Gender differences in SCRABBLE performance and associated engagement in purposeful practice activities

Abstract

In two studies, the SCRABBLE skill of male and female participants at the National SCRABBLE Championship was analyzed and revealed superior performance for males. By collecting increasingly detailed information about the participants' engagement in practice-related activities, we found that over half of the variance in SCRABBLE performance was accounted for by measures of starting ages and the amount of different types of practice activities. Males and females did not differ significantly in the benefits to their performance derived from engagement in SCRABBLE-specific practice alone (purposeful practice). However, gender differences in performance were fully mediated by lower engagement in purposeful practice by females and by their rated preference for playing games of SCRABBLE-an activity where more extended engagement is not associated with increased SCRABBLE performance. General implications from our account of gender differences in skill acquisition are discussed, and future research is proposed for how the duration of engagement in effective deliberate practice can be experimentally manipulated.

Deliberate Practice and Proposed Limits on the Effects of Practice on the Acquisition of Expert Performance: Why the Original Definition Matters and Recommendations for Future Research

“…More recently Ericsson and Pool (2016) addressed this conceptual confusion and proposed the term purposeful practice for individualized practice activities which the trainee engages in to improve their performance but without the benefit of a teacher with extensive knowledge of effective methods for practice. This type of practice is well illustrated by the serious practice alone in chess (Charness et al, 1996), in SCRABBLE (Moxley et al, 2019), in darts (Duffy et al, 2004), in bowling (Harris, 2008) and many individual sports, such as running (Young and Salmela, 2010). In addition, Ericsson and Pool (2016) proposed the term naïve practice , for practice involving merely engaging in domain-relevant activities, such as playing games with friends and others in tennis, golf, and soccer.…”

Is the Deliberate Practice View Defensible? A Review of Evidence and Discussion of Issues

“…As an example, Ericsson (2005) described Charness et al’s (2005) chess study (entitled The Role of Deliberate Practice in Chess Expertise ) as providing “the most compelling and detailed evidence for how designed training (deliberate practice) is the crucial factor in developing expert chess performance” (p. 237). Nevertheless, in their recent article, Moxley et al (2019) explained that “ Charness et al (2005) found evidence for an independent effect of engagement in purposeful practice for chess skill” (p. 1163, emphasis added). As another example, Duckworth, Ericsson, and colleagues’ spelling bee study ( Duckworth et al, 2011 ) focused on deliberate practice: The article reporting the study was titled Deliberate Practice Spells Success: Why Grittier Competitors Triumph at the National Spelling Bee and the major conclusion of the study was that “[d]eliberate practice mediated the prediction of final performance by the personality trait of grit” (p. 174).…”

“…As another example, Duckworth, Ericsson, and colleagues’ spelling bee study ( Duckworth et al, 2011 ) focused on deliberate practice: The article reporting the study was titled Deliberate Practice Spells Success: Why Grittier Competitors Triumph at the National Spelling Bee and the major conclusion of the study was that “[d]eliberate practice mediated the prediction of final performance by the personality trait of grit” (p. 174). Yet the recent Moxley et al (2019) article stated that “[a]fter the questionnaire, we asked participants to fill out several additional personality measures that Duckworth et al (2011) had found to be related to purposeful practice in preparation for competitions in spelling” (p. 1158, emphasis added).…”

“…Specifically, referring to Tuffiash et al’s (2007) SCRABBLE study, Ericsson et al (2009) stated that “[s]everal researchers have reported a consistent association between the amount and quality of solitary activities meeting the criteria of deliberate practice and performance in different domains of expertise, such as…Scrabble ( Tuffiash et al, 2007 )” (p. 9). However, Moxley et al (2019) wrote that because SCRABBLE lacks professional coaches “SCRABBLE players cannot engage in deliberate practice, but only purposeful practice and other types of practice” (p. 1150). Under this new framework, activities that once qualified as deliberate practice are now classified as less effective purposeful practice.…”

Toward a multifactorial model of expertise: beyond born versus made

“…Adding to the confusion, Ericsson and colleagues appear to be reinterpreting studies they previously used to argue for the importance of deliberate practice as studies of a less effective form of practice that Ericsson and Pool 33 termed "purposeful practice" (i.e., self-directed practice). Consider Moxley et al's 34 portrayal of a study of spelling bee contestants by Duckworth et al 35 The explicit focus of that study was deliberate practice: Along with appearing in the title, "deliberate practice" appears 72 times in the study report, and Ericsson 36 himself once stated: "In that study we (as I was also one of the co-authors) collected data on 'deliberate practice'" It is, of course, appropriate to revise a theory as evidence accumulates. This is part and parcel of what the philosopher of science Lakatos termed a "progressive" program of research.…”