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Ability Determinants of Complex Skill Acquisition

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Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning

Synonyms

Aptitudes and human performance; Cognitive abilities and skill; Individual differences and learning; Intelligence and skill; Performance gains; Performance trajectories; Skill development; Skill growth; Skill improvement

Definition

Skill is the level of proficiency on specific tasks. It is the learned capability of an individual to achieve desired performance outcomes (Fleishman 1972). Thus, skills can be improved via practice and instruction.

Although skills differ in many ways, important distinctions can be made in terms of complexity. Task complexity is described via differences in component, coordinative, and dynamic complexity (Wood 1986). Component complexity concerns the number of distinct acts and processing of distinct information cues involved in the creation of task products. Much of the empirical literature on complex skill acquisition involves tasks comprised of both cognitive and perceptual-motor components. Coordinative complexityconcerns how different acts,...

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References

  • Ackerman, P. L. (1988). Determinants of individual differences during skill acquisition: cognitive abilities and information processing. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 117(3), 288–318.

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  • Davids, K., Button, C., & Bennett, S. (2008). Dynamics of skill acquisition: A constraints led approach. Champaign: Human Kinetics.

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  • Fleishman, E. A. (1972). On the relation between abilities, learning, and human performance. The American Psychologist, 27(11), 1017–1032.

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  • Lang, J. W. B., & Bliese, P. D. (2009). General mental ability and two types of adaptation to unforeseen change: applying discontinuous growth models to the task-change paradigm. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(2), 411–428.

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  • Wood, R. E. (1986). Task complexity: definition of the construct. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 37(1), 60–82.

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Correspondence to Matthew J. Schuelke .

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Schuelke, M.J., Day, E.A. (2012). Ability Determinants of Complex Skill Acquisition. In: Seel, N.M. (eds) Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1428-6_798

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1428-6_798

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1428-6

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