Research on Expertise in Sport: Implications for the Military

Abstract

The study of expert performance has become a popular area for sport psychologists. Knowledge of factors that differentiate those with varying levels of skill is helpful in determining the limits on human performance and in designing suitable training interventions and support mechanisms to facilitate the acquisition of expertise. The expert performance approach may be employed as a systematic framework for studying expertise across domains. The first step is to capture the essence of expert performance in the laboratory under controlled and reproducible conditions. Process-tracing methods and representative task manipulations are then employed to identify the mechanisms mediating expert performance. Finally, the deliberate practice activities in which experts engage, and changes in the nature of mediating processes leading to improvement with practice, are identified using retrospective and longitudinal methods. The approach is recommended to those working in the military to encourage evidence-based practice in developing elite service personnel.