Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Direct Drug Delivery to Kidney via the Renal Artery
Published on: April 17, 2021
Toward a cumulative science of expertise: commentary on Moxley, Ericsson, and Tuffiash (2017)
Brooke N Macnamara1, David Z Hambrick2
1Department of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, USA. brooke.macnamara@case.edu.
Abstract:
In a recent Psychological Research article, Moxley, Ericsson, and Tuffiash (2017) report two studies of SCRABBLE expertise. The results revealed that the average SCRABBLE rating was higher for males than for females. Moreover, correlational and structural equation analyses revealed that activities that the authors refer to as "purposeful practice" accounted for a substantial amount of the variance in SCRABBLE ratings. The authors generalize their findings concerning SCRABBLE to STEM careers. We believe this generalization is unjustified, as is their argument that SCRABBLE can be used to understand the gender gap in STEM fields. Moreover, the authors' conclusions are undermined by inconsistencies and contradictions in their arguments. We discuss these problems with Moxley et al.'s article in terms of their impact on the cumulative science of expertise.
Related Concept Videos
Psychology as a Science
The scientific method in psychology involves six critical steps: making observations, formulating hypotheses, conducting tests, analyzing...
Cognitivism
Previously dominated by behaviorism, which prioritized observable behaviors and largely ignored mental processes, psychology transformed in the 1950s. Cognitive psychologists argue that understanding how we think and process information is...
Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...
Vygotsky's Cognitive Development in Cultural Context
Revisionist Views of Adolescent and Adult Cognition
Scientific Nature of Social Psychology