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The nature and nurture of expertise: a fourth dimension

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Abstract

One formative idea behind the workshop on expertise in Berkeley in August of 2010 was to develop a viable “trading zone” of ideas, which is defined as a location “in which communities with a deep problem of communication manage to communicate” (Collins et al. 2010, p. 8). In the current case, the goal is to have a trading zone between philosophers, sociologists, and psychologists who communicate their ideas on expertise such that productive interdisciplinary collaboration results. In this paper, I review Harry Collins' three-dimensional model of expertise and provide a very brief and non-inclusive overview of a psychological response. In addition, I propose an addendum to the model by adding a fourth—natural talent—dimension.

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Notes

  1. I owe this distinction to an anonymous reviewer of an earlier version of this paper, who in turn was influenced by Collins.

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  1. Department of Psychology, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA, 95120-0120, USA

    Gregory J. Feist

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Correspondence to Gregory J. Feist.

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Feist, G.J. The nature and nurture of expertise: a fourth dimension. Phenom Cogn Sci 12, 275–288 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11097-011-9240-0

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