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40 - Aging and Expertise
- from PART VI - GENERALIZABLE MECHANISMS MEDIATING EXPERTISE AND GENERAL ISSUES
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- By Ralf Th. Krampe, Department of Psychology, University of Leuven, Neil Charness, Psychology Department, Florida State University
- Edited by K. Anders Ericsson, Florida State University, Neil Charness, Florida State University, Paul J. Feltovich, University of West Florida, Robert R. Hoffman, University of West Florida
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- Book:
- The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance
- Published online:
- 05 June 2012
- Print publication:
- 26 June 2006, pp 723-742
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Summary
Introduction
Outstanding accomplishments by older individuals, such as the wisdom of elderly statesmen, the virtuoso performances of older musicians, or the swan-song oeuvres of famous composers have been the subject of admiration throughout human history. Commonsense or folk psychology rarely considers such achievements as incompatible with older age. On the contrary, in the public's opinion advanced age has been identified with maturity or heightened levels of experience that complement the exceptional talents or gifts that had presumably enabled outstanding individuals to surpass ordinary people in the first place. Allegedly, these dispositions are the driving force leading to high achievements, and the presumed stability of related capacities is believed to guarantee that outstanding individuals' superior skills remain at their disposition throughout adulthood. In traditionalist cultures (as in Germany or Japan) such appreciations of early achievement and seniority overshadow actual accomplishments and remain an integral part of society and job promotion until this day.
The scientific study of interindividual differences and the experimental investigation of human performance in normal adults portray a less optimistic picture of adult development, at least in the normal population. Ubiquitous findings of negative age-graded changes in psychometric ability factors and reduced speed or accuracy in most cognitive-motor tasks have motivated theories of broad decline, like the notion of general, age-related slowing (Salthouse, 1985a). In the light of these findings, the accomplishments by older experts and the high performance levels in many older professionals present a puzzle.
8 - An Ecological Approach to Studying Aging and Dual-Task Performance
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- By Karen Z. H. Li, Centre for Research in Human Development, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H4B 1R6, Ralf Th. Krampe, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Center for Lifespan Psychology, Lentzeallee 94 D-14195 Berlin, Germany, Albina Bondar, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Center for Lifespan Psychology, Lentzeallee 94 D-14195 Berlin, Germany
- Edited by Randall W. Engle, Georgia Institute of Technology, Grzegorz Sedek, Warsaw School of Social Psychology and Polish Academy of Sciences, Ulrich von Hecker, Cardiff University, Daniel N. McIntosh, University of Denver
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- Book:
- Cognitive Limitations in Aging and Psychopathology
- Published online:
- 20 May 2010
- Print publication:
- 17 October 2005, pp 190-218
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Summary
“… cognitive aging researchers can accept the reality of declining cognitive powers stemming from the reduced efficiency of the brain but at the same time look for means by which older adults can best hold the negative effects of aging at bay and optimize the mental capacities they possess.”
– Salthouse and Craik (2000, p. 701)A pervasive challenge of modern adult life is to satisfy numerous demands within a constrained period of time. The simultaneous performance of two or more tasks, such as driving and conversing (e.g., Strayer & Johnston, 2001), walking and talking (Kemper, Herman, & Lian, 2003), or listening while note-taking (Tun & Wingfield, 1995), constitutes a cognitive dual-task situation in which attention must be divided. Questionnaire data indicate that older adults rate the difficulty of everyday divided attention activities higher than do younger adults, whereas younger adults report a higher frequency of engaging in dual-task situations compared to older adults (Tun & Wingfield, 1995). The majority of age-comparative studies of divided attention performance concur with the subjective report data (for reviews, see Hartley, 1992; Kramer & Larish, 1996; McDowd, Vercruyssen, & Birren, 1991; McDowd & Shaw, 2000). Since the early 1960s, the importance of dual-task functioning for independent living in old age, coupled with the general trend of age-related declines in such performance, has prompted a steady output of empirical work on this topic (e.g., Broadbent & Heron, 1962).
4 - Deliberate practice and elite musical performance
- Edited by John Rink, Royal Holloway, University of London
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- Book:
- The Practice of Performance
- Published online:
- 10 October 2009
- Print publication:
- 07 December 1995, pp 84-102
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Summary
Although millions of people learn to play musical instruments, relatively few succeed in reaching the standard of excellence that we call elite performance. The definition of elite performance proposed in this chapter radically differs from received opinion, which typically attributes the skills and accomplishments of a first-class performer to ostensible talents or ‘gifts’. The notion of talent is also invoked to explain ‘child prodigies’, the idiosyncratic interpretative styles and technical prowess of outstanding adult players, and the levels of performance sustained by excellent older musicians seemingly able to defy the effects of ageing. Most people would dismiss any claim that these various phenomena primarily reflect the result of acquired skills and training, for the idea that natural, innate constraints (i.e. talents) determine the level of performance that individuals can achieve is widely accepted.
Nevertheless, this flies in the face of compelling evidence both within and outside the realm of music. In athletics, for instance, the best performances have been improved upon throughout history (see Schulz and Curnow 1988), reflecting structural refinements and increases in the duration and intensity of training. Musical performance has seen similar developments. Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto was deemed unplayable in his day (Platt 1966), whereas elite violinists now consider it a standard part of their repertoire. And according to Roth (1982: 23), the virtuoso Paganini would ‘cut a sorry figure if placed upon the modern concert stage’: his legendary technique was ‘superhuman’ only until appropriate systems of training were devised to acquire it more generally. As musical technique and training methods have become increasingly refined, the standards required for elite performance have risen commensurately.