Peak Ch. 3

Question 1

blindfold chess is an example of _____

Answer 1

what it is possible to achieve through deliberate practice

Question 2

Alexander Alekhine

Answer 2

• 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

Question 3

Simon & Chase chess study findings

Answer 3

• 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

Question 4

verbal memory and meaningful chunks study

Answer 4

• 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

Question 5

what predicts chess players’ ability

Answer 5

the number of hours they spend studying master games and predicting the next move, not the time they spend playing chess

Question 6

how many chunks have chess players accumulated by the time they become masters?

Answer 6

50,000

Question 7

how are chunks organized?

Answer 7

hierarchically, with groups of chunks arranged into higher-level patterns

Question 8

chess mental representations include:

Answer 8

• 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

Question 9

function of chess mental representations

Answer 9

they allow masters to mentally move around pieces

Question 10

do non-experts use mental representations?

Answer 10

yes, we are all constantly using mental representations

Question 11

mental representation

Answer 11

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

Question 12

mental representations among people

Answer 12

Some people have more detailed representations than others

Question 13

purpose of deliberate practice

Answer 13

to develop more efficient mental representations

Question 14

mental representations across domains

Answer 14

• Mental representations are highly domain-specific
• There’s no such thing as developing a general ability

Question 15

function of mental representations

Answer 15

making it possible to process large amounts of information quickly despite the limits of short-term memory

Question 16

mental representations of experts

Answer 16

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

Question 17

what is the best way to form a mental representation of something?

Answer 17

by getting to know it

Question 18

how do experts view collections of things?

Answer 18

• 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

Question 19

Ericsson et al. soccer study

Answer 19

• 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

Question 20

Ericsson et al. soccer study in football quarterbacks

Answer 20

The same trend is true for football quarterbacks

Question 21

rock climbers and mental representations 2014 study

Answer 21

• 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

Question 22

mental representations help us to:

Answer 22

• Understand and interpret information
• Hold information in memory
• Organize information
• Analyze information
• Make decisions

Question 23

are most people experts?

Answer 23

Most of us are experts at something whether we realize it or not

Question 24

what is the key factor in determining a person’s comprehension of a story about football or baseball

Answer 24

• 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

Question 25

studying and mental representations

Answer 25

The more you study a subject, the more detailed your mental representations of it become

Question 26

3 things involved in diagnosing, all of which can be improved with mental representations:

Answer 26

• 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

Question 27

mental representations of doctors findings

Answer 27

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

Question 28

mental representations of insurance agents study

Answer 28

A recent study found that highly successful insurance agents had more complex and integrated mental representations and if-then structures

Question 29

mental representations and planning

Answer 29

• Mental representations can be used to plan a wide variety of activities
• The better the representation, the more effective the planning

Question 30

knowledge-telling approach to writing

Answer 30

involves writing what comes into your head

Question 31

knowledge-transforming approach to writing

Answer 31

• The process of writing changes and adds to the knowledge that the writer had when starting out
• Involves developing mental representations

Question 32

what approach to writing is the most effective

Answer 32

the knowledge-transforming method

Question 33

mental representations and learning

Answer 33

• Mental representations can help us learn
• Ex. advanced musicians make detailed mental representations of pieces and use them to provide their feedback

Question 34

McPherson & Renwick musical mental representations study

Answer 34

found that differences in musical performance can be explained by how well students can detect errors (how detailed their mental representations are)

Question 35

advantage of the McPherson & Renwick musical mental representations study

Answer 35

personal study

Question 36

disadvantage of the McPherson & Renwick musical mental representations study

Answer 36

small sample size

Question 37

forms of mental representations of music

Answer 37

• Aural: a clear idea of what the piece should sound like
• Connecting notes with the fingering necessary to play those notes

Question 38

British follow-up study of McPherson & Renwick musical mental representations study

Answer 38

• 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

Question 39

the relationship between skill and mental representation

Answer 39

The relationship between skill and mental representation is a virtuous cycle: as one increases, the other does too

Question 40

example of skill and mental representation as a virtuous cycle

Answer 40

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

Question 41

are physical activities exclusively physical?

Answer 41

no, physical activities are mental too

Question 42

how do you establish mental representations?

Answer 42

bit by bit