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ABSTRACTExpertise researchers have traditionally shied For example, how can a researcher fully understand the
away from studying the highest levels of achievement cognitive processes in which a chess master engages while
in favor of studying basic cognitive processes, such as generating moves when the researcher is unable defeat the mas-
memory and categorization. In this article, we present a ter? Those who assume that eminent individuals are endowed
different approach that is focused on capturing superior with innately superior capacities will also question whether
(expert) performance on representative tasks that reveal lesser-endowed scientists could fully understand the masters
the essential characteristics of expertise in a given domain. associated thought processes. As a consequence, there is a
In domains where expert performance is measurable, common misconception that the only legitimate judges of experts
acquisition is gradual and the highest levels are only are their peers.
attained after 10 years of intense preparationeven for When the study of expertise ourished in the 1970s and
the most talented. Analyses of reproducibly superior 1980s, the research focus was not on the cognitive processes that
performance show that it is mediated by physiological mediate experts outstanding achievements but on more basic
adaptations and cognitive skills acquired as a result of the memory performance in the laboratory. In the last review of
cumulative effects of special practice activities (deliberate expertise for this journal over a decade ago, Bedard and Chi
practice). It appears that the genes necessary to attain (1992) described studies that primarily examined differences
such adaptations and expert skills can be activated in between experts and novices in memory for representative
healthy childrenthe only clear exceptions to date being stimuli or categorization of problems from introductory
genes that control body size and height. Our knowledge of academic courses, such as physics. Bedard and Chi (1992) even
how experts acquire their superior skills provides insights questioned the relationship between such laboratory studies and
into the potential for human adaptation and skill acquisition real-word expertise. They observed that some experts performed
and has important implications for theories of the structure poorly on some real-world problems (p. 138) and even
of general and expert cognition, as well as for training described situations in which novices not only can perform as
interventions in applied psychology and education. well as experts, but actually surpass the experts (p. 138).
KEYWORDSexpertise; skill acquisition; experience; delib-
Since their review, researchers have become increasingly
erate practice; physiological adaptation dissatised with studies that dene experts by social criteria
(e.g., peer nominations), by extended domain experience, or
by (high) education. When scientists measured the level of
The achievements of experts and eminent individuals are among real-world performance of so-called experts they found that
the most admired and complex phenomena in our culture. They many were not reliably better than their less-experienced
offer serious challenges to scientists attempting to study them. colleagues. For example, reviews (Ericsson, 2006) have
described studies showing that a psychotherapists level of
education and clinical experience is unrelated to their treatment
Address correspondence to K. Anders Ericsson, Department of
Psychology, Florida State University, 1107 West Call St., P.O. Box outcomes. Recent reviews of performance in health-related
3064301, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4301; e-mail: ericsson@psy.fsu.edu. elds show that extended experience of doctors and nurses
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K. Anders Ericsson and Paul Ward
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Expert and Exceptional Performance
movements, investigators can infer mechanisms that are capable involve complex acquired representations. These representations
of accounting for the reproducible differences in performance. facilitate experts ability to plan, monitor, and reason about their
The hypothesized mechanisms can then be submitted to exper- performance (Ericsson & Kintsch, 1995). For example, expert
imental tests, in which the original tasks are manipulated by players can anticipate the outcome of an opponents tennis serve
altering certain types of information. before the ball has left the opposing players racket. Among
procient participants in a given domain, the level of perfor-
THE DEVELOPMENT OF EXPERT PERFORMANCE mance is closely related to the acquired levels of domain-
specic skills. Surprisingly, however, individual differences in
The expert-performance approach has now been successfully more basic cognitive processes (e.g., intelligence, memory
applied to a wide range of activities (Ericsson, 2004, 2006) in- capacity, and perceptual functioning) have not, to date, been
cluding medical diagnosis, surgical procedures, music perfor- predictive of attained level of skilled performance (See Ericsson,
mance, design of experiments, writing, painting, Scrabble, darts, Roring, & Nandagopal, 2007, along with commentaries and the
ballet, and numerous sports. From these reviews, particularly in authors response).
domains in which the development of expert performance can be Similarly, many distinctive characteristics of experts, such as
objectively measured and compared to the performance of adult the larger hearts and greater maximal oxygen uptake of endur-
experts, we nd evidence for the necessity of an extended period ance athletes and the fast-twitch muscle bers of sprinters,
of skill development (See Fig. 2). Expert performance develops are accurately characterized as physiological adaptations
gradually and reaches its peak typically more than a decade after to extended periods of intense training (see Ericsson 2007,
physical maturation. Finally, there is no evidence that interna- along with commentaries and the authors response). For some
tional competitions can be won, even by the most gifted, with less characteristics to develop, individuals have to engage in specic
than a decade of prior intense involvement in domain-related training within certain developmental windows when normal
activities (Ericsson, 2006; Simon & Chase, 1973). growth and development can be augmented. For example, with
training (Ericsson et al., 2007), perfect pitch can be acquired
THE STRUCTURE AND ACQUISITION OF EXPERT between 3 and 5 years of age, and the structure of ballet dancers
PERFORMANCE hip joints and baseball pitchers shoulder joints can be altered
between age 9 and 12 years.
The use of process-tracing methods during performance on repre- Physiological muscle adaptation is triggered by very intense
sentative tasks reveals that experts are able to give verbal reports on and sustained (i.e., daily) training activities when athletes
the thoughts that mediate the generation of their superior actions. push their bodies beyond their limits for normal homeostasis
Analyses of such reports reveal that the cognitive mecha- (see Ericsson, 2006, 2007). This intense activity produces
nisms responsible for the acquisition of expert performance biochemical side products that trigger the activation of dormant
genes in the athletes DNA, which in turn initiate anatomical
changes. Healthy children appear to have the prerequisite genes
as part of their DNA, but few engage in the type, intensity, and
duration of required practice that would achieve the desired
adaptation. The only validated exceptions, at least to date,
concern body size and height. Even the brain exhibits functional
adaptations and anatomical changes as a function of extended
training (Ericsson, 2007).
More generally, Ericsson, Krampe, and Tesch-Romer (1993)
found that the level of performance attained by expert musicians
was related to the amount of time accumulated in solitary
practicewherein musicians worked on specic, teacher-
directed practice goals using methods purposely designed
to improve specic aspects of their performance, including
problem solving and feedback (deliberate practice). In some
Fig. 2. The development of expert performance (measured by adult domains, it is possible for individuals to change aspects of their
standards) as related to age. Elite performers typically reach their peak performance based on immediate feedbackfor example, by
career performance in the middle to late 20s for many vigorous sports, and
one or two decades later (i.e., one or more decades past physical matu- watching ones ballet movements in a mirror or by listening to the
ration) for less vigorous sports such as chess and billiards, as well for as the music that one is making. However, in other domains, objective
arts and sciences. All performers, including the most gifted or tal- feedback about ones behavior is rarely available, at least not
ented, need a minimum of approximately 10 years of intense involvement
in the domain before they can win at an international level in highly immediately. During chess games, players may not know if the
competitive domains of expertise. move just played is the best possible move for that position.
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K. Anders Ericsson and Paul Ward
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Expert and Exceptional Performance
Recommended Reading Ericsson, K.A. (2007). Deliberate practice and the modiability of body
Ericsson, K.A. (2004). (See References). Discusses how the expert- and mind: Toward a science of the structure and acquisition of
performance approach can be applied to a professional domain of expert and elite performance. International Journal of Sport Psy-
expertise, medicine, in more detail than the current article. chology, 38, 434.
Ericsson, K.A., Charness, N., Feltovich, P., & Hoffman, R.R. (Eds.). Ericsson, K.A., & Kintsch, W. (1995). Long-term working memory.
(2006). Cambridge handbook of expertise and expert performance. Psychological Review, 102, 211245.
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. A comprehensive, Ericsson, K.A., Krampe, R.T., & Tesch-Romer, C. (1993). The role of
highly accessible overview of what is known about expertise and deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance.
expert performance; has 42 chapters on the history, methods, and Psychological Review, 100, 363406.
issues, as well as reviews of evidence on expertise in many Ericsson, K.A., Roring, R.W., & Nandagopal, K. (2007). Giftedness and
different domains. evidence for reproducibly superior performance: An account
Feltovich, P.J., Prietula, M.J., & Ericsson, K.A. (2006). (See References). based on the expert-performance framework. High Ability Studies,
Discusses the history of the psychological study of expertise and, 18, 356.
in particular, how traditional methods of studying expertise differ Feltovich, P.J., Prietula, M.J., & Ericsson, K.A. (2006). Studies of
from those used to study the reproducibly superior performance expertise from psychological perspectives. In K.A. Ericsson, N.
of experts. Charness, P. Feltovich, & R.R. Hoffman (Eds.), Cambridge
handbook of expertise and expert performance (pp. 4167).
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Krampe, R.Th., & Charness, N. (2006). Aging and expertise. In K.A.
REFERENCES Ericsson, N. Charness, P. Feltovich, & R.R. Hoffman (Eds.),
Cambridge handbook of expertise and expert performance (pp.
Bedard, J., & Chi, M.T.H. (1992). Expertise. Current Directions in 723742). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Psychological Science, 1, 135139. McGaghie, W.C., Issenberg, S.B., Petrusa, E.R., & Scalese, R.J.
Choudhry, N.K., Fletcher, R.H., & Soumerai, S.B. (2005). Systematic (2006). Effects of practice on standardized learning outcomes in
review: The relationship between clinical experience and quality simulation-based medical education. Medical Education, 40,
of health care. Annals of Internal Medicine, 142, 260273. 792797.
Cskszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experi- McKinney, E.H., & Davis, K.J. (2003). Effects of deliberate practice on
ence. New York: Harper and Row. crisis decision making. Human Factors, 45, 436444.
de Groot, A. (1978). Thought and choice in chess. The Hague: Mouton. Simon, H.A., & Chase, W.G. (1973). Skill in chess. American Scientist,
(Original work published 1946). 61, 394403.
Ericsson, K.A. (2004). Deliberate practice and the acquisition and van der Maas, H.L.J., & Wagenmakers, E.J. (2005). A psychometric
maintenance of expert performance in medicine and related do- analysis of chess expertise. American Journal of Psychology, 118,
mains. Academic Medicine, 79, S70S81. 2960.
Ericsson, K.A. (2006). The inuence of experience and deliberate Ward, P., Hodges, N.J., Williams, A.M., & Starkes, J.L. (2004).
practice on the development of superior expert performance. In Deliberate practice and expert performance: Dening the path
K.A. Ericsson, N. Charness, P. Feltovich, & R.R. Hoffman (Eds.), to excellence. In A.M. Williams & N.J. Hodges (Eds.), Skill
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