Development and Adaptation of Expertise: The Role of Self-Regulatory Processes and Beliefs

The attainment of expertise in diverse fields requires more than nascent talent, initial task interest, and high-quality instruction; it also involves personal initiative, diligence, and especially practice. Both the quality and quantity of an expert's practice have been linked directly to acquisition and maintenance of high levels of performance (Ericsson, 1996, Ericsson, Chapter 38). Regarding its quality, the practice of experts is characterized by its conscious deliberate properties – namely, a high level of concentration and the structuring of specific training tasks to facilitate setting appropriate personal goals, monitoring informative feedback, and providing opportunities for repetition and error correction (Ericsson, Krampe, & Tesch-Römer, 1993). Deliberate attention (i.e., strategic awareness) is believed to be necessary to overcome prior habits, to self-monitor accurately, and to determine necessary adjustments.