Defining elite athletes: Issues in the study of expert performance in sport psychology

Abstract

Objectives: There has been considerable inconsistency and confusion in the definition of elite/expert athletes in sport psychology research, which has implications for studies conducted in this area and for the field as a whole. This study aimed to: (i) critically evaluate the ways in which recent research in sport psychology has defined elite/expert athletes; (ii) explore the rationale for using such athletes; and (iii) evaluate the conclusions that research in this field draws about the nature of expertise. Design: Conventional systematic review principles were employed to conduct a rigorous search and synthesise findings. Methods: A comprehensive literature search of SPORTDiscus, Academic Search Complete, PsycINFO, and PsycARTICLES was completed in September, 2013 which yielded 91 empirical studies published between 2010 and 2013. The primarily qualitative findings were analysed thematically. Results: Eight ways of defining elite/expert athletes were identified, ranging from Olympic champions to regional level competitors and those with as little as two years of experience in their sport. Three types of rationale were evident in these studies (i.e., "necessity", "exploratory" and "superior"); while findings also indicated that some elite athletes are psychologically idiosyncratic and perhaps even dysfunctional in their behaviour. Finally, only 19 of the 91 included studies provided conclusions about the nature of expertise in sport. Conclusions: This study suggests that the definitions of elite athletes vary on a continuum of validity, and the findings are translated into a taxonomy for classifying expert samples in sport psychology research in future. Recommendations are provided for researchers in this area. Objectives: There has been considerable inconsistency and confusion in the definition of 2 elite/expert athletes in sport psychology research, which has implications for studies 3 conducted in this area and for the field as a whole. This study aimed to: (i) critically evaluate 4 the ways in which recent research in sport psychology has defined elite/expert athletes; (ii) 5 explore the rationale for using such athletes; and (iii) evaluate the conclusions that research in 6 this field draws about the nature of expertise. Results: Eight ways of defining elite/expert athletes were identified, ranging from Olympic 14 champions to regional level competitors and those with as little as two years of experience in 15 their sport. Three types of rationale were evident in these studies (i.e., "necessity", 16"exploratory" and "superior"); while findings also indicated that some elite athletes are Nadal, who can perform apparently impossible skills with remarkable consistency and 4 precision. In an effort to understand the cognitive and neural processes that underlie such 5 exceptional skills, researchers in disciplines such as cognitive psychology, sport psychology, 6 motor learning/skill acquisition, kinesiology and neuroscience have developed a field of 7 inter-disciplinary inquiry that is concerned ...

Categorising and defining popular psychological terms used within the youth athlete talent development literature: a systematic review

“…One such example is Swann et al (2015), who identified considerable inconsistencies in the definition of elite or expert athletes. It was suggested that imprecision in the criteria used to define 'expert' or 'elite' performers could skew conclusions about the nature of psychological expertise in sport.…”

“…It was suggested that imprecision in the criteria used to define 'expert' or 'elite' performers could skew conclusions about the nature of psychological expertise in sport. Against this background, Swann et al (2015) systematically evaluated available literature and created guidelines that help researchers to define athletes' level of 'expertise' with greater transparency. Similarly, Gould and Carson (2008) critiqued literature that investigated life skills development through sport.…”

Terminology and nomenclature in sport and exercise medicine

“…Recently a paper was published which focussed on athlete proficiency. [6] This paper provided clear definitions for athlete proficiency so that athletes can be correctly ranked into categories, instead of being loosely described as "elite" or "high level". This refining of definitions will assist researchers around the world to describe their athletes similarly; a consequence will be better quality science.…”

The acquisition of pedagogical expertise in dance : a constraints-led approach

“…A plurality of perspectives in relation to how expertise and experts should be defined across many fields was noted within the literature on expertise (Baker, Wattie, & Schorer, 2015;Cooke, 1992;Swann, Moran, & Piggott, 2015). One view applied a comparison-based criterion, whereby expertise was regarded as belonging to specific domains and referring to individuals with outstanding performance that was consistently superior to that of non-experts (Ericsson & Charness, 1994;Ericsson & Smith, 1991b).…”

“…Previous research on expert performance has identified that a variety of terms, such as "expert", "elite" and "professional", have been adopted in the field of sport psychology to define experts, and it was suggested that this variety of terms creates inconsistency and might influence conclusions about the nature of expertise (Swann, et al, 2015). A number of reasons can be identified for the inconsistency concerning definitions of expertise.…”