It Takes More Than Practice and Experience to Become a Chess Master: Evidence from a Child Prodigy and from Adult Tournament Players

dc.contributor.advisorLane, David M.en_US
dc.creatorChang, Yu-Hsuanen_US
dc.date.accessioned2017-07-31T16:25:20Zen_US
dc.date.available2017-07-31T16:25:20Zen_US
dc.date.created2016-08en_US
dc.date.issued2016-06-07en_US
dc.date.submittedAugust 2016en_US
dc.date.updated2017-07-31T16:25:20Zen_US
dc.description.abstractEricsson’s theory of deliberate practice and Chase and Simon’s recognition-action theory both hold that the key to reaching master level performances at chess is to engage at least 10,000 hours of deliberate practice. In addition, Ericsson claims that the primary source of individual differences in chess skill is deliberate practice time. In this dissertation, two studies were conducted to investigate whether deliberate practice or other chess-related experience is sufficient to explain individual differences. Study 1 investigated the amount of time a young and exceptional chess player, CS, had studied alone and engaged in other chess-related experiences. CS spent little time studying alone and little time engaging in other chess-related experiences. Nonetheless, she achieved an exceptional chess level. CS’s achievement is difficult to reconcile with Ericsson’s 10-year/10,000-hour practice rule. Study 2 investigated factors contributing to the chess skills of 77 adult chess subjects, showing that time spent studying alone and time spent engaging in other chess-related activities are strongly related to chess skill. However, contrary to the theory of deliberate practice and recognition-action theory, other factors including domain-general fluid intelligence, domain-specific fluid intelligence, and domain-specific crystallized intelligence all contributed to chess skill even after controlling for practice and other chess-related activities. These findings support the view that spending time studying alone and playing chess is necessary, but not sufficient to achieve a high chess performance level.en_US
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_US
dc.identifier.citationChang, Yu-Hsuan. "It Takes More Than Practice and Experience to Become a Chess Master: Evidence from a Child Prodigy and from Adult Tournament Players." (2016) Diss., Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/95576">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/95576</a>.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/95576en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.en_US
dc.subjectChild Prodigyen_US
dc.subjectDeliberate Practiceen_US
dc.subjectExpertiseen_US
dc.subjectChessen_US
dc.subjectRecognition-Action Theoryen_US
dc.titleIt Takes More Than Practice and Experience to Become a Chess Master: Evidence from a Child Prodigy and from Adult Tournament Playersen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.type.materialTexten_US
thesis.degree.departmentPsychologyen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineSocial Sciencesen_US
thesis.degree.grantorRice Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelDoctoralen_US
thesis.degree.majorCognitive Neuroscienceen_US
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophyen_US
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
CHANG-DOCUMENT-2016.pdf
Size:
2.49 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
PROQUEST_LICENSE.txt
Size:
5.84 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
LICENSE.txt
Size:
2.61 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description: