The theory of skill acquisition and how it applies to FPL

A {Thread}

#FPL #FPLCommunity #FPLPsychology

The term expert is a bit of an ugly word in the FPL Community but exploring Professor Stuart Dreyfus' definition can help us think about its meaning in a different way than what I've traditionally seen on twitter.

Dreyfus’ theory revolves around the thought that there are different phases in how we learn and ultimately become experts in an area. By knowing which phase we are in we can make more out of it and increase the speed in which we learn.

1) The first stage is the student phase. If this is only your first or second season playing FPL it’s likely you’re in this phase.
The student learns the basic rules or concepts quickly and starts to understand when it makes sense to apply these and when it doesn't.

Examples of such basic rules and concepts are how to handle fatigue, injuries & nailedness.
The student’s learning will progress rapidly and it’s a great time to have someone else to discuss the game with who can help you with basic strategy.

They will also start to learn important pattern recognition. An example of this is how cup games affect teams differently because of differences in fitness levels and squad depth. Next time a similar scenario occurs history will now remind you and help you adjust accordingly.

2) Phase 2 can be called the scientist phase. In this stage you are confident in making your own decisions.
You are not listening to others as much, but instead start to explore a lot more on your own.

This can be challenging because your passion for the game will make you focus it in a different and more intense way than you have experienced before. You will find satisfaction from the exploration but it can also affect you in a negative way.

So it’s important to realize this and not get burnt out emotionally. Many managers can attest to how obsessive of a game this can be.
To help with this you can set some personal goals that are fun!

A fun mini game could for example be a side game with friends where the one with the worst performing bench loses. Or the one with the best Vice Captain wins. These type of mini games also has another benefit in that it helps you attack and view the game from a different angle.

It could help you realize new aspects about how to use the bench or vice captain better in the future.

In this phase you begin to know enough about the game to understand how much you don’t know. Contrary to intuition this is actually a
good sign, a sign that you have come to...

...the next step in your skill development. You can’t rely solely on fundamentals anymore. By developing your own rules for specific situations you will continue your learning, and to do so you must continuously practice trial and error. Making mistakes is not only inevitable...

...; it's necessary. This doesn't mean failing isn't difficult however. Knowing the path you decided to embark upon was solely up to you might tilt you and in such situations it's easy to place blame on external factors. Here's where I think a stoic mindset comes in handy!

3) The third and last phase is the expert phase. This is where a lot of things come naturally to you.
The expert takes risks and doesn’t get mad when it isn’t an immediate success. They're focused more on the process than on the outcome, trusting their method and experience...

...will eventually prove succesful. Especially in games of variance because the expert realize it’s a natural part of the game. Taking risks is the way to develop the fastest and mainly manifest itself in trying new strategies.

Sticking with what we know might prevent short-term loss but the expert knows the value of being flexible and being able to change strategies on the fly.

They know the value of failure, because it’s only after analyzing its cause and reason a valuable lesson can be learned.

My simplified conclusion is that this definition of an expert is made up of two halves: experience and mindset. Experience is necessary, but experience alone will only take you so far. It's the mindset true experts adopt that set them up for success over and over again.

To improve the speed in which we gain experience and develop our mindset I’m going to leave you with two suggestions.

Since there aren’t that many decisions to be made during a season (only about 3 real decisions per GW: FTs, captaincy, and who to bench) my first suggestion is to try to play some other games like chess and examine if you can start viewing short term losses in a new way.

My second suggestion is to be committed to helping a lot of your FPL friends out with their decisions. You will then put yourself in more situations that replicate the ones you want to excel at. Try to remember the result of your advice and why it panned out as it did.

Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I'm not a psychologist, just someone who is interested in sharing concepts that makes us play FPL better!

Looking forward to hear what the community think, including @DhillonAjit @FPLGOAT7 @FPL_SOS @ZhouFPL @Reuser5 @FPL_Batman @FPLarrows