Experts’ memory superiority for domain-specific random material generalizes across fields of expertise: a meta-analysis

Sala, Giovanni and Gobet, Fernand ORCID: 0000-0002-9317-6886 (2017) Experts’ memory superiority for domain-specific random material generalizes across fields of expertise: a meta-analysis. Memory and Cognition, 45 (2). 183 - 193. ISSN 0090-502X

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Abstract

Experts’ remarkable ability to recall meaningful domain-specific material is a classic result in cognitive psychology. Influential explanations for this ability have focused on the acquisition of high-level structures (e.g., schemata) or experts’ capability to process information holistically. However, research on chess players suggests that experts maintain some reliable memory advantage over novices when random stimuli (e.g., shuffled chess positions) are presented. This skill effect cannot be explained by theories emphasizing high-level memory structures or holistic processing of stimuli, because random material does not contain large structures nor wholes. By contrast, theories hypothesizing the presence of small memory structures—such as chunks—predict this outcome, because some chunks still occur by chance in the stimuli, even after randomization. The current meta-analysis assessed the correlation between level of expertise and recall of random material in diverse domains. The overall correlation was moderate but statistically significant (r¯=.41,p

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://link.springer.com/journal/13421
Additional Information:	© 2016 The Authors
Divisions:	CPNSS
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Date Deposited:	26 Oct 2019 13:39
Last Modified:	15 Nov 2024 18:24
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/102234

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