12 Things People Actually Get Worse At The More They Practice

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Practice is often believed to be the key to improvement in any skill or activity. We assume that the more we practice, the better we become. However, there are surprising instances where the opposite seems to be true. In certain areas, people can actually get worse the more they practice. These counterintuitive phenomena challenge our traditional notions of progress and reveal the complexities of human performance.

1. Choking Under Pressure

No matter how skilled or experienced someone is, pressure situations can trigger unexpected performance breakdowns. Take professional athletes, for example. Despite honing their skills through countless hours of practice, some athletes can experience a decline in their performance during high-stakes events. The pressure to excel often disrupts their ability to execute skills they’ve mastered. The more they practice, the higher the expectations, and this added pressure can lead to choking, causing a decline in their performance at critical moments.

2. Perceptual Expertise

One might assume that the more someone practices and becomes an expert in a particular field, the better they would be at perceiving relevant information. Surprisingly, research suggests otherwise. In certain domains, such as radiology or airport security screening, experienced professionals can actually become less accurate over time. This phenomenon, known as “inattentional blindness,” occurs when experts become so focused on specific details that they miss other important cues. Their extensive knowledge and expertise can inadvertently blind them to novel or unexpected information, resulting in a decrease in overall performance.

3. Motor Skills in Aging

With age, many physical abilities naturally decline, including motor skills. Even though older adults may continue to practice activities such as sports or playing a musical instrument, they may not see the same level of improvement as younger individuals. Age-related changes in the brain and body can affect coordination, reaction time, and muscle strength, limiting the potential for improvement despite ongoing practice. While practice can help maintain existing skills, it may not lead to the same rate of improvement as in younger individuals.

4. Creativity and Expertise

In fields requiring creative thinking, such as writing or problem-solving, experts may find it more challenging to generate novel ideas as they gain more experience. This is because expertise tends to promote a reliance on established patterns and mental frameworks. The more one practices a specific approach or method, the harder it becomes to break free from those well-worn paths and explore alternative solutions. While experience can provide valuable insights and efficiency, it may also hinder the ability to think outside the box and come up with truly innovative ideas.

5. Memory Recall

One would think that repeated practice would enhance memory recall. However, research indicates that the act of recalling information from memory can be influenced by various factors. For instance, when studying complex subjects, people who review the material in a different context from the initial learning session may experience difficulties in recalling the information accurately. This phenomenon, known as “context-dependent forgetting,” highlights how environmental cues during the learning process can impact the ability to retrieve information effectively, even with extensive practice.

6. Expert Blindness in Decision Making

Contrary to popular belief, experts in decision making or forecasting don’t always fare better than novices. Extensive practice and accumulated knowledge can sometimes lead to overconfidence and biases, impairing their judgment. Known as “expert blindness,” this phenomenon occurs when practitioners become entrenched in their routines and fail to adapt to new information or alternative perspectives. The more they practice within their domain, the more they may overlook critical factors, making their decisions less accurate and reliable.

7. Language Learning Plateaus

While practice is essential for language acquisition, learners may encounter plateaus where their progress stagnates despite continuous effort. As learners become more proficient, the remaining gaps in their knowledge become more subtle and challenging to overcome. Advanced learners often grapple with refining nuances, idiomatic expressions, and cultural subtleties that go beyond basic grammar and vocabulary. These plateaus can be frustrating, as learners may experience diminishing returns on their practice and struggle to reach native-like fluency.

8. Expert Memory and False Memories

Experts in various fields, such as eyewitness testimony or forensic investigations, are not immune to memory distortions. In fact, extensive practice can sometimes increase the susceptibility to false memories. As experts internalize knowledge and become deeply familiar with their domain, their recall can be influenced by preconceived notions and schemas, leading to the inadvertent creation or alteration of memories. The more they practice and rely on their expertise, the greater the risk of developing false memories that impact their accuracy and objectivity.

9. Skill Saturation in Gaming

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Gaming is often associated with the concept of “practice makes perfect.” However, even in gaming, there can be a point of diminishing returns. Skilled players who dedicate countless hours to honing their abilities can reach a saturation point, where their performance ceases to improve significantly. This plateau can be attributed to the limited cognitive capacity to process information, reaction time constraints, or the absence of new challenges within the game. Subsequent practice may only yield marginal gains, leaving players frustrated by their inability to achieve further advancement.

10. Motor Adaptation in Altered Environments

When individuals practice specific motor skills in a consistent environment, they become proficient in executing those tasks. However, transferring those skills to a different environment can be surprisingly difficult. For instance, a tennis player who excels on grass courts may struggle to adapt to clay or hard courts due to variations in ball speed, bounce, and surface texture. The more they practice in their familiar environment, the more their skills become specialized, making it challenging to adjust to new conditions and impeding their performance.

11. Overfitting in Machine Learning

In the realm of machine learning, overfitting is a phenomenon that occurs when a model becomes too specialized in the training data. Paradoxically, extensive practice—by repeatedly exposing the model to the same dataset—can lead to a decline in its ability to generalize and perform well on unseen data. The model becomes overly attuned to the specific patterns in the training set and fails to recognize broader patterns or adapt to new inputs. This highlights the importance of striking a balance between training and generalization to achieve optimal performance.

12. Mental Calculation and Memory Techniques

While memory techniques and mental calculation exercises are popular for improving cognitive abilities, there can be diminishing returns with excessive practice. As individuals become highly skilled in these areas, they may rely heavily on the techniques and lose sight of the underlying concepts. Consequently, their ability to perform calculations or recall information without the aid of mnemonic devices or specific strategies may deteriorate. This phenomenon demonstrates the delicate balance between utilizing memory techniques and fostering a genuine understanding of the subject matter.