Peak Ch. 3 Flashcards
blindfold chess is an example of _____
what it is possible to achieve through deliberate practice
Alexander Alekhine
- played blindfolded (from memory) against 26 of the best chess players in the area and won 16 matches, lost 5 and played to a draw in 5
- Blindfold chess was never his main focus, but he became good at it by practicing regular chess
Simon & Chase chess study findings
- Found that the better someone was at chess, the more pieces they were able to recall for a regularly arranged chessboard. However, for a randomly arranged chessboard, they were all equally as good
- They argue that this is because chess experts were able to form meaningful chunks that are stored in long-term memory
verbal memory and meaningful chunks study
- A similar trend was found with verbal memory; people can remember sentences verbatim much better than random assortments of words
- This demonstrates that preexisting mental representations help us make sense of the world
what predicts chess players’ ability
the number of hours they spend studying master games and predicting the next move, not the time they spend playing chess
how many chunks have chess players accumulated by the time they become masters?
50,000
how are chunks organized?
hierarchically, with groups of chunks arranged into higher-level patterns
chess mental representations include:
- The position of the pieces
- The interactions between them
- The various strengths and weaknesses of two years’ positions
- The moves that may be effective for their positions
function of chess mental representations
they allow masters to mentally move around pieces
do non-experts use mental representations?
yes, we are all constantly using mental representations
mental representation
a pre-existing pattern of information that is held in long-term memory and that can be used to respond quickly and effectively in certain types of situations
mental representations among people
Some people have more detailed representations than others
purpose of deliberate practice
to develop more efficient mental representations
mental representations across domains
- Mental representations are highly domain-specific
- There’s no such thing as developing a general ability
function of mental representations
making it possible to process large amounts of information quickly despite the limits of short-term memory
mental representations of experts
Experts have a higher quality and quantity of mental representations, which allows them to make faster, more effective decisions and respond more quickly and effectively in a given situation
what is the best way to form a mental representation of something?
by getting to know it
how do experts view collections of things?
- Experts see patterns in a collection of things that would seem random to people with less-developed mental representations
- Experts see the forest while everyone else sees trees
Ericsson et al. soccer study
- Had soccer players watch a match and then predict what would happen next
- Found that the more accomplished players were better at predicting what the player with the ball should do. They were able to recall more from the match
- This ability was related to their ability to envision more possible outcomes and quickly sift through them and come up with the most promising action
Ericsson et al. soccer study in football quarterbacks
The same trend is true for football quarterbacks
rock climbers and mental representations 2014 study
- A 2014 study found that experienced rock climbers had developed mental representations of holds that allowed them to know without conscious thought what sort of grip was required for the hold they saw
- When they saw a particular hold, their hands prepared them to form the corresponding grip
mental representations help us to:
- Understand and interpret information
- Hold information in memory
- Organize information
- Analyze information
- Make decisions
are most people experts?
Most of us are experts at something whether we realize it or not
what is the key factor in determining a person’s comprehension of a story about football or baseball
- how much that person already understands about the sport
- This is because people who understand a sport already have an established mental structure for making sense of it
studying and mental representations
The more you study a subject, the more detailed your mental representations of it become
3 things involved in diagnosing, all of which can be improved with mental representations:
- Assimilating facts about the patient’s condition
- Recall relevant medical knowledge
- Use the facts and medical knowledge to identify possible diagnoses and choose the right one
mental representations of doctors findings
Medical students and inexperienced doctors have less developed mental representations so they tend to associate symptoms with a medical condition they’re familiar with and jump to conclusions
mental representations of insurance agents study
A recent study found that highly successful insurance agents had more complex and integrated mental representations and if-then structures
mental representations and planning
- Mental representations can be used to plan a wide variety of activities
- The better the representation, the more effective the planning
knowledge-telling approach to writing
involves writing what comes into your head
knowledge-transforming approach to writing
- The process of writing changes and adds to the knowledge that the writer had when starting out
- Involves developing mental representations
what approach to writing is the most effective
the knowledge-transforming method
mental representations and learning
- Mental representations can help us learn
- Ex. advanced musicians make detailed mental representations of pieces and use them to provide their feedback
McPherson & Renwick musical mental representations study
found that differences in musical performance can be explained by how well students can detect errors (how detailed their mental representations are)
advantage of the McPherson & Renwick musical mental representations study
personal study
disadvantage of the McPherson & Renwick musical mental representations study
small sample size
forms of mental representations of music
- Aural: a clear idea of what the piece should sound like
- Connecting notes with the fingering necessary to play those notes
British follow-up study of McPherson & Renwick musical mental representations study
- McPherson & Renwick’s findings were backed up by a British study, which found that students with more highly developed mental representations were able to monitor their progress and detect their mistakes better.
- They were also able to match the appropriate practice techniques according to the mistakes they were making
the relationship between skill and mental representation
The relationship between skill and mental representation is a virtuous cycle: as one increases, the other does too
example of skill and mental representation as a virtuous cycle
Gabriella Imreh, an expert pianist, developed a mental representation of a new piece and most of her work involved getting her performance to match her artistic image
are physical activities exclusively physical?
no, physical activities are mental too
how do you establish mental representations?
bit by bit
