The Dreyfus model of skill acquisition and developing trading expertise

As I have said earlier the key to success in trading is about developing procedural memory. Procedural memory is a long term memory for skills. It is implicit memory and as a result difficult to verbalize.

Procedural memories are muscle or thinking sequences which have been internalized by the brain and when required to perform a task the procedural memory kicks in and you can effortlessly do the task without being aware of steps. Procedural memory is also called skills memory.

The most well known psychological model of skill acquisition is called Dreyfus model. In 1980, two brothers working in the area of artificial intelligence and software were commissioned by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFSC)to study skill acquisition. They submitted a report to AFSC titled " A five stage model of mental activities involved in skill acquisition".

Subsequently the model was published by them in a book Mind over machine: The power of human intuition and expertise in the era of the computer , in which they proposed a model of skill acquisition that argued that skill acquisition process is 5 progressive stages of development.

The five stages of development are:

Stage 1: novice
Stage 2 : advanced beginner
Stage 3: competent
Stage 4 : proficient
Stage 5: expert

Novice

At novice stage it is all about following the rules. The novice thinks in terms of rules but has no context or ability to modify rules. At this stage the energy is focusing on following the rules rather than thinking.

Advance Beginner

Is still rule based but rules are now situational based . So instead of blindly using the rules at this stage you start using a set of rule in a A situation and different set of rules in B situation.

Competent

At this stage you start to realize that performing this skill has more to it than just following rules or changing rules according to situation. You start to see patterns and principles and start realizing rules are not absolute and they are guidelines or rule of thumb. You start performing the skills more by experience and active decision making rather than strict rules.

Proficient

At this stage you start thinking in terms of complete picture. You develop a perspective about your area of skill or focus.

Expert

At this stage it is intuitively appropriate action without being conscious of you skills.

The Dreyfus model of skill acquisition is widely used in various fields to develop instruction material for training new skills. As a trader if you understand the model you can work on your own skills better.

Best site to learn to trade

If you are serious about your trading and want to build an enduring edge, the Stockbee Member site might help you.

Members tell me they have tried a lot of things before coming to my site, and it has offered them the most extensive and detailed methods to swing and position trade. Members range from very experienced traders to novices.

No advertising, no hard marketing, no promotions, no free offers, no affiliate marketing, no incentive to other bloggers to promote the site, no constant tweets self-promoting the site, and no tall claims. Every member comes through word-of-mouth recommendations from existing members.

As a member, you will learn the basics of swing trading, momentum investing, growth investing, and risk management. You will learn about Stockbee Momentum Burst breakouts, Stockbee Trend Intensity Breakouts, Stockbee Episodic Pivots Breakouts, Stockbee Lemonade Strategy for 401k, and many other member-shared methods.

You will learn how to set up your own scans, how to select the right kind of stocks, how to set up stops, when to enter, when to exit, how much to risk, how to track your trades, and all other details about trading.

You will learn about developing your own methods and not relying on others for trade ideas. Develop your own edge. Once you develop your own method, you will have a lifelong profitable method.

The site gives you an opportunity to interact with some of the most successful traders and learn from them about their trading methods. It is a vibrant community with members from different backgrounds and experiences willing to help each other. Members have shared their methods, scans, software, backtests, and market insights.

Every day, the emphasis is on continuous learning and upgrading of market knowledge and setup knowledge. The members range from hedge fund employees, financial advisers, active swing traders, investors, and new traders.

You will see that many trading bloggers have been using my market timing methods, scans, and chart templates. They have developed their own methods based on my methods.

Almost every member comes through a recommendation of some of the leading trading bloggers and trading sites. 80% or more members continue to be members for more than 3 years. Most tell me that they stay on because every day they learn so much from the members' site.

If you are looking to develop your own trading strategy, the membership site might be for you. You have to be willing to put in the effort to build your own method. There are no silver bullets offered on the members' site. Every method, every scan, every nuance is detailed, and all possible help is offered to design your own method.

404

Recent Articles