Psychologists reveal why practice doesn't always make perfect

Practice matters far less than we think, this is according to a new study published in Psychological Science.

17:10 03 July 2014

We are always told that the key to perfection is constant practice. However, for most of us, we struggle to get better on a specific skill despite exerting conscious effort and putting in as much time as possible. Researchers now explain that contrary to what we were told, practice matters far less than we think. 

 

A new study published in Psychological Science which was conducted by a research team from Princeton University found that although there is a positive relationship between practice and mastery, practice only accounts for small amount of the variation in skill level. Indeed it seems that some virtuoso musicians and multi-linguists were born with 'a gift' that makes them better at mastering certain skills.

 

Brooke Macnamara, who led the research that analysed the data of 88 scientific studies covering the skill areas of music, games, sports, education, and professions, said: "Deliberate practice is unquestionably important, but not nearly as important as proponents of the view have claimed."

 

The relationship between practice and skill level was found to be different for each of the domains studied. Practice seems to have the greatest effect when it comes to games; with 26per cent of individual differences in this domain being attributed to prior training. Within the fields of music and education, these numbers are 21 per cent and four per cent, respectively.