Beyond nature vs. nurture in expertise research – comment on Baker & Wattie

The field of expertise is mired in a nature vs. nurture debate. Despite what we now know from behavioral genetics research about the underpinnings of human behavior, some expertise theorists continue to deny or downplay the importance of genetic factors (“innate talent”) in expert performance. In this commentary, we argue that this viewpoint is neither defensible nor productive. Our argument is based on two observations. First, there are always limits on human performance, even among individuals who have engaged in long periods of intensive training. Second, grounded in a neurobiological system that has evolved through natural selection, variation across people in phenotypes reflecting these limits will have a genetic component. We comment on directions for future research to advance the field of expertise

Understanding “What Could Be”: A Call for ‘Experimental Behavioral Genetics’

Behavioral genetic (BG) research has yielded many important discoveries about the origins of human behavior, but offers little insight into how we might improve outcomes. We posit that this gap in our knowledge base stems in part from the epidemiologic nature of BG research questions. Namely, BG studies focus on understanding etiology as it currently exists, rather than etiology in environments that could exist but do not as of yet (e.g., etiology following an intervention). Put another way, they focus exclusively on the etiology of “what is” rather than “what could be”. The current paper discusses various aspects of this field-wide methodological reality, and offers a way to overcome it by demonstrating how behavioral geneticists can incorporate an experimental approach into their work. We outline an ongoing study that embeds a randomized intervention within a twin design, connecting “what is” and “what could be” for the first time. We then lay out a more general framework for a new field—experimental BGs—which has the potential to advance both scientific inquiry and related philosophical discussions

Individual differences point to two separate processes involved in the resolution of binocular rivalry

Although binocular rivalry is different from other perceptually bistable phenomena in requiring interocular conflict, it also shares numerous features with those phenomena. This raises the question of whether, and to what extent, the neural bases of binocular rivalry and other bistable phenomena overlap. Here we examine this question using an individual-differences approach. In a first experiment, observers reported perception during four binocular rivalry tasks that differed in the features and retinal locations of the stimuli used. Perceptual dominance durations were highly correlated when compared between stimuli that differed in location only. Correlations were substantially weaker, however, when comparing stimuli comprised of different features. Thus, individual differences in binocular-rivalry perception partly reflect a feature-specific factor that is not shared among all variants of binocular rivalry. Our second experiment again included several binocular rivalry variants, but also a different form of bistability: moving plaid rivalry. Correlations in dominance durations between binocular rivalry variants that differed in feature content were again modest. Moreover, and surprisingly, correlations between binocular rivalry and moving plaid rivalry were of similar magnitude. This indicates a second, more general, factor underlying individual differences in binocular rivalry perception: one that is shared across binocular rivalry and moving plaid rivalry. We propose that the first, feature-specific factor corresponds to feature-tuned mechanisms involved in the treatment of interocular conflict, whereas the second, general factor corresponds to mechanisms involved in representing surfaces. These latter mechanisms would operate at a binocular level and be central to both binocular rivalry and other forms of bistability

The relationship between cognitive ability and chess skill: a comprehensive meta-analysis

Why are some people more skilled in complex domains than other people? Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the relationship between cognitive ability and skill in chess. Chess skill correlated positively and significantly with fluid reasoning (Gf) (r−=0.24), comprehension-knowledge (Gc) (r−=0.22), short-term memory (Gsm) (r−=0.25), and processing speed (Gs) (r−=0.24); the meta-analytic average of the correlations was (r−=0.24). Moreover, the correlation between Gf and chess skill was moderated by age (r−=0.32 for youth samples vs. r−=0.11 for adult samples), and skill level (r−=0.32 for unranked samples vs. r−=0.14 for ranked samples). Interestingly, chess skill correlated more strongly with numerical ability (r−=0.35) than with verbal ability (r−=0.19) or visuospatial ability (r−=0.13). The results suggest that cognitive ability contributes meaningfully to individual differences in chess skill, particularly in young chess players and/or at lower levels of skill

Medial Temporal Lobe Volume Predicts Elders’ Everyday Memory

Deficits in memory for everyday activities are common complaints among healthy and demented older adults. The medial temporal lobes and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex are both affected by aging and early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, and are known to influence performance on laboratory memory tasks. We investigated whether the volume of these structures predicts everyday memory. Cognitively healthy older adults and older adults with mild Alzheimer’s-type dementia watched movies of everyday activities and completed memory tests on the activities. Structural MRI was used to measure brain volume. Medial temporal but not prefrontal volume strongly predicted subsequent memory. Everyday memory depends on segmenting activity into discrete events during perception, and medial temporal volume partially accounted for the relationship between performance on the memory tests and performance on an event-segmentation task. The everyday-memory measures used in this study involve retrieval of episodic and semantic information as well as working memory updating. Thus, the current findings suggest that during perception, the medial temporal lobes support the construction of event representations that determine subsequent memory

Upstream Supply Chain Visibility and Complexity Effect on Focal Company’s Sustainable Performance: Indian Manufacturers’ Perspective

Understanding supply chain sustainability performance is increasingly important for supply chain researchers and managers. Literature has considered supply chain sustainability and the antecedents of performance from a triple bottom line (economic, social, and environmental) perspective. However, the role of supply chain visibility and product complexity contingency in achieving sustainable supply chain performance has not been explored in depth. To address this gap, this study utilizes a contingent resource-based view theory perspective to understand the role of product complexity in shaping the relationship between upstream supply chain visibility (resources and capabilities) and the social, environmental, and economic performance dimensions. We develop and test a theoretical model using survey data gathered from 312 Indian manufacturing organizations. Our findings indicate that supply chain visibility (SCV) has significant influence on social and environmental performance under the moderation effect of product complexity. Hence, the study makes significant contribution to the extant literature by examining the impact of SCV under moderating effect of product complexity on social performance and environmental performance

How firms respond to financial restatement: CEO successors and external reactions

Although past studies have paid considerable attention to firms' reputations, few have investigated the actions that firms take following a reputation-damaging event. We identify firms involved in financial earnings restatements and examine whether naming a successor CEO with specific qualities serves to signal the seriousness of a firm's efforts to restore its reputation. Using theories of market signaling, we argue that attributes of successor CEOs significantly influence the reactions of key external constituencies. In particular, firms with more severe restatement tend to name successors who have prior CEO or turnaround experience and a more elite education. The naming of such successors results in more positive reactions from the stock market, financial analysts, and mass media. We argue that these attributes send messages to stakeholders and the broader public about the CEO's credibility and the firm's efforts

Understanding proficiency in a complex cognitive domain : the case of crossword puzzle solving

M.S.Timothy A. salthous