10. Neurobiology of Learning: Skills and Expertise

AI generated by the Kai thing btw, will need to review these (but this lecture is literally the worst soooo... yeah who gaf)

Skills

The capacity to do something well; technique

Usually acquired or learned

Abilities

Thought to be innate

Expertise

A high level of skill or knowledge in a particular area, which can be developed through deliberate practice.

Nature vs Nurture

A debate concerning contributions of genetic inheritance (nature) and environmental factors (nurture) to individual differences in expertise.

Nature

This view holds that expertise reflects innate talent

Nurture

This view argues that if talent even exists its effects on ultimate performance are negligible - deliberate practise is essential

Deliberate Practice

A specific type of practice aimed at improving performance, characterized by tasks designed for improvement through repetition and feedback.

Working Memory Capacity

The amount of information that can be held temporarily when performing cognitive tasks.

Distractors have a negative effect on attention as they take this up

Genes

Molecular level research on these finds links between specific ones and elite performance (e.g. the genotype for the ACTN3 gene and performance in various sprint events)

Ericsson’s claims

1. Deliberate practice = better skill

2. Genetics and abilities only influence early

3. 10+ years to expertise

4. Deliberate practice = better than the rest

5. Better elite = early practice

Hambrick’s rebuttals

1. Other factors more important than DP

2. Genetic influences last longer

3. Not really a 10 year rule

4. Other predictors are strong too

5. No difference in elite with age of onset

Ericsson’s first claim

The higher the skill level, the higher the average amount of deliberate practice

Hambrick’s first rebuttal

Evidence suggests that factors other than deliberate practice play a more substantial role than deliberate practice on raising the skill level

Ericsson’s second claim

If genetically influenced abilities matter at all for domain-relevant performance, it is only early in training

Hambrick’s second rebuttal

For some tasks, there was evidence that cognitive ability factors remained predictive of performance at higher levels of skill, suggesting that genetically influenced abilities matter for longer periods in domain-relevant performance

Ericsson’s third claim

At least 10 years of deliberate practice is required to achieve expertise

Hambrick’s third rebuttal

There is evidence to contradict the ‘10-year rule’ of deliberate practice (e.g. 5.4-years - 8.4 years of chess, mean of 8.7 years for 8/10 runners)

Ericsson’s fourth claim

Deliberate practice is a stronger predictor of performance than other forms of experience

Hambrick’s fourth rebuttal

Deliberate practice is not always a stronger predictor of performance (e.g. deliberate play, doing enjoyable training activities)

Ericsson’s fifth claim

The higher the level of attained elite performance, the earlier the age of first exposure as well as starting deliberate practice

Hambrick’s fifth rebuttal

No differences in average starting age for higher and lower skill abilities, so it is not clear that early specialisation is the best recommendation for developing expertise

Learning through repetition

Trial and error

Trying to see which option does the best

Neurons are sampling the outcomes - the more practice = the more stable the representation of how to do it/the best way of doing it

Plasticity

*The brain's ability to change its structure and neural function in response to experience or training, affecting behavior (e.g. The McGuire London cab driver study, similarly a juggling study with 5% increase in grey and white matter in visual motion area)

Repetition priming

*Improvements in a behavioural response when stimuli are repeatedly presented

Can be measured in terms of accuracy or reaction time

Repetition suppression

*The behavioural facilitation caused by priming is usually accompanied by a reduction in neural response within specific cortical regions

Template Theory

*A theory asserting that expert chess players store larger amounts of information in long-term memory as templates as compared to novices.

Expertise in Chess

This involves more than memory; it relies on strategic understanding and differences in stored chess positions rather than in memory ability

• Chess positions are stored in relatively large templactes or

• Excellence is due to the superior template based knowledge of chess

Chess mastery

McGregor and Howes

In achieving this, actual chess playing focuses more on evaluating board positions than memorising them

Template

(In TT)

An abstract, schematic structure more general than an actual board position

Consists of Core (fixed information) and Slots (containing variable information about pieces and locations

Media Multitasking

Simultaneous engagement with multiple media forms, which can negatively impact attention and cognitive performance. For instance, university students during lectures

Bayesian Inference

* The strength of a conclusion/decision is partly dependent on the degree of prior conviction/belief

New information changes the probability of a given conclusion/inference

Hippocampus

A brain region crucial for the consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory and spatial memory that enables navigation.

Cognitive Load

The total amount of mental effort being used in the working memory, which can be affected by distractions and multitasking.

Feedback

Information provided to learners about their performance, crucial for guiding improvement and fostering expertise.

Continuous Learning

The ongoing process of learning and adapting, essential for skill acquisition and expertise development.

Digital Distractions

Interference caused by digital devices during learning, which can hinder concentration and cognitive performance.

Research Methods

Approaches used to objectively assess performance and factors contributing to expertise through controlled experiments.