The 10,000-Hour Rule

A spirited debate has existed among psychologists for at least several generations regarding the question of whether expertise in a given field is gained through innate talent or intensive practice and experience. Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers seeks to discover why some people succeed far more than others. Gladwell argues that the true story of success is much more complex than innate talent. He postulates the theory, with abundant supporting research, that one’s rise to top of any given field is determined by what is described as the “10,000-Hour Rule.”

This theory is based largely on a study by K. Anders Ericsson. According to Ericsson, Prietula and Cokely, new research shows that outstanding performance is “the product of years of deliberate practice and coaching, not of any innate talent or skill.” In their article, entitled The Making of an Expert, they outline three key factors that underlay elite performance in a given domain. These factors are deliberate practice; outstanding coaching, feedback and mentoring; and a significant investment of effort over time (typically ten years or more).

Gladwell claims greatness or expertise requires far more than a God-given talent. The 10,000-Hour Rule is centered upon three pillars. The first is that achievement is talent plus preparation. Researchers have largely agreed on what they believe is the number for true expertise: 10,000 hours.

Daniel Levitin in his book This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession writes: “The emerging picture from such studies is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert—in anything. In study after study, of composers, basketball players, master criminals, and what have you, this number comes up again and again. Of course, this doesn’t address why some people get more out of their practice sessions than others do. But no one has yet found a case in which true world-case expertise was accomplished in less time. It seems that it takes the brain this long to assimilate all that needs to know to achieve true mastery (197).”

Obviously, ten thousand hours is an extraordinary amount of time that requires an encouraging and supporting team to achieve. 10,000 hours is roughly 3 hours a day times 10 years. Furthermore, not all hours of practice or experience are equal. This level of practice must be deliberate, intentional. It requires not simply monotonously repeating tasks and experiences, but building upon previous knowledge and experience. This is what is called scaffolding in education where strategies are developed and implemented to assist learners to succeed through support and experience by activating prior knowledge, building new experiences based upon past successes and failures, providing clear direction, clarifying purpose and expectations, and establishing momentum. The 10,000 hours must, therefore, be intense moving from one level of understanding to new heights of knowledge and experience at each new level.

The second pillar is opportunity. If one is to achieve the 10,000 hours of intensive practice to become an expert, there has to be some kind of opportunity for this practice to take place. This will often take the form of family or friends who will enable the expert-in-training to be able to escape some of the pressures of every-day life to embark upon a journey toward expertise. Normally top achievers also work closely with teachers, coaches or mentors who have reached high levels of performance themselves. This expertise requires individuals who will give of themselves and share their positive successes and painful failures of the past to motivate and guide.

The third pillar is luck. Gladwell illustrates this point by examining the formative years of Bill Gates and several others. The computer savvy Gates succeeded in part as a result of an incredibly lucky series of events—connecting with the right people at the right time in the right location.

What does this have to do with breeding and showing German Shepherd Dogs? Everything!! The question before us is simply this: What does it take for a breeder, owner, and exhibitor of the German Shepherd Dog to become an expert?? There are a number of stalwarts in the breed today. I can name quite a few and you probably can, as well. How did they become the experts they are?? And who influenced them??

In the next blog, I will seek to contextualize the 10,000-Hour Rule to breeding and showing the German Shepherd Dog. What might the 10,000 hours of intensive practice look like for the breeder, owner, exhibitor of German Shepherds??