RUI: A Longitudinal Study Of Cognitive And Motivational Determinants Of Children's Acquisition Of Expertise

University Of Central Missouri, Warrensburg MO

Investigators

Abstract

The emergent literature on expertise demonstrates the powerful role of deliberate practice in the development of high-level expertise. Yet the question remains as to whether effects of such practice and dedicated effort are constrained by individual differences in cognitive aptitude, particularly when highly demanding intellectual domains are involved, and how cognitive and motivational factors interact with each other in skill development. The objectives of this study are to (1) describe the intra-individual trajectories of skill development in the game of Go for a two-year period and inter-individual differences (variance) in these developmental trajectories among a group of elementary school children (ages 6-11); (2) determine the predictive efficacy of psychometric measures of cognitive aptitude (fluid ability), as well as initial success levels, intrinsic interest, and deliberate practice, with respect to the rate of skill development; and (3) identify developmental constraints of cognition and motivation on the development of expertise in complex skill/knowledge domains. To achieve the above objectives, a longitudinal design with multiple age cohorts will be employed, and structural equation modeling will be used to model the latent growth (rate of skill development), reciprocal relationships among cognitive aptitude, initial success levels, intrinsic interest, and deliberate practice, and their effects on individual differences in the rate of the acquisition of expertise.