New research offers probably the most conclusive evidence up to now that intelligence is related to chess skill—a hotly debated issue in psychology. The results refute the concept that expertise relies exclusively on intensive training.
“Chess is most likely the only most studied domain in research on expertise, the evidence for that relationship between chess skill and cognitive ability is mixed,” states Alexander Burgoyne, a graduate student at Michigan Condition College and lead author from the study printed within the journal Intelligence.
“We examined one half-century price of research on intelligence and chess skill and located that cognitive ability contributes meaningfully to individual variations in chess skill.”
“When you are looking at expertise, practice and training undoubtedly are a bit of the puzzle,” states Zach Hambrick, a psychology professor at Michigan Condition. “But this research implies that, for chess a minimum of, intelligence is yet another bit of the puzzle.”
For that in-depth study, referred to as a meta-analysis, they considered nearly 2,300 scholarly articles on chess skill, searching particularly for studies that incorporated a stride of cognitive ability (for example IQ score) and objective chess skill (like the Elo rating, which ranks players according to game performance). The ultimate sample incorporated 19 studies about 1,800 total participants.
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The meta-analysis represents the very first attempt by researchers to systematically investigate best available scientific evidence for that outcomes of intellect and chess skill, states Burgoyne.
The outcomes reveal that intelligence was associated with chess skill for that overall sample, but particularly among youthful chess players and individuals at ‘abnormal’ amounts of skill. This can be since the upper-level players represent a winnowed distribution of cognitive ability—in short, all of them are usually fairly vibrant. (By means of comparison, Burgoyne states, think about the world’s best basketball players. Although there’s basically no correlation between height and points scored at this level, that does not mean height isn’t essential in basketball.)
Hambrick offers another potential explanation: “Imagine that the genius may become an experienced chess player relatively easily, whereas you aren’t average intelligence might take longer. Therefore the idea is, while you practice many develop more skills and understanding concerning the game, you might be able to circumvent limitations in cognitive ability.”
This can be true for chess, he adds, although not for those activities.
Within an earlier study, Hambrick along with a friend discovered that working memory, a cognitive ability associated with general intelligence, predicted success around the corner-studying music even among highly practiced pianists.
Study coauthors include researchers in the College of Liverpool, Situation Western Reserve College, and Edith Cowan College.
Source: Michigan Condition College
Resourse: http://futurity.org/chess-intelligence-skill-1247052-2/