Passage - General Questions

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Passage Discussion

Paragraph One:

With regard to some types of activities, including music, chess, and some types of athletics, those who are the best are so much better than all others that some believe this suggests that such exceptional performances are attributable in some part to the existence of innate talent. This notion has been supported by data that appears to reflect the heritability of superior traits, and some psychologists note that some of the physical qualities necessary for exceptional athletic ability can be genetic; the author offers the examples of hand-eye and motor coordination, and reflex speed.

Paragraph Two:

The issue of superior performance has not been researched systematically in the past, focusing on random samples, rather than on superior performers in particular, when drawing conclusions about the heritability of traits that play a role in superior performance. More recent research suggests that exceptional performers tend to derive their abilities not from their genes but rather by acquiring the relevant skills and psychologically adapting. The author provides two examples of these acquired, specific abilities: the fast reflexes and keen perception of the very best athletes have been shown to be limited to the relevant sport (failing to appear in more general lab tests) and great chess players tend to have a great memory for configurations, but only in contexts that are relevant to chess.

Paragraph Three:

Almost all exceptional performers began as unexceptional children who got instruction early in their lives and maintained high-level training, almost always practicing for at least ten years before joining the ranks of the exceptional adult performers. With such extended, intense training, chess players can develop exceptional memory and information-processing ability, and other exceptional performers can develop traits including aerobic capacity and muscle fiber percentage.

Paragraph Four:

In the final paragraph the author states the main conclusion of the passage: evidence does not support the notion that exceptional performers require some degree of innate talent to explain their extraordinary abilities. It seems instead that it is a basic level of competence combined with sustained high-level training to which superior performance can be attributed. Since these factors depend on the necessary interest and desire, motivation appears to be a better predictor of exceptional performance than innate talent.

VIEWSTAMP Analysis:

The Viewpoints represented in this passage are those of the author, and of “Certain psychologists,” beginning on line 8.

The Structure of the passage is as follows:

• Paragraph 1: Introduce the central question of whether innate ability must be invoked to explain human performance that is significantly superior to even experienced practitioners of the given sport or endeavor, such as chess. Introduce the supporting evidence provided by some psychologists of the heritability of traits needed for such superior performance.
  
  Paragraph 2: Note that the evidence of heritability mentioned in the first paragraph was based on random samples from the population rather than on superior performers in particular. Discuss recent research which suggests that the abilities for such performance are acquired rather than innate. Support with the fact that for the very best athletes, the superior skills are limited to the contexts in which they are relevant to the endeavor for which the superior performer has trained.
  
  Paragraph 3: Provide further support for the assertion that the skills of superior human performers are acquired: Most exceptional performers did not become exceptional until after childhood, and after years of training; superior chess players can acquire the needed abilities in memory and perception; and many of the physical characteristics necessary for superior performance show a capacity for development with long-term intense training.
  
  Paragraph 4: Conclude that the evidence does not support the notion that superior human performance must be attributable in part to innate ability. Rather, it appears to depend on a basic level of competence coupled with long-term intense training, which requires an extraordinary level of interest and desire. As such, conclude that motivation appears to be a better predictor of extraordinary performance than innate talent.

The Tone of the passage is scholarly and well-reasoned.

The main Argument of the passage is also the Main Point: Superior performance is more likely the result of extended intense training than of innate talent.