology in-volves adaptations at the level of'intlividual cells. Given that, unlike hu-

34 l" lil { 55( ) !'i

nliln I:eings, tltese cclls cllnrtttl be toltl wlurt to cltt, t:ltitrrges in tltellr (,("('ttt

,us reactiotr tcl pr"ocesses lhat influence thcir';lhysicltl;trttl c]tt'rttit';rl t:rtvi-l'rlnnten[,

Irr thc firllulving nver-view, I locus on the changes itt singlt'r'clls ltttrl irrttm central nettotts systqrn, ttut I tecugnize tlre trcccl tu t"()lniidet'tltltt't"fypes ot'lcat'nirrg and adaptatiott thal I l:arely toucll (]I], itte lttrlirrg k::lt'tringproces$es tlrat increase sttbiects' control ()vcr their etrttttiotutl stittc. lttrtltlreir rnetacognitivc itrsights into thc lorrg-teutl clevcloptnent ul skill. I firstdiscrrss thc pt'ocesses cf at{alltat"ion of'irrdivitltral cclls rtrttl lltt'n l'(:tut"n topr'()cesses in the centl'al nerrolts systettr ittvolved itt tltt'at'tluisitiutr ul skill.

Ileliberate Modification of Bodily Systernsand Individual Cells

liveryrlnr krtows tlt;rt it is possilrle to intl:nrvc Inany kirrds uf';lcr'[i)t nliur('('lry trnining artd exercise. Virtually all adults lurve ittcreasctl Llrt'it"1rr"r'li]r'rrt-

arlce in solne activity sttt:h a.t runnittg ()t' doing push-ups. 'l u inrlu'{)\'(',inclivirluals typically errgage in the activity, hut this is ttot cn(,ttglr. ltt urltli-tion, it is e$$rntial to pustrr tlrt linrits of cun'ent ca;lut'ity, ilpl:l),ing tltt'(I\'(:r'-load principle, to Set into ttre aversive z,()lte o{'"No stt'uin, t}u 14uitt." ltc-search on aerntric fltness has tbund that y()utlg healthy irchrlts ltitvt' ttrrrraintain a heart rate atrove 7t)Vt: ol'tlre maxinral hcart t'atc (ovet' I,ltl toI5t) Iirr rrrost adults) firr a$ extended titne olt a I"eHular lrasis (itroutttl tltt'tt:tinres aweek) in orcler ttr attairt rneasurable ilrrpr'ovetllenl itr littress. Ily in-ducirrg this strain or"over"loatl {irr an extendr:d tinre, a clt;ritr l'ca(tiutr ol'nret-abolic processes an(l clremir.:al changes is initiat*d to (:()tittlct'at:t rk"r,irr*

tions li'orrr equilibriurn, triggering atlclitiottal cotttrol J:t'ot:csse$ atrtl tlrcir-chcrnical lly-products. Wlren sufficien[ stt'ain is at"taittrcl, t:ltr:rtticutr t:ltiurl{*iactivate tlre proces$t:$ re$l)onsible lor regetterittiun attcl grorvtlr ol'tlrr nl-Ibt:tecl t,issrte " Ol' course, the level of intensity slxltdtl rtot llt' sr) gt't'nt tucr.ru$e pcnnitnent clatnage to tissue. ln fttct, thc itrt.ertsily, rhrnrtiorr, lurrlh'equen(T o{"practice hirs tu hc set a[ lr level sttch that tlre l"rurly iu tr1ivuuerrotrgh opportunity to recuperate bctween practice scssiorrs, ntllt-"rrvist:tlrere is eventunl risk fi:r ove!'*tr$e injuries ()t" evelt lrurn-r]ut (l'.r"il']is()r],

Krarnpe, & 'f"esch-Ronrer, t9(}:i). Firrcling the apllrofn'inlr-' [:nl;lr]('t-' lrr-tweerl strnirt and rest. is one of the rnajor challertses fbr inrtivithutls lnrr'!tr-ing tlreir limits o{' perfbrnrar}cr.

Must inrprovernents iu litrress occur falltxving activity, r,*"lrt:rr thc lr*rlvh;rs a charrce to recuperare.'f'hrough a clclicate pr'oc('ss ot'lr[tern;rtingstrain arrd reseneratiur/growttt, tlte botly slowly arlapts to tlrc duru;rrrrls o['ttre incre;lsed repllar physical activity. As expectrd, largt'*sr":alr strrrlit's(Bouchard, $hrphard, & Stephens, 1994) have {uutrd a clnst: r't:[ntiorr lr-tween the arnoilnt ancl intensity of lrahitual physical activity Iix'ilrrlivitlrrul'iand their physical titrress; irs illustrated in Fig. ?.4.

ll. l.X(llll.l,t:N(i['l'HROtJ(;H I.]ELI$!.K{ l'E I}RAC'l'l(:}] s5

Fitne$s: Adaptation to ActivityHXCHPTIONAL

ABOVEAVERAGN

BELOW

Inactive(hospitalized, weight- less)

Nonnal rimge Elite athletes

ft$. t.4. A sclrenratic illustration u[ ttrr relatitxr trenreen the trevel ol'ha-bltual nctivity and mrrrenr {itncss level.

lVtmn tlre lcvel of habituatr physical activity chanse$, the trtxly a apts totlre rrslv situation. Tor exarnple, the litness of well-trained inclividuals is

r;rpidly reduced wlren ttrey cftnlr$t engilSe in tltnlancling ptrysical activitydue to various contliticn$, such as weighttress astrollauts in space or injuredathletes conlinerl to hed rest. F itrress level also inrreases wirlr tlre durationarrtl intenslty r:f daill trilining. [t is important to note that the duratiein *f'wcckly trainillg uet:e$$ar? t(! improve {Itness is olten several tirnes greaterthan the durarion I'equired to ttrerely maintain an existing level, as is illus-trated try ttre arrows in Fig. 8.4.

Wlren intenre rlaily trainins is sustained fbr rnonths or years, tlre oh-serlatrle results are ofltett dramatic.. J'here is tlocuurented evielence ol'practice-related anat"nmical charrges in elite atlrletes (see Ericsson, 199{i;F.rit:sson & Lehnrann, lgg6; Robergs & Roberts, I997, Iirr reviews), Forexanrple, alier years o[ inten$e practice, aclaptive pro(e$se$ can incteasetlre size and enduriurce of athletes' hcarts so more oxygen*rich hlorxl is

prrrnlled through the muscles. liven lmnes lrave been shur,vn to chatrge inrespunse to trairritrg. -['he

atrm with which an elite tennis player trolds thera(quet not orrly has bigger rnuscles, but, tlricker, wider bone$. It has lxenrecilsniued fbr ]rcars th*t tlre rn*t:ltanical vlbration of ttre trcneu cltle to in-

U)(nufi{-)

rF{

u,{rxt$(J

rfiv7hd

rl-a

0<(}br)clil-{()

36 },I{I(:SS0N

tetrse activit.y stirnulates bone growttr in tlre dircction ortlrogonul to tlrt:plane of' the vitrrations.

One interesting hypothesis for coutrnlling tltese aclaptivc l)r'(x'csscssuggests that when cell walls are deftrnned due to thc rrrechilricul vilrra-tion, rnolecules are torn ofll which, in turn, stilntrlatc the g'r'rxvth to t'otrrr-teract the efl'e'cts on cell walls fi'onr future mechanical vilrnttions. 'l'his

tttechanism call also explain why only the thickness arxl widtlr of'lronr:s ilrcaflbr:tccl r-attrer than their lcngth.'fhe inability of increasirrg tlre lcn.gth ol'bones through physical activiry nleans thilt height cannot lrc incrclrserl ]ry'

practice. f{eight t}rus appears to lre one ol'a very snrall nuntllcr ol'inrratt:lydeterrnined factors ttrat have treett cleirrly shcrwn to influerrtr: solll(:11,'1lt:so[-spor"ts per-fbrnrance, such as traskettrall (favorably) ilnrl Synrnastit's (rrn*Ihvor:rbly), that cannot be modi{ied lry plrysical training.

-fhe nros[ cornpelling eviclence for physiological adllptation is pnrvitlcrIlry krngittrdinal studies showing that critical perfi)rrnance clr:.rrar'[t'r'isr ics

clrange fhvorably as a lirnction of training, therl revert back to the rrornr;rlrange when training is discontinued. [,lite swimtners wtro stolrpetl tnrininsirr early adulthood were strown to lack any benefits o{'pr"ior trainirrg ('our-

llared to an age-rnatched control grotrp whcn they trierl [o rear:r;trirt'tlrcir'litness years later. T'he primary trenefit o{'training filr long-terrrr litn('sstnaitrtt:nance is that it requires nruch less eflbrt to mainLain ah'car11,ir(-quired adaptation ttran it took to acqtrire it originally. Rec'cnt rcst'art.lrshows that rnany tvpes of'adaptations can be rnaint:rinecl witlr shorter'f)r:r'i-ods ol- intermittent pract.ice as long as the intcnsity o['trzrirrirrg activity is

preserved. Ilertraps the sustaincd intense eflklrt leads to prodrrrtiorr ol'metabolic waste products, such as lactic acid, that stinrulatc t:l)crnical I)r'()c-esses preserving the new statc of equilitlriunr.

'fhere at'e good reasorrs to believe that Inany ol'ttre Inccltirnisrns r"r'!{u-

lating aclaptation tcl trainirg are also involvecl in nonnal phvsiologit'ul tlt'-velopment of children and aclolescents (see lt.ricsson & Lclunalrrn, Il)tx),Itrr a brief review). I-Ience, training during certirirr periocls of'rlt'velol)rn(:rrtappear to yield especially large arlaptive resl)olrses. ]rlr exllnrplc, r't'c(:ntrcseat'ch lras shown lhat average childretr llenveen S lrtrrJ fi years ol':rgc ('irn

acqtrire perfect pitch, the ability to nanre inclividual tones rvlrcn pr(:s(:rrtrrlin isolation, given appropriate training. Diflbrences itr bl'airr stnrcturc lnilvbe observed in inclividuals with perfbct pitch cornl]arcd to t hirt ot' othcrrnusicians (Schlaug, Jiincke, Huang, & Steirrrnetz, 1995). 'l'hesc tlitlbr'-ences cillr lrc exJrlained by early childtrood rrctivities that lciul to rlilfbrcrrlpattertls o[' neurological development. Ntrnrerous anirnal strrrlics slrorvtltlt training influences neurological developtnetrt tltrougtr tht: tr;r'orvtlr r-rl'

blood supply, the densit.y of'synapses, and even by restrir:ting (lcvcloll-nrent of certain structr-lres. Iior musicians who plav stringerl instnrrnentri,the size and elaboration of cortical rnapping lbr the Iingers, esl)c('irrlly tlrt:

:1. Exc[,t.L[,:N(]li't't IR()U(;t I DIil.It]t:tLA't'E pIIAcl"rcE 31

little finger on the left hand, is correlated with ttre onset o{'rnusic training(Iilbert, [)antev, lVienlrruch, Rockstroh, & 'l'aub, 1995). Ottrer perform-ance-r'elated physiological charircteristics, such as the metabolic charircter-istics r>f nrtrsclc libers, and the rarlge of'nrotion fbr classical ballet clancers,rnay be relativelv easily irrlhrenced dtrring development, llut are muchh:rrder to influerrce through training in adolescence ancl adulthood.

'l-[rese celltrlar an<l physiological characteristics will only result in per-forntance change if' they are integrated with skilled actions and illove-nrents. 'Ihe next section discusses tlre acquisition of skillecl ancl expertllerlirrrnern('e-

Everyday Skills and Expert Performance:The Acquisition of Integrated Appropriate Actions

Iiveryclay skills and expert perfornlance require that individuals eflicientlygt: nerate approllrinte actions when needed. A compretrensive theory needsto describe both the sirnilarities and diflbrences in the acquisition o[every-day skills and cxpert perfbrrlance. Ilow individuals are able to acquire ev-cryday life skills, such as typing, playinpl tennis, or driving a car, is exten-sively researchecl ancl well understood. [t is therefbre easiest to brieflyrcview theories of'everyday skill acrpisition, then describe how the acqtrisi-tion of' expert perfbrrnance cliffers.

'f'h€: traditional ther:ries of skill acquisition (Anderson, l9tl2, l9t]7; I.'itts& Posner', 1967) propose thatduring ttre initial "cognitive" ptrase (see Fig.2.5) inclivicluals learn the underlying structure of the activity and what as-

llects they rnust attend to. In the early stages o['learning the activity, theyget. t:lear f-cerlbar k about ttreir rnisunderstandings as they make rnistakes.Grarlually thev heconre able to avoicl gross errors, and eventually, duringtlre secontl "associ?rtive" phase, lhcy citn atftrin an acceptable level of per-firrnrance. Drrring tlle thircl and final "autorfontous" phase, their goal istypicallv [o achieve eflbrtless perfiornrance as rapidly as possible. Aftersorne linrited llericld of training and experience, frequerrt"ly less than 50Irour.s lbr nxrst rccreational activities, such as skiing, tennis and driving a

car, an acceptable standard of' perfbrnrance can be generated withoutrnuch need frrr eflilrtfhl attention. At ttris point, execution clf the everydayactivity has attained nrany characteristlcs of automated perforrlance (An-derst;n, 1982, 1987; liitts & Posner, 196?; Shi{trin & Schneider, 1977) andrequires only rninirnal eflbrt.

Figure 2.5 illtrstrates the transit"ion fi'orn the first stage, when everydayperfornrAnce initially irnproves as individuals expend eflort to rcach anar:ceptahle level, to aclaptation as their perfirrntance becomes autorna-tized, :rnd the per'torntarr(:e level lixated, as indivirluals lose consci()us con-

t&,

38

ExpertPtrformfince

ArrestedDevelopment

EverydaySkills

Experience

II(;. ?.5. fur illustrittiott ul'tlre rlualitutive tlifli:r'ctrcr lrt.trvcerr t]rr. (^(]urs(,

uf.iurprovrttleut t.rl'cxpcl't. perlirrrrr:lrlce antJ ul'everyrl;ry il(tivitir:s.'llrc gulrlfirt'rvcryday irt'tivitics is to reaclt ns r;rpidly as ylossible a satislirr'lor'1'lcvcltlr;rt is stahle Arrd '';tutolr()tn()tts," Alicr irrtlividrurls l)a$i tlu'or.rglr tlrt,"togrri-tive" arrrl "asst-xiative" lllt;tscs tlrey cnn gctrerilte tlreir' perfirrnriln('r'r'ir trrlrlltarrtouratically rvitlr a ntitritntl antottnt ol'c{lblt (see tlrc gra}irvlrite plltt:r.ru :rt

tlre lx:ttonr ol' the gralltr). In cotttrnst, rixl)t:t't perlirt'rnr,':; (r]nntrriltt;rutonulticity lry tl*vel<lpittg iltct'tasirrgly torttplcx ntt:ntltl rt'prtsrntirtr()ns t{,attairr higher levels o1'r'untrerl ol'tltrir lterlirrntan(:* :trrtl rvill tlrcn'l()rr: r'('-rn;rirr rvittrin tlre cognitivc atttl assor:iativr lltrases. Sorne ('xlx"rts will irt sorrr,:

Julirrt irr tlreir cat'cerg4ive up thcir ('unlllritnrcrrt to ser:kin14 t'xt'rlL'rrtr';rrrrlthlr.r tcrmin;rtr regttlal' engaFferrlent irr tleliber';rtr lrrirt't.it't' tu lirrtlrt:rirupl'ovt: per{i:r-rnr}ilce, rvhit:lt r'*sults irt 1rt'etrurlrrle atrtorrurtitlrr ol'llrr'ir Ix'r-Ior urarrt'tr. Arl:rllted li orrt "'l''tte Scit:rrtifir: Sturly ol'l".x1rcrt [.cvels ul' l]r'r lrrr rrr.ltr(e: (ieneral irrrlrlit'atiotts firr optirrritl lr;rt-rrin1; ilrrd t'rr;rtivit\"'ln'K. \,l.ricssorr, lU{Jl{, ltigh "rllilit! Studi*, 9,p- t}{}. (iupvrip4lrt lt}tft{ lrv l'.ur.r,lx.iur( k urru'il Ior' H iglr Atriliry. ,\daJrtt:rI rtit lr lrer-ttrissiun.

trul over intrntiorrally Ino(lifying alrrtr ctranging it. blvcr-vurrr: ('lrr t'rrsilr"

re('all l'iorn tlreir clrilcltrrx]d atrd utlolcscen('e hr]ru rltauy ]tours ol'r'otc r]rilrr]*orizttiun of tht: alphahet, the tntrltiplicut,ion tables, and lurci,grl \'(x"ulrrrlrrr"r

itenrs ilr"e necessary lur clir.ect t"etrieval fi'on] n]eill(]r]'. (hltc tlris rx't:urs, in-creased cxpcrience wlll ilot he associated wilh inr:t'eased acr:rn"acl'. \\'itlrirrthis sirnpleview cl{'skill;rcquisition, it is inevitahle that tlrt: nr;r}or inrl}r'(}tr'('-

luents are lirnitecl to tltc first phases, but thell perfirrlllan('c r.(:l.clrcs il .\tit*ble aut"ontatic level deterrnirretl b1,{rtctors tlr;rt are lrclin'erl tu l)r orrtsirlethe inttrividuals' control. Irrdivicltratr dillbrellces are tlrus l.lslit'r'r'cl to r t'fit'r'tstable irntnutable dif.Ibrenccs, $uch as innate capacities artrl lr{irrrill s1rt"rrl.

'I'tris lxrptrlar conception of'hrlw evrryday skills are ac(1uir"crl lrirs liltlu irr

cornrnon wittr otrr view ol'the aequisition ol'cxprrt prl{irrnl;ln('fi tlrrurrulr

!. t,x(:1,.t"t,1,:N(:t., 't t I RilU(;ll t)r:l.lltI:uA I'li I,RA(:'t't(:F: 39

ctulil:erate prn{.'l"ic'e. Irr ((}ntr&st to thr rapid automatizatiun of'everydryskills arrrl tlte ernergence o{" u statllc asymptote fbr performance, expert

llcrfirrnlilnce c()iltinues t"o irnpr"()ve as a {urrction of increased experierrceantl rlclil:cnlte pract,ice, ali illustr"ated in t'ig. ?.5. ()rre of'the molit crueialr:lrallurgus lirr aspirirrg expert perlorrners is to avoid the arrest"ecl develop-rnent usstxialert n'ith Heneralized autoilraticity o{'perlbrurance and to ac*

rltrir.e cugnitil,c skills to $upport (ontinued learning and improvrrnent, [x-pert pt:r'ftrrnrers c(]unteritct the al'rested development associated withautnnr:rtirity try deliberiltely ar:quiring and re{ining cognitive rnechanisrnsto strll;lort cont.inurrl learrrilrg ancl irnproveilrerlt. '"lhese lnechanisrns in-('renlit: cxpcrts' ({}ntrol nnrl ability to rnonitor performan(e" The experthas [u cuntintre to dcsign trailring situatit]ns where the goal is to attairr a

level l:t'yntrcl t.heir crrn'ent perfirrnrarrce in order to keep improving.'l'llerc trt: lnarryi rrrcthods for rliscnvering new and higher levels of per-{irrnlarrce (liricssorr, l(}${i). One comrnon method involves t:omparingone's pcrfbr.nlarrce to that n{'nrore proticient individuals irr their domainol'exprrtise . ()rre can therr identifv differences flnd t]ren attempt to reducethern gratlually thruugh extcrrderl deliberate practice"

Irr tlre next sectiorr tr show that expert perfonnatrce is not flully nuto-rnntccl. I {:irst briefly srrmrnarize errrpirical evidence denronstrating thatcxperts retain cognitive control over detailed aspects of'thelr perforrnitnceat the trighest levels and tlrat experts rely on ac(luired repre$entations tosr"rplxlt't planrring ancl reasoning (Ii,ricsson & Delaney, I tlgg). 'l'lre$e cogni-tive rf prcsentiltions allow the experts to Henerate irrternal irnages of a de-sircd perli:r'nlilrrce withr-rtrt having experienced it befbre arrd to designplans fbr produt:ing a sirnilar' perli)rrnance without having previotrslyckrne so. In a secunel strbsectiorr I then discuss how ftrture cxperts acquirerellresentutionli, arrcl how thesc rcpreseiltatiorrs allow thenl to identity newgoals sn that they (ar) c()rltinue impnrving their per[orm&nce. "fhese rep-l'e$errtltions lirnn thc lirtrndution [tx'continuetl learningwithotrt teachers,anrl ultirnatelv alk:w fbr thevery hest of'thern to make inllovative creativecont.r'ilxrtiuns to their domain of' expertise.

The Cognitiue Medrafton a{ Expert Perfortnance, An evcryday skill liherlriving tlns'$ car to lvork is typically viewed as a mefrns to an end, wtreretlre gr-rals o[' t"he activity cr)ncel'n salbty and urinimir.ation of e{lbrt. "l'hese

goals diflbr crlrnpletely frorn ttrnse fbr expert-performance vcrsion otr'thatartivity, $uch ali pr"otbssionals driving rilce cars. I.ike other experf per-lilrnrcrs, ri]ce cilr drivers have to rnilintain full concentration as tlrey tty topush tlrc linrits of their best perlix'nralrce rhrring trainirrg arrtl cornpetitiorrrvithnut unduly incrcasing the risks lor acciclents.

"l'o reuch thtir highest llossihk level ol' prrfirr:nancer exllert perlorm-('rli nrake aclilrstrnentli apllr-npriate tr) speci{ic opponrnts or pcrfirrmanc*

t,:Iil(.\\( )i\

40 I,.Rt( :5li( )N

situatic)ns. l'or example, experts routinely rnake extensive adir-rstrnerrts toaccornmodate situaticlnal factors, such as weather and nt:w r(lr.ripnrcnt. Aconcert pi:rnist will fianriliarize themselves wittr ttre piano ancl the acousticsn[a concert hall. An expert billiard player will carefirlly exanrine any [)(](:u*liarities o['tlre billiard table befbre competing on it. Expe rt pcrfirnners u[-.

ten sttrdy and prepare fur competition against particular opp()nents, irk:n-tifying their weaknesses to gain conlpetitive advantage. As grart of' the ir'expertise they are able to make fast, fluent adjustments to ctranges irr their()pponents' strategies. None of these adjustments woukl be lrossitrlc i["ex-pert perfbrmance ]vere fully automatecl. Fr-rrtherlnore, exp('r"t llerl'irlrnr:rsare well known fnr having accurate, detailed lnernories ol'tlrcir perli)r'rn-ance long aflter the competitions, which would be irnpossiblc i{'tlrcir I)(]r'-fbrmance drrring t]tose events lrad tleen autrlrnated.

'f'he nrost compelling scientific evidence lbr preserued cognitive controlof expert pet'fortnance comes from laboratory stutlies wherc exllet'ts rc-produce ttreir superior performance with representative tasks ttrat c;rl)turethe essence of expel'tise in their domain (Ericsson & Snrittr, 199 l). In hispioneering work on expertise, de G,root (1946/1978) instructcd gorxl :rrrdworltl-class chess players to ttrink aloud while selecting tlre trest l'no\'(: to lrset of' unfarniliar chess positions. I Ie founcl that the quality o[' sclet-terltnoves was closely associated with the perfbrnrer$'chess skill. Iirrlnr verbalt'eports, he found that the chess players first perceived, therr inter'prctctlthe chess position, and rapidly retrieved potential nlovcs fi'orn illr:rnoty.'['lte rnoves ]vere tltert evaluated by planning where tlre c()nsc(plenr(]s of'each move were explored by gerlerating sequcnces ol'plau.sillle (:orrrrtcr'

illoves using a melrtal representation of'a chess board. l)urirrg t]rc r:(xlr's(:of this evaluation even the wnrld-class playcrs woukl di.sr.ovcr- bcttcrInoves. Consequently, experts' clefining ability to gent:r;rte llctter nr()\,("s

fbr ctress positions than less skilted players (st:e Fig. 2.1) tlepcntls to ;r

large extent on cleliber"ate planning atrd r-easorling, as well lrs on carclirlevaluation, in ortler to rcduce t"tre fi'equency ol'rnistakt's.

Itr sum, Iiricss()Ir ernd l,ehnrann (1996) fbuncl t]rat. expcrts' thirrk-lrlotrrlprotocols revealed ltow superior perlormance was rtrediaterl ll1' tlclil:t'r'atepreparation, planning, reasonirg, ancl cvaluation in a wide rallge ol'rlo-ntains, strch as nledicitte, cornputer prograrnnring, sports, arrtl g;.unc:i."l'lterefilre, the perfbrnlance of' experts callnot be cornplctely irulorrurtctl,but rernains mediated by cornplex contrcl i:rcicesscs.

Recent reviews (t,ricsson, 1996; Ericsson & Kintsch, t9{r5) slrrxv tlurt irr-clividuals who perfbrm at higher levels utilize specific kinrls o{'rnenr(}r'ypl'ocesse$. l'ltey have acquired refined rnental reJrrescntations tt.r lrraint;rirracces$ to relevant infbrrnat.ion and suppot"t nrore extensive, Ilexible rcu*soning about encounteretl tasks or situations. In most domairrs, bettcr' [x:r'-ltrrmer.s are able to rapidly encocle, str)re, and rnanipulate relt:vant irrlirr'-

2. EXCH,I".I.TINCE'I'TIROTJGI I I}IILIT]HIL.\T'E PRAC'I'ICE 4I

mation for re1)t'esentative tasks in memory (Ericsson & Lehmailn, 1996).'I'o illustrate this ability, I describe a couple of examples fi-om two di|brentdonrains. Witlr increaserl skill, chess players are able to do deep plannitrg,to rnentally generate lnnger sequences of ches$ moves and evaluate theirconse{luences (Charness, l98l ). Chess rtasters are even able to hold theirnage of'ttre chess position in mind so accurately that they can play blind-lirlcl chess*play without perceprually available chessboarcls.

Similar eviclerlce frrr mental representations has been shown fbr motor-skill experts, strch as snooker players and rnusicians. In r.ecent studies,Lelrmann and Ericsson ( 1995, 1997) had expert pianists memorize a shorrpiece of rnusic. '[.he pianists were then given an unexpected series nf tasksin which they were asketl to reproduce the piece at the same tempo underchanged corrrlitions, such as playing every other rneasur-e, and play-ing notes with only one hand. Although reliatrle individual difterenceswere observed, accurary was unifionnly very high. Many subjects were evenable to accurately transpose rhe music into a diflbrent k*y at regulartemp() when unexllectedly asked to do so. f)uring accurate transpositionperformance, the pianists pressed different piano keys with new lingercombinations, wtrich demorrstrates mediation of a {lexible memory repre-$entation of tlre rnusic. In sum, the essence o[expert performance is a gen-eralized skill at successfully rneeting the clemands of new situations andrapidly adapting tei changirg conditions.

[.ven expert perfbrrlance in act ivities where superior speed is the crite-rion, such as typing (see Fig. 2.I ), appears to depend primarily on rnediat-ing representations rather than faster basic speed of neurons and rnuscles.'I'tre superior speecl of expert typists is related to how far rhey look aheadin ttre text beyond the word that they are currently typing, as illustrated irrIi"ig. 2.6. With increased acquired skill, expert typists can look lurtherahead in the text so they can prepare future keystreikes in advance, tnov-ing relevant fingers toward their desired locations on the keyboard. Jheinrportance ol'anticipatory processing has been confirmed by analysis of'high-speed {ihns of expert typists and experimental studies where experttypists lrave been restricted fi'om looking ahead. Furthermore, the tirrthersomeone lrrcks ahead in a text when asked to read aloud rapidly, thehigher their atrility to read and the faster ttreir silenr reading speed (Levin& Acldis, l97t)).

Sirnilarly, the rapid reactions of athletes, such as hock*y goalies, tennisplayers, arrd hitters in baseball, have been found to reflect skills acquiredJrrimarily to avoid tinre stress by successfirlly anticipating future evenrs(Abernethy, lggl). This evidence supportfthe hyporhesis rhar expert arh-letes have a learned, rather than a biological, speed advantage over theirless accomplishecl peer$. For example , when skilled tennis player$ are pre-paring to return a serve, they study the rnovements of the opponent lead-

I

It

42

f l(;. ?.fi. An illr-rsrt'lrtirltt ol'lrowtttt: e1'cs o{ cxpet't typists Iixittt'll];tlt'ri,tl irr

tlrr tcxl well irr lrlr'arrce o['tlrr tut'I'cuth tYI]('tl lt'xt itt tlrrlt't'l(] l{ilirt ltrlvitlt-

t:tl{(is b1'advittl(c l}I'rparatiutt' (lopyliglrt lUt}l} bv K. Attrltt"t I'lir*s'itt' ltt'-

llrirrtrrl rvith prt'ttlisxitltt,

irrg Lt[) t(] (onta(:t hetwecll ttrc ball aIXl t]re r;lc(ll"l('[ lrt itltrrtill t[tt: t\ pt' ul

sllirr ;rncl tlrt: gcncrltl dir-ct'tiotl. Clivtltt tlre lrallistic lrilltll'e ol';l \rl'\i(', il is o[-

ten pilssihlt: {irr skilletl lllityers to at:t trt';ttcly arrtit'iplttc tltt: t't}llri('tlrt('f tt't's ol'

llrcse rrt()vt.IIlcnft;. lt is lrnpr:r'tattt ttl ttnte tltltt ttrlvit:e t.clttris ltllt\'(-t's IIl('illle rrtircly tlitl"erent str;ttcSy, all(l tlsulllly init ialt' tlre it' pl'cl):tl':tt i( )l rs to t t:l tll'l l

llre lrall otrcc it is strltrit:it:ntly close ltl see v.'ltet'e it rvill lrnttllt'('- tl tlrt' t"tl('-q

that' irtttttt:rlilrtcly pre('c(le hall c()ntat:t lrad hectltttc Iirlly lttttolllittc(l t, g'rtitlt'

tlrt: hittirrg of'the tr:rll, ;rrrtit'i1)iltcllY perceflttt;tl skills lvottltl Il('\'(-'r ([('\'t.lo;r."l'he arrticillutrlry uso of llrediclive ('tles mttst ltavt: [:eell i"t('(lltirrrl l;tlt-l'ltt lt

ur()t'c aclvanced levcl of ski[1. 'I'he supct"i<)r arltir:ip:rtitltt u{'tlrc Ixtll t t'irict'l( )t'\

hlrs li'eqrte rttly heert rttisirlter[]reterl as evirlcttt'e lilr sttltct'iut lrltsit- I)cl"('(']]*ttr;rl capacity. It is acotntlt()Il lltisconception lltat clite ltlhlrtes hllvt: lll{}l(';l('*curate vision that itllows therrr ttl see the balls hetter, tvltett, itr litt:t, tltt:it-l)('l'-trortnilnce reftrccts a trighly sper:iallzetl perc('l)tttlll skill.(,uttsi:il('rlt lvitlr tlrishypothesis, elite athletes al'e not consistently sttpet'ir)r ()tt st:ttttlitrtl visiutt

tcsts cornpared to lcss acc()tllplishetl perlilrrnel's artcl otltet't:()Ilt t't"rl f4t'tlttlls."J'he inrreirsingly rclinerl l'elll'rsellti.ltiotts itllow ex;lert per'lirt'ttl('l"s ttr;tl-

taitr lrlore contt'ol ol't'elevlrnf aspct'ts tl['perf irt'tttllt]('(' lttttl gl'('itf rt' ltllililt' tt r

2. IiXCtit.[.[.:N( ;t: l"t tRoLrGlt D]:t,tt][.ILttT l]t{,AC'I'tcE 43

anticipate, lllirn, and reason ahout, altenrativc cotrrses of'action. In atldi-tiurt t.o provicling lrctter r:ontrol, these ntental representations ptay an es-

sential t'ule in hcllling irrdividuals continue irnpr*ving their perlbrlltancr:settitrg rtew goals fbr inrprovetllerrt, nronitor"ing their perfrrrrnance, andrefining skills rrece$sary to nraintaining the integrity and fluenry ot'theircurrertt level of superior perfbrrnance during continued learning. Howiu'c these representati(ln$ acquiretl drlring development? fu"e therc specialll'ainintr; activities that ullow indivirluals to reline thenr?

The Acquisitian of Representations That Mediate the Attainment of Ex-pert Perfornto-ntff, 'l'he ,il()$t irnpnrtant ditTerence$ betl,r,eerr auton$mouseveryday skills arrd expert pcrformance are related to t"lre experts' repre-sentationti that allow thcm to keep controlling and rnoniroring their be-Iravior'. In atr ear"lier'$ection I showecl tlrat, there is a natural terrdency to-rvartl developiug ctli:rtless autolnatized perfurrnance in wtrich consciousact:*rin t* rnediat"ing rf,presentations is not ncquired, Fluent rrpcatcd per-Iirrrnance aflpears tei lrccorne highly automated unless the irrdividual ac-tively rcsi$ts. I ltrgue that rxperts and aspiring experts rely on delibtiratepractice t$ countet'urt cornplct"e automatization ancl to prornote tlre dev*l-(,prnent anrl relinernerrt of !'epresentations. Iiirst, I brie{ly discuss how ttrernerliati*S repr*i*ntatitln$ ure acquired from the $tart. o{'uupervised prac-tice to the attainrnent. domain expertise. Then t discu$$ a lbw specific cx-amples of how rleliberate practice relines thuse repre$entations and tlre as-

socinted mechanisrns thilt irnprnve ttre integrated perlbrrilance.In rnanv donrains of'expertise, individuals are introduced into the do-

rrrain as children anrl a{ter shnrt period of playful interaction the futurccxllert perfirrrner$ start working with a teacher (see FiS, 2,.7], illustratingtlre three stages,pr'ol)o$ed by }llrxrm (1985)). "f'he playtirl inreraction willntrt st()p llrrt it will bt: ailHnlentecl by deliberare lrractice. When hegiltner$are irritially introtlrrcetl to practice in a domain, the teacher instructs thernrusing ver1. sirrrplc ol:iectives anql tasks and will explicirly guide rhe begin.rrrl's' a*"enlion to specific aspects ol' the rr.aining rituations a$ p;trt of'theirrstnrction.'l'lre lrcginner, olien aided lry a parent, rnusl learn to resener-itt* the gonls o{'ttre trurining activiry and sustain fbcus on attaining tlr*rntlrrough rcpeatecl att.ernpts.

"["he assigned goal o{'the training activiry also provides the treginnerswitlr a rneilns to 1;f,nerilre fbertback about thc corrcctness of'their per{t}rfi}-:rllcc, which woultl imply sorne mental representation although not nece$-

sildly a snpltixticaterl one. During development, teachers often hclp theirstudents idcntilv err$rs ancl nrake nece$sary changes and specilic correc-liotrs. rk the student's perftrrmance improves, they acquire more cornplexrflpre$entnti*rns to nronitrlr and control thc aspects (}f perfirrrnarlcs tilr-getul lly ttre teacher finr corre(tion during solitary practice. As tlre c()m-

l,'l{l( t\s{ }N

it"*"ttttrri 'r'|,...! iF,,,_.,.i

'{b"*--*'**l':'

ItI

Typing Expertise

prudent practice rnekes perfect.Pre.sentr,d Te.rl

Typed Text:

prudent prec

Eye - handspan

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44 l,"Rl(:.1:i( )N

Year at u'hlchPractlce wasInttlated

Transltton t0Full-TtmeInvolvement

Experts Seektnpto MakeEmlnentAchlevements.

Tlme Slnce Introductlon to the Domain

f lG.2.?. -I'lrree phases rlf actprisition of expert per'lirrntall(-e, Iirllowt'rl lrv;r

qrralitatively tlitlbrent fotrrth phase when, in ortlerto rrtake a ( l'u;llivc cottlt'i-

bttLiotr, exPerts attelnPt to go beyontl the availatrlc kttowlerlgt'itt tlrc rlo-

rt;tirt. F'rclnt "Oan We (lreate Giftetl People?" try K. A. Et'it'sson, R.'l'lr'Krampe, and S. tteizrllann in G,. Il. llrrk and K. Ackrill (F,cls.),'l'hr Origin's

antl Dm,elopntent ol' Iligh Abilitv (trp. 222-24t)), 1993, (ihit'ltcstcr', F'rrglantl:

Wilev. Oopyright lg93 by CItsA Foutrclatiott. Adapted with l)rl'ttris*;iott'

plexity o['ttre acquiretl pet'fllrnrance level itrcreases, s() clot:s tltc t'tttttltlt'x-ity ol'praclice goals and the associated traitring activitics. At higltrl'lcvt:ls,the te.rcher will provide primarily getrer':tl itrstructiotts al ttI lt'ctlllat"k,rvhich requires Lhe students to molritor their olvn per'{rx'tll;tllcc, ttl attivc[1'

engage in problem solvitg as (:rrors occtlt', alrcl to tnake al)pl'opl'i;tlt: atl-

.itrstnrents to thcir pcrftrrtnallce. Hent:e, parallel to ilnprov('rrlent. ol'tlrcir'per{irrmance , stutle nts clevelop cotnplex nlental representat.ioirs o{'thr tlr-sired per{ornlance so that they call monit(tr their cor}currertl pcr'{trrlll;lllccto idenrify discrepancies tretween their desiretl arnd actual llerfi)rrrlall(e(liricssolr, 1996; Glaser, 1996). As students reach high lcrt:[s o['achicvc*mellt, they will have acrluired the knowledg* ol'their te;tt:hcrs attd ltilt'cInental rcpresentations ttrat enable thetn to independentlv nloltittlt' antl

improve their per{i)rlnance. T}rey may also augnlent tltc trairring tttcthocls

of' thrir teachers hy studying the perforlnance and achievelrlrtlts o['('trl'-retrt ancl past rnasters in their dotnain (llricsson, 1996, l9t)7). Wht'rr indi-

?. IiXCEI-.t,tiN( ;r:'l'[tROtJ(;II I)[:LIBERA'I'E PRACT'ICE 45

viduals lrave il]astered all the knowledge and techniques of their domain(scc the fourth phase in liig. 2.?), they are uniquely positionerl to have a

chanr:e to rnakc ma.ior creative contributions by addi*g sonrething genu-inely nelv, whether it is a new idea, a new training method, or a new inter-

llretation of' lxrst achieveillents. 'I'his type clf creative expansion of thespa( e of' concr:ivatrle achieverlents and accumulated knowledg* in a spe-cilic domairr reple sents the supreme level o['actrievement in any donrain.

-l'here is still arr incornplete understanding of representations: hcrw ttreyilr"r acquirecl zrncl refinecl, ancl their close connection to perfbrrlance, but Iillustrate their involvernent in deliberate practice with a few exarnplesfi'orrt cltess, collf ing, antl music.

Deliberate Practice in Cfress; Planning and Anticipating the Conse-quences a{ an Opponents' Actions. Once an individual has reached a levelo['proficiency in a donrain, when they are better than everyone else in tlrechess clutr, fbr example, how can they be challengecl to find increasinglybetter chess nloves? Iixpert chess players have been shown to collect hooksand magazines wittr ttre recorded ganres of'chess masters (Charness et al.,1996). -l'hey can play through the ganles to see if their selectetl moves cor-resporrcl to those originally selected lly ttre rnasters. If the chess rnaster'smove ditlbred tronr their own, it wotrltl imply that they must have missedsonrething in ttreir plannirrg and evaluation. Ttrrough careful, extendedanalysis the chess expert is generally able to discover the reas()ns for thechess nrirster's nlove. Similarly, the chess player can read publistretl analy-ses of various opcning comhinations and supplernent their own knowl-ctlge hy exanrining ttre con$e(luences of new variations of these openings.Serious chcss players spend as much as 4 hours every duy engaged in ttristylle of'solitary strrdy (Ctrarness et al., 1996; Ericsson, Krampe, &'Iesch-Idiinrer, 1093).

Deliherale Practice in Typing: A Focus on Improuing Copying Speed.()nce an individual has reachccl a statrle tyJling speed, how can it be in-creasecl? During rrormal typing acf.ivities it is inrportant to rnininrize errorsand maintain a typing speed that can be sustained. On the ottrer hand, ryp-ists can lbr slrort intcruals sustain ]righer speeds with firll concentration, ?tleast l0 to !)}Va abr:ve normal rates. Consequently, the recommended prac-tice to improve speed is setting aside tirne daily to type selected materials attlre lirst.er rate rvitlrout concern alrout accuracy. lnitially typists seem only tol:e able to sustain the concentration necessary to type l0 to 20Va faster thannorlnal speed fbr l0 to 15 minutesperdry.After adaptation tcl this kind ol'reg.rlar practice, tlte cluration o{'the training sessions can be increased (cf.

the carlier tlisctrssion of the development of'weekly practice time). Whentypists push thenrselves beyond the comfortahlc range of reliatrle typing,

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ttrey will encounter kev-strtlkt cornbitratiuns t.ha[ sltlw tltettt durvtl, ('lttlsirrp;

lresitatiurrs or awkward lrlotor rnovenlents. lly elinrirral,ing rllc slrt'itit'

Jlroblerrrs ttu'ortgh better anticipation or coordinatittn o{'tttotur ltrltat'ittl',these problenrs can tx corrected.'lipist$ can t.hen iteratively t'ortli'otlt l-t'-

nr;rining typing colnhinatirlns that linrit t1'ping sJreed" "['he I'ct:(]tIltll(:trclrtltraining to intprove speed in ot.her" pcrceptual nltltur activitics sltrttes

many of. these same lnethods of progressive improvetne rtt-

Detiberate Practice in Expert Music Pe$rtrmance: The Importalr.rce .fM**tal Representations for Monitoring Perfirmancs, Nntv t'ttttsitlt:t' tltr":

cliflbrent types rf nrental represerttation$ that are ilecr$$aty lirr itth'utlt't'tlrnusic perf eir"trlet's. For example, musiciatrs must t:c ahle [o itrtrrtutllv t"t'1t-

resent rnatly a$[]e{.:ts involved in ma.$tering tlre interpl't'tiltintt o['it tlt:lv

;ricce of trtusic. 'l-hrte of ttreilr are illtrstrated in [tig. 2.t]: tltt: pet'lirnll('l''sirnage ol'how tlrey witnt. it given perlbrtnancc t* souncl t() tltr;ttltlit'ttt-t,their plan of'lrow the instrtln]ent shtluld he playerl to itclticvc tlris gtxtl,

antl tlreir capacity to ntonit"or the produced souttd as thev pr:rttit-c to llt'o-rJuce the desir"ed per{irrlltartce (H,ricsson, l${}7}.

'[-he irnllortitnce o[tlrese represetrtations and, in particular, the kcr I'ttlt'tlf'critical listenirlg to one's music pcrlbrmallce' have beett rer*uttir-t:tl ittttl

'

! mag i1?g_m ufig e If_€ rie !ry e"

Desired perfonnance goal

I. l:X(ll,l.l.f,N(:il'l Itrl{OtJ(;Il l)l':l,lltltR,\l'[r PR"A(l'l'l(]li 47

art.it:lrlated lry nraster teachers. "One ot' the greatest difliculties wlrichstunrl in the rv;ry of'trrrogre$$ is tlre failure to hear wlrat one is dning irt ttrcp:inno. . . . I,Vltrcn the monrent corlles ttrat tlre pupil actually hears wlurt.treis cloing, conscioutiness is awakerred antl the prfigres$ begitrs" (Buhlig,Itll7, p. ?tt|). Clritical listening rernains etpmlly irnportant at advancedlevels. "ln his practicirrg, the real art is for the pupil to acquire the uR*cilnny ahility to tristen to his olvn welrk, to discover tris own ntinute lailing"(Szigeti, I {}79, p. ?t}5). triven experts rrrtutt be wary ol'tlre risk ol'redtrcirrgtlrc level ot'con('ent.rittion arrd lowerins their perft)rmance criterifl, n*'I'he

hahit ol'trot" listening hcr"onle't wrlr"$e and wor$c, ancl in a short tirtte theplaye r is uncotrscious ol'tlre slight inacr:uracics in pitch. '['l]rre is listerring,irrrrl listcttilr girilertfll" (l"et'ti$, l1)7?, 11. 2(i7). Expert mu$icians aetivt.ly tryto counteracr the tlrreat o['autumaticity and reliance of habitual perfbrm-nn(:e.'["he tlrtnous t'cllist Pablo Casals carefitrlly preparetl anel stueliecl everrvcry larniliilr rtursic pieccs be{trre plnying thenr in puhlic. "'tir play it per-fbctly every piece should be str.rrliecl with the constarrt idea oI'irnprovernrntirr milrd, and it is seklonl, worhing in tlris way, t.hat I do ntrt Iincl fhat, I canirnprove srxtrre oue or iulot"lrer" cletail" (Casals, l1)23, p. ?3{). Working outthe intendecl rnusic experience in detail allows the rnusiciarr to carcfullymonitor their perlilrmancc, "f try to lorrn &n irleal corrcelltion of tlrepiece, work tlris orrt in every detail, then always endeavor l"o reneler it as

ckrst:ly like tlre irleal as po$silrle" (l.erner, lSlS, p.46).And perlbction is

r:evsr pcrrnanently auained, '*I nsver negkct an opportuniry tu iurprovr,rxo nlirtter how perfbct a previous interpretation mily have $eelnrd to me.In lact, I ollen gc directly lrurne fiorn a concert and prfi(tice lor lroursrupon the very pieces lhat I have been playing, hecause duri*S thc concertcert*irr new ideas have t:oille [n rne" {tr}usoni, lSlS, p. }0fi)

Irrtlividual rlifftrrences in the acquired reprercntations re$ponsible lbrrnusir:erl abilities, such as sight-reading, rapid rnemorieation rlf music, andirnprovisation, are fi'equenrly attritrr.rted to musical talent, ;rerhaps be-car.lsie it has beeu di{ficulr to understand how such abilitie$ are acquired(Buml:erger, I iltl I ). I lowever, t[rere are $everal theoretically and ernpiri-cally $upp()r.tctl aecounts of" how tlrey are acqrrired tlrrough practice-relatcd itctivities {tchrnann & Hricsriort, l$SS, ltl95, I${)fi; Sudn*w, 1978}.

Irr surn, the strperlicial clraraeteristics oI'deliberatc practice are urrlnr-

Ix)rtant antl tJi{Ibl" greatly acro$$ as well as within donrains, trut the de{in-ing comrnon leatrrre o['deliberate practice refcr$ to its abiliry to changeand improvc pertbrmalrce antl will there{irre tlepend on tht desirerlchanges in nclrievemeut. Ottce upon a time all ellectivr nlrtlrods ltrr delih-eratc f)racticr nrust tlave treert e.liscovered try individuals who experi-Hrentecl with rllllcrent rnethods fbr practicc. T oday student$ do nnt neetlto rerli$cr)vetr tlrese trairring techrrirptes but they are passed along hy their'te*chers and coarlre$. Recsnt a{:('(}unt$ (f,ricssorr, t99S; Zimrnertl}an, l{}t}4)

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Representationfor how to executethe perforrnnnce

"Playing a piece af music"

Representationfor hearing one'sperforrnance

" Ltstening to the played tfiusic.Musit experience hy audi€ntt!"

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Iil(;. 2.11. 'l'lrree typc$ of interltal rt:presenultirrtts tltitt ntctliitlc cxlrt'l-l llltt-sic pertilrrrtance atrtl its continued improvtltlent tltrring prltt:tit. Iit ottt

""1'lre Stientitic Sttrcly ol'Expert Ltvels ot'l,erlirrtttittlce: (iettt:ral Irrrp]it'a-

tions frrr ()ptimal l.eamrirrg atrtl (lreativitl'," hy K. A. llrirsson in Ilig-lr ,'llnltl.'i

.TrtrJie'r, 9, p.9?' (inpyrigtrt l{}98 trY liuropeun (ltxtttr:il firr IIiglr Ahilirv' l{t:-prirrtecl with perttrission.

48 riRrCsti()N

of"the development of past and current masters describe: lttlw tttese inrli-

vicluals were iUt* to invent techniques to increase ttreir Inastcry of'skillcd

activities with minimal instruction and external support.' '['his rypc tl['ex-

tenrled self-guided search for effective practice mettrocls irr a donrain is

likely to fbster the develtlpmerlt of representations that bencfit subset;uent

clevelopment of expertise supelYised lry skitlecl teachers'

Expert Performers' Learning: Generalizable Aspects

and Specific Implementations

Iior anyone interestecl in general mechirnisms rnerliatitrg learning, tlre:

rnost srriking finclings from the study of expert perlbrnl:lnce c()tIC:eI'n it"s

domait, tp*.iticity aird diversity. Not only does deliber;rtc prirctice tlifli:rlretweer, .lu*ains, btrt the particular training that would be optirrtal firr in-

dividual experts within a domain will ditlbr and depentl ott ttre intlivitl-

ual's strengihs and weaknesses. For ttris reason, training in nro$t tlotrtairts

is clesigt,.d to clevelop independent perftlrnlers so they catr find tlreir ()wn

path tiiward expertise through reflective self-evalttatiott ;tnd problettr solv*

irrg. In [act, intlividual differences and diversity are r'lrc()ul'agetl at the:

hifitrest levels to prepare elite pertbrmers to go treyonrl the acctllllulaterl

krilwle.lg" in theit do*ain anrl extetrd its botrndaries throtrgh maior in-

novati()ns.Is it possible to extract some gerleralizable principles lilr cxl)e rts' lcltl'tt-

irrg in iigtrt of this striking variahility ancl diversity? Marry signilicatrt c'l-

fbilts have been macle to extt'act concepts, ntechanisms, ancl cltarat:tt:r"ist"it's

of ellbctive learning in the fields o[ education ancl prolbssional tlt:vt:lop-

rnent. Many cl{ those findings capture several generalizable t:ltitracteristics

of experts' iearning and deliberate practice: Chatrgeri in trehitvittr ittttl per-

firrnrance at'e faciiitatecl tly setting specific attilinable goitls ( ['ot'kc &I-athant, 1984), eff'ective stutlents optimizc irtrprove nlcltt lly tlt:sigrrirrg

ilnd tnonitoring their learning activities (Schunk & Zimrnel"lnilll, l{llt)'l),

and learning strtltrld tle mincllLl anrl reflective, striving torvarcl gt:ttttitttr

unrlerstancling, rather than rnindless nlemorization (['an1;rro l!]97]' 'l'hcst:

three abstraci-ctraracteristics reveal irnport.ant highet'lcvel tlilll're ttt"cs trt'*

tween htlw experts ancl amateurs tencl to learn, and ftrctts oll lle((:ssitrY

characteristics of eflbctive learning ancl thtrs explain why thc leartrittg of'

the amateurs tends to tre linrited. I{ow nruch o[the expel'ts'ellicietlt leltrlt-

itg is explainecl tly these characteristics? Wtluld it tre possitrlt tct induce e I-

le&ive learning by merely instructing the amateurs to cltange the ntcttrotls

lor learning? il not, whictr conditions and prerequisites at'e net:ess;trv fbt'

eflicient types of learning?The tt.rdy of the acquisition of expert perftrt"rnance give$ ils insight itrtrr

these issues. J-tre more we learn about the developntcnt tll'expel't pct'-

2. I:XCT,LI.IINilI: }IROI.]G}I DI1I.IRERAI'I, PITAC'I'ICE 49

Ibrruattce itt specific tlonlains, ttre better otlr understanding of prerequi-sites ftlr effe.,tin* Iearning. First, before reflective monitoring of'behaviorancl learning in a clotnain can occur, the individuals have to have acquired

approflriate- krrowledg* and domain-specific representations. Use of re-

flective analysis arrd self-regulation is fbasible only after prerequisite rep'resentations have been sutficiently developed at more advanced levels ofperfbrmatrcc. Given that these domain-specific representations are ac-

rpriretl to meet specilic clernands of reasoning in the domain, their tran$-

ti:r acl'oss clom:tins seent to be rluite limited (cf. Ericsson & l,ehtnafirl,1996). -[b becollle an efl'ective learner within a clomain would appear to

reqtrire a susfitirtt:d comntitment to acquiritg the necessary representa-

tions ancl relevant knowledg*.Second, acquisitirln nf" cornplex representations for monitoring ancl

evaluation (seli-regr.rlation) have ttl be closely intertwined with t'he acquisi-

tion of task-slxcific perforiltance. Consequelrtly, it rnay not tre reasonable

to tly to distinguish these representations and associated learning activi-

ties from the structure ol' dontain-speci{ic performance (t ricsson &Kintsch, 1995). In cornplex skills it may be necessary that the same rePre'sentations mediate the generation of ttre desired perfbrmance as well as

the subsequellt reflective analysis and modification of the actual perform-ance. It is e.ssential ttrat stntctttral changes nrade to irnprove perforlnanceduring learning will not have any utrdesirable side effects on other aspects

of perfilrmance. lly using the same representation to monitor their per-

fbrnrance during deliberate practice as the expert performers u$e to cotr-

trol the final puhlic perfilrrnaltce, it is possible to make incremental ad-

.iustmerrts withottt interfering with the integrity of the skill.Finally, the l"esearch on deliberate practice has shown tlrat concentra-

tion is necessary fbr optimal learning. Because rnost individuals seem trr

preflrr less e{lortlirl activities that satisS short-term learning goafs, they

inust be nrotivated to attain high achievement in a domain trefore they willengage in strsulitred dcliberate practice. Motivation is then an essential

part of intervetttions to initiate acquisition of knowledge and rePresenta-iiorrr that are necessary ftlr elfective learning. In sunr, I believe tlrat the

sturly of expert perfrrrmers will provide us with insights into the detailedstructtrre of the cotnplex, extended interactions required for the sustained

ellicient leartring leading to mastery and expert performance'

CONCLUDING REMARI(S ON THE GRADUALATTAINMENT OF EXCEI.LINCE THROUGHNELIBERATE PRACTICE

'["he general "law'n of'least eflbrt predicts that activities are carried out wittr

*re minimunt expelrditure o{'eflbrt. For ttris reason, the netYous systent

automates behavior whenever possible, and activities tend to be per-

[,

50 l, lt I( :ssr ) \

firnrterl with t]rt sinlpl*st possihle rnec{illting ttteclrani$nlli. [ndivitluuhinsually t.each il satisflactory level ol"perfitt'nrattce in tn(]st [v1rt's of-lurlritunleveryday afrt.iviti*s. At tlris level nf'achievcrnent, r'epe;rting a sinrilitr sr'r'i*iof'actions cloesn't r:hanf{e the structlrre of'perfbl"fllirllce, it rr'rr:r'clv rt:thtt.rsthe ellirrt requireel for their cxecution. Any successlirl atternl]t to inrpruveperlirr"tnan('e treyond ttris stable [nel thus reqttit"es at:tivt: elllrrt, t'lutngingthe goal of"perlirrnuruce, &$ well a$i designing ncw activitit's fiu' trrrirrirrtr;arrd inrprovenrrnt*tlelilrcrate pract"ice. l]epettrling on tlrc rlunrilirr, rlt:tilr-erate practice ciln rilIrSr Irorn sirnple re1]etltivc;tr'tivity uirnr:rl ilt irrrrt'trri*ing enclr-lrnlrc* or flrxil-rilitl', tr: rcficctive arralysis [irctrx'rl on irlcrrtilvirrgand iutptrtvirrg asprcts of' skilled cotnplex perfilrntnncr. (.rllrsrrprcrrtll',

the specilic acf ivity ol' cle libcrate pracdce tnay dillbr rlr':,rrrutt it'all1' lr('r{)ss

ekrnxrins, brrt it ahvays itnrolve s ellorts to st.retch llcr"lilrr nlul(:e t e rwlrtlhigher, yet att;rinable, goals.

'['he enrptrasis on ttre srrstainecl str.iving ftrr irnl)r(]venret]t [:v expt'r'l l]cr'-trbrnrer$ mey sound remirriscent ol.the llrptrneltt$ traclitiolurlly assoriututlwith Hrolivirtional ripeaksr$ advocating self -improverttt:nt. I]ol h ;rl]-prcache$ a14ree tlrat individuals [end trr unrlerestirnate tlreir at'lrim'enr('ntpotential and that tlre firsr step in initiaring ch;rnge thl'ouglr trairring antlpractice requires that individuals arr convinced tlrat. they at'r t'rrpulltt: o{'at-taining tlreir new goals. Beyontl tlrat., the resemhlattce is srrlxrr"licitl. [;rtt'exanrple, where motivational s1)eakers tertcl to tle rather genet'ul rrlrntttwhich attrihutes cau be inrprovect, &ccoulrts in term$ ol'delilr*ttte []l"it('ti(:t:ars Iinrlted to donrains of'expertise with repro(lucihle supt.rior perlirt'tn-ance. From lahoratolry analyses of the exllert$' sttllerinr prr{irr.tlunr('$,scientists have consisr"cntly l*uncl evidencc fbr the aetluit'*tl nrerllttirrgrnecltanisnrs discussecl previmusly: very courplex skills, triglrly' relitrerl r'(:l)-

r'f,licntittions, arrd large llhysiological adaptatiotrs.'flte collrpl*xitv nl'tltcseactluirecl rnecharrisrns is consistettt wittr the linding tlrat ttot rvrlt tlre tttrtst"talented" ciln rearclr an interttational level rtf"perfirrnutttr:t'irt less tlr;ttt udecade of detlicatecl prarctice. ltr this ctrapter l have strotvtt ltttu'tltt: lrt"tlr.ti-

siticn ul'expert per{br"rnar}ce in several dornains is closeh' r'ulutetl tn etr*

Hagenleltt in deliheratc practice. Irt particulat'tr have ftrcttsed om ltuu, wcll-unttrrst"or:rl nrcchnnisrn* uf'skill ncquisition arlrl ptrysiokrgir:al arl;rIrtatirtrrcan providil camsal accr)ullts o[ch;lnges in thc trocly antl tltc rrf;I"v(]us rys-

tern th:rt prodtrce the desired inrJrrovetnetrts in perfirrlllitrr('e."l'he conrplex intcsrated stntcture o['expcrt perltlrnlanc(: ritisc.s ntiur]i

issues about lrow these structures calt tte graduallv acquir"etl lttttl 1lt: t'{i'ctt:rlover tirne. It. appears thitt teachet"s stltrt guiding skill devcltlllrucnt liuttt ir

ehild's initial int.roduction to training. "I"he teacher kttuws tlrc ailllt'npriatu$equenring uf skills ancl ciln pr"ovicle training assisltrnerrts u['a t lurll*trg-irrg, yet" attilinatrle, rlifllctrtrty level. h,qually irnp(]rtant, the teachm' kn{)\\'|$

fht: future challengf,s at the lrighest levels atrcl ciln tlrerefirrt' insisl" on nllr]i-

u. Iix(ltit"[.tiNilti'illfi(rtir]ltr Dtit_.tHlittAl'ti plLt#t"tt:E 5r

tr'ry r:l't"hc Iundarnffrltals tluring development to avoid thc nned Ibr re-Icarnirrg at ;rrivirnced levels. Howevern the best teachers in the world cannever srr:ce$sfirlly train students witlrout tlreir full cooper-atiorr and activeparlicipat"iou irr ttrre learning proce$s. At all levels of perfilnnance, stu-derrts who lrave repre$entations supporting their planning, reas()ililrg,antl evaluation u{'tlre actual and inteneled perfornrance will be better. ableto ruake appropriate aeljurtnren[$ ta their co$tplex skill. "l'hir arJvantagehecorues al-rs*lurely essential at higlrcr levels of achievenrent. Given thatrleliberate pr;rctice irrvolvcs nla$tering tariks that students coulrtr not ini-lially ut"tain, {)r' only attain inrper{bcrly ol-unreliably, it is likely rtrat moresucressfirl strrdents acquire representat.iorrs to supporr problem solving;rrrrl learnirrg tlrrough planrring and analysis. Conseclubntly, the fasterlcarrring oi "talerrted" stuclents rnight lre explained tly ilrdividual clillbr.-en('es irt uctluired repre$entatit)nii tiupporting eflbctive learning.

Wlry woulcl rio rnany inrlividuuls eilSilge in tlre $trenu(]uri, concer]tra-tion-demanding activitirs nt'deliher-ate practice regrrlarly {}ver years anddecadcs, wlren tlre rcnearch shows that the relaxerl i*mfi;!"t zorre providesttre mood-enhmncing eflbcrs o{'exercise and r}re srates of trigh edioyrnentassociatecl wittr "fJ{rw" or"the "runners' }righ"? An important part rii'tit* ar,-swer lies in their instrurnenrality: "l'hey oflbr the means to attaining supe-rior perfbrmance with irs many asso{iared rewards and benefits, iucti associal re(ogrritir.rrr, relatiunships rvith teachers, playtirl irrteractions wittrlikernlinded pcsrs, tr"avel, scholarship* and o(rup&tional opportunitiet,nnd the other lmne{its associated with inrprovetl perfbrrmanrcr. 'Ihe nryththat hurd work ar. lhe fft"art will enable one tn coast into furure uccess is notst.rpportecl lly tlre evidencr, and it rnost likcly reflects confusion betweenrnerely nrainrairrirrtr5 a perfomnance ar a high level and cont,inued furtherirnpnrvernenr. o{' perfbrmance, In fhct, a$ an individual's prrformarrrIevel irnproves, ttre denrand tbr eflnrt to lirrther improve perlbrntance re-nrains high. In $rrrlport of tlris clairn, rhe ratetl level af etltrrt during train-ing is grearer, not less, ftrr elite athletes than it is frrr amatrurs.

From tllc prr$pecrive of dsliherate practice , the rarity of'excellencE isprimarily attriburable to the environnrental conditions necessary finn itsslow ernerfiencer iurd to the years required to develop the complex medi-ating luechanisnrs ttrat $upp{}r"t exprrtire. Everr individuals considerecl trrIrave naturill gilis graclually artain ttreir elite perlbrrnance by engaging irrextenrlerl arnounls o[ tlesigned deliberate practice over many years. Untilordinary inrtividuals rec()Snize that sustained etfrrrt is l equired to rearlrexpcrt pcrftu'rrnrnce, they will cfintinue to misatrihute lesrcr acllievefftenrfo lnck nf rrntural gif ts, and ttru*i will fail to rea*h [helr own potential.

'l'he scirntific sttrdy of'expert performilnce anrt rleliherate practice willincrease orlr knowledge ahout how experts optimize their learnirrgtlrrotrgh tlrr level of daily rflilrt that they (an sustairr fordays, nl()nths, anrl

52 l..l{ I( :.{s( ) N

ye:u's.'fhis knowledge should be relevant to any nrotil.uterl inrlivirhrirl irs_

Jliring to excel in any one o['awide range o['profbssional ;x tivirics. It is un-likely thert we lvill ever be atrle to tirlly uncler-stand lrow c:xc(:llcrrct: is mt.-qr"rired. [.ven if we lvere able to specify the exact patlr ol'rlcvr:l(]l)rnr:rrt lirrthe. highest level.s of perfornrance at sonle point in tinre, su(:h irs torllrr,, (fx-c.ellenr:c is proteiln, not static, and hy the tinre we rliscovcrcrl tlrar ,l.,i.r.ip-tion expert perftlrrners will trave reached even hight:r lcvels o{ pt:r lirr.rrr-arlce. J'he higtrest levels o[' exper.tise and creativity will .*rr,,,i,, at" tlrt:ttrreshold of-understanding, even firr the nrasters cledicat.t:d [o r"t,rlt:[inirrstlre meanilrg of' excellence in their donrains.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

-l'his rescarch was supported by the Fs(;WConracli [irr<kxvrnent li'urxl u{'

Floricla Stare [Jniversity Foundarion. "Ihe aurhrlr thanks F-lizabe tlr Kir.k ltrr.her rnost valuable cornrnents on several ear-licr.drafis o['tlris clull)tr.r.. litrr.-tlrermore, Peter Delaney's and Len Hill's helptul cornnrr:nts orr tlrc lirraldraft ar-e gratefully acknowledged.

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