Barbara Montero

How do great athletes defy the power law of practice, according to which improvements in skill eventually plateau? Commentators and spectators alike are fascinated by how athletes such as Roger Federer, Tom Brady, and Serena Williams are capable both of moments of exquisite brilliance and of sustaining such excellence over a prolonged period. But what separates these great athletes from those who have achieved a certain level of expertise before finding that their performance has started to plateau? How is it possible for world-class athletes- athletes who seem to be at the top of their game- to keep improving? To solve this puzzle, this book presents a theory of “continuous improvement” that explains how experts use conscious strategies to update and improve motor execution in training contexts and stabilise performance under highly pressurised conditions. It argues that expertise is characterised by an attentional flexibility involving the use of reflection, abstract thought, and bodily awareness; processes used by athletes to alter bodily routines in response to contextual demands. Drawing on theory and empirical findings from a wide range of disciplines including psychology, sociology, and cognitive science, the authors outline methodological approaches and practical strategies that can be used by coaches, researchers, and athletes to understand, improve, and maintain optimal levels of performance. A fascinating exploration into the psychological and physical processes behind elite performance, this book will be an insightful read for students and academics of sport science, sport psychology, and kinesiology, as well as coaches, practitioners working with performers, athletes, or anyone with an interest in physical performance and improvement.

Economics is often defined as the science of choice or human action. But choice and action are essentially mental phenomena, an aspect rarely mentioned in the economics discourse. Choice, while not always a conscious or rational process, is held to involve beliefs, desires, intentions and arguably even free will. Actions are often opposed to mere bodily movements, with the former being in some sense only understandable in reference to mental processes while the latter are understandable in entirely non-mental, physical terms. While philosophers have long concerned themselves with the connections between these concepts, economists have tended to steer clear of what might appear to be an a priori debate. At the same time, philosophers working on these important notions have tended to not dirty their hands with the empirical, real-world applications in which economists are specialized. This volume fills these gaps by bringing economists and philosophers of mind together to explore the intersection of their disciplines.

Economics is often defined as the science of choice or human action. But choice and action are essentially mental phenomena, an aspect rarely mentioned in the economics discourse. Choice, while not always a conscious or rational process, is held to involve beliefs, desires, intentions and arguably even free will. Actions are often opposed to mere bodily movements, with the former being in some sense only understandable in reference to mental processes while the latter are understandable in entirely non-mental, physical terms. While philosophers have long concerned themselves with the connections between these concepts, economists have tended to steer clear of what might appear to be an a priori debate. At the same time, philosophers working on these important notions have tended to not dirty their hands with the empirical, real-world applications in which economists are specialized. This volume fills these gaps by bringing economists and philosophers of mind together to explore the intersection of their disciplines.