What makes people great chess players? Cognitive scientist answers.

Summary

This video explores the factors influencing chess skill, including intelligence, training, and personality. While IQ correlates with chess playing ability, especially in children, it explains less than one percent of the variation in adult chess skill. Deliberate practice, involving challenging tasks and expert feedback, accounts for about 40% of skill variation. Personality traits like introversion and motivation also play a role, with highly motivated individuals engaging in more deliberate practice. The video emphasizes that expertise is narrow and training is crucial, regardless of cognitive advantages.

Takeaways

• 🧠 Intelligence and cognitive abilities like IQ, working memory, and processing speed are correlated with chess skill, but the relationship is complex and varies with age and experience.
• 🎓 The correlation between IQ and chess playing is more pronounced in children, possibly due to the types of children exposed to chess and their socioeconomic backgrounds.
• 🔍 Among serious chess players, there's a small or even reversed correlation between certain IQ measures and chess skill, suggesting that other factors are more influential.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Deliberate practice, which includes challenging practice, self-evaluation, expert feedback, and repetition, is crucial for developing high levels of chess skill.
• ⏳ The amount of time spent on deliberate practice, such as studying chess alone, is a significant predictor of chess skill, explaining about 40% of the variation.
• 🤔 Personality and motivation also play a role in chess success, with elite players often having distinct personality traits and a high need for competition and self-improvement.
• 🚫 Playing chess does not increase IQ scores, contrary to some beliefs, and any initial positive effects diminish with more rigorous study designs.
• 🌐 Cultural context influences the relationship between chess skill and factors like personality, suggesting that these links may vary across different societies and perceptions of the game.
• 🌟 Expertise in chess, as in other domains, is narrow and specific, meaning high skill in chess does not necessarily translate to expertise in other intellectual fields.
• 🌀 The importance of training in chess skill acquisition is a constant, as expertise relies on acquired knowledge and skills, which are developed through deliberate practice and learning.

Q & A

What are the three main factors that influence a person's ability to become good at chess?

The three main factors that influence a person's ability to become good at chess are intelligence or general cognitive ability, training, and personality and motivation.

How is IQ related to chess playing and skill?

IQ test scores are correlated with both chess playing and skill, with chess players generally having higher IQs than non-chess players. However, this relationship is more prominent in children than adults, and the correlation diminishes with age. Among serious chess players, there isn't a strong relationship between IQ and chess skill.

What is the role of working memory capacity and processing speed in chess skill?

Working memory capacity and processing speed are part of the general cognitive abilities that are correlated with chess skill, but the exact role they play is less clear, and the correlation between these cognitive abilities and chess skill is not as straightforward as one might think.

Does playing chess increase a person's IQ?

Playing chess does not increase a person's IQ test scores. Any initial small effect size suggesting an increase in IQ with chess playing is inversely correlated with the rigor of the study design, indicating that the relationship is likely illusory.

What is deliberate practice and how does it relate to developing chess skill?

Deliberate practice is a type of practice that involves identifying key skills, challenging practice, critical self-evaluation, expert feedback, and more practice. It is considered important for developing high levels of skill, including in chess.

How much of the variation in chess skill can be explained by deliberate practice?

A composite training score, which includes time spent studying chess alone and other training measures, can explain about 40% of the variation in chess skill.

What is the relationship between personality traits and success in chess?

There is less research on personality traits and chess success, but one study found that elite male chess players tend to be more introverted, while elite female chess players tend to be more extroverted. Higher levels of motivation are linked to greater hours of deliberate practice and higher levels of skill.

How does the cultural context affect the relationship between chess skill and factors like IQ and personality?

The cultural context in which chess is played can influence the types of personalities and cognitive abilities that are associated with success in chess. For example, if chess were a female-dominated field or if it was not considered an intellectual activity, different personality types might be more successful.

What are the constants in the development of chess skill according to the script?

The constants in the development of chess skill are that IQ is not strongly associated with chess expertise, and training will always be a large component of what constitutes chess skill.

Why is expertise in one domain, like chess, not indicative of expertise in other domains?

Expertise is very narrow and domain-specific. Becoming an expert in one field, such as chess, does not make a person an expert in other unrelated fields due to the specialized knowledge and skills required in each domain.