View source for Four stages of competence

{{Short description|Psychological states when gaining a skill}}
[[File:Competence Hierarchy adapted from Noel Burch by Igor Kokcharov.svg|thumb|upright=1|The four stages of competence arranged as a pyramid]]
In [[psychology]], the '''four stages of competence''', or the "conscious competence" learning model, relates to the psychological states involved in the process of progressing from incompetence to competence in a [[skill]]. People may have several skills, some unrelated to each other, and each skill will typically be at one of the stages at a given time. Many skills require practice to remain at a high level of competence.
The four stages suggest that individuals are initially unaware of how little they know, or unconscious of their incompetence. As they recognize their incompetence, they consciously acquire a skill, then consciously use it. Eventually, the skill can be utilized without it being consciously thought through: the individual is said to have then acquired unconscious competence.<ref name="In the Mush">{{cite journal |last=Flower |first=Joe |title=In the mush |journal=Physician Executive |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=64–66 |date=January 1999 |pmid=10387273 |url=https://essentials.ebsco.com/search/eds/details/in-the-mush?db=bsx&an=1560025}}</ref>
==History==
The four stages appeared in the 1960 textbook ''Management of Training Programs'' by three management professors at [[New York University]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=De Phillips |first1=Frank Anthony |last2=Berliner |first2=William M. |last3=Cribbin |first3=James J. |date=1960 |chapter=Meaning of learning and knowledge |title=Management of training programs |location=Homewood, IL |publisher=Richard D. Irwin |page=[https://archive.org/details/managementoftrai0000deph/page/69 69] |oclc=604759 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/managementoftrai0000deph/page/69 |chapter-url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/managementoftrai0000deph |url-access=registration}}</ref> Management trainer Martin M. Broadwell called the model "the four levels of teaching" in an article published in February 1969.<ref>{{cite web |last=Broadwell |first=Martin M. |date=20 February 1969 |title=Teaching for learning (XVI) |url=http://www.wordsfitlyspoken.org/gospel_guardian/v20/v20n41p1-3a.html |website=wordsfitlyspoken.org |publisher=The Gospel Guardian |access-date=11 May 2018}}</ref> Paul R. Curtiss and Phillip W. Warren mentioned the model in their 1973 book ''The Dynamics of Life Skills Coaching''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Curtiss |first1=Paul R. |last2=Warren |first2=Phillip W. |date=1973 |title=The dynamics of life skills coaching |series=Life skills series |location=Prince Albert, Saskatchewan |publisher=Training Research and Development Station, Dept. of Manpower and Immigration |page=89 |oclc=4489629 |url=https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED087852}}</ref> The model was used at [[Thomas Gordon (psychologist)|Gordon Training International]] by its employee Noel Burch in the 1970s; there it was called the "four stages for learning any new skill".<ref name="Gordon">{{cite web |url=http://www.gordontraining.com/free-workplace-articles/learning-a-new-skill-is-easier-said-than-done/ |last=Adams |first=Linda |title=Learning a new skill is easier said than done |website=gordontraining.com |publisher=Gordon Training International |access-date=21 May 2011}}</ref> Later the model was frequently attributed to [[Abraham Maslow]], incorrectly since the model does not appear in his major works.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hansen |first=Alice |date=2012 |chapter=Trainees and teachers as reflective learners |editor-last=Hansen |editor-first=Alice |title=Reflective learning and teaching in primary schools |location=London; Thousand Oaks, CA |publisher=Learning Matters; [[SAGE Publications]] |pages=32–48 ([https://books.google.com/books?id=TkRdOmV5gLkC&pg=PA34 34]) |isbn=9780857257697 |oclc=756592765 |doi=10.4135/9781526401977.n3 |display-editors=etal}}</ref>
Several elements, including helping someone "know what they don't know" or recognize a blind spot, can be compared to elements of a [[Johari window]], which was created in 1955, although Johari deals with self-awareness, while the four stages of competence deal with learning stages.
==Stages==
The four stages are:
# '''Unconscious incompetence'''
#: The individual does not understand or know how to do something and does not necessarily recognize the deficit. They may deny the usefulness of the skill. The individual must recognize their own incompetence, and the value of the new skill, before moving on to the next stage. The length of time an individual spends in this stage depends on the strength of the stimulus to learn.<ref name="In the Mush"/>
# '''Conscious incompetence'''
#: Though the individual does not understand or know how to do something, they recognize the deficit, as well as the value of a new skill in addressing the deficit. The making of mistakes can be integral to the learning process at this stage.<ref name="In the Mush" />
# '''Conscious competence'''
#: The individual understands or knows how to do something. It may be broken down into steps, and there is heavy conscious involvement in executing the new skill. However, demonstrating the skill or knowledge requires concentration, and if it is broken, they lapse into incompetence.<ref name="In the Mush"/>
# '''Unconscious competence'''
#: The individual has had so much practice with a skill that it has become "second nature" and can be performed easily. As a result, the skill can be performed while executing another task. The individual may be able to teach it to others, depending upon how and when it was learned.<ref name="In the Mush" />
==See also==
<!-- PLEASE RESPECT ALPHABETICAL ORDER -->
{{colbegin}}
* {{annotated link|Bloom's taxonomy}}
* {{annotated link|Decision theory}}
** {{annotated link|Grand strategy}}
* {{annotated link|Dreyfus model of skill acquisition}}
* {{annotated link|Dunning–Kruger effect}}
* {{annotated link|Erikson's stages of psychosocial development}}
* {{annotated link|Flow (psychology)|Flow}}
* {{annotated link|Formula for change}}
* {{annotated link|Illusory superiority}}
* {{annotated link|Immunity to change}}
* {{annotated link|Instructional scaffolding}}
* {{annotated link|Learning styles}}
* {{annotated link|Motivation}}
* {{annotated link|SECI model of knowledge dimensions}}
* {{annotated link|Solution-focused brief therapy}}
* {{annotated link|Theory of multiple intelligences}}
* {{annotated link|Transtheoretical model|aka=[[Stages of change]]}}
* {{annotated link|Zone of proximal development}}
{{colend}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Further reading==
A few examples among many [[peer-reviewed]] articles that mention the four stages:
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Conger |first1=D. Stuart |last2=Mullen |first2=Dana |date=December 1981 |title=Life skills |journal=International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=305–319 |doi=10.1007/BF00118327 |s2cid=189890482 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Engram |first=Barbara E. |date=October 1981 |title=Communication skills training for rehabilitation counselors working with older persons |journal=Journal of Rehabilitation |volume=47 |issue=4 |pages=51–56 |pmid=7321003 |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/6eb380adeaf17fa3076a389d568823e9 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Lipow |first=Anne Grodzins |date=Summer 1989 |title=Why training doesn't stick: who is to blame? |journal=[[Library Trends]] |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=62–72 |hdl=2142/7651 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Beeler |first=Kent D. |date=Winter 1991 |title=Graduate student adjustment to academic life: a four-stage framework |journal=[[National Association of Student Personnel Administrators|NASPA Journal]] |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=163–171 |doi=10.1080/00220973.1991.11072201 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220973.1991.11072201 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Underhill |first=Adrian |date=January 1992 |title=The role of groups in developing teacher self-awareness |journal=ELT Journal |volume=46 |issue=1 |pages=71–80 |doi=10.1093/elt/46.1.71 |url=https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ437860 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Naidu |first=Som |date=January 1997 |title=Collaborative reflective practice: an instructional design architecture for the Internet |journal=Distance Education |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=257–283 |doi=10.1080/0158791970180206 |url=https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ567683 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Jiyeon |last2=Gibson |first2=Chere Campbell |date=September 2003 |title=Developing self-direction in an online course through computer-mediated interaction |journal=[[American Journal of Distance Education]] |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=173–187 |doi=10.1207/S15389286AJDE1703_4 |s2cid=62716687 |url=https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ761425 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Goldfried |first=Marvin R. |date=March 2004 |title=Integrating integratively oriented brief psychotherapy |journal=[[Journal of Psychotherapy Integration]] |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=93–105 |doi=10.1037/1053-0479.14.1.93 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Donati |first1=Mark |last2=Watts |first2=Mary |date=November 2005 |title=Personal development in counsellor training: towards a clarification of inter-related concepts |journal=British Journal of Guidance & Counselling |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=475–484 |doi=10.1080/03069880500327553 |s2cid=144594377 |url=https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ721710 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Lazanas |first=Panagiotis |date=January 2006 |title=A new integrated approach for the transfer of knowledge |journal=South African Journal of Higher Education |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=461–471 |doi=10.4314/sajhe.v20i3.25588 |url=https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ852691 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Cutrer |first1=William B. |last2=Sullivan |first2=William M. |last3=Fleming |first3=Amy E. |date=October 2013 |title=Educational strategies for improving clinical reasoning |journal=[[Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care]] |volume=43 |issue=9 |pages=248–257 |doi=10.1016/j.cppeds.2013.07.005 |pmid=24070582 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Getha-Taylor |first1=Heather |last2=Hummert |first2=Raymond |last3=Nalbandian |first3=John |last4=Silvia |first4=Chris |date=March 2013 |title=Competency model design and assessment: findings and future directions |journal=Journal of Public Affairs Education |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=141–171 |doi=10.1080/15236803.2013.12001724 |jstor=23608938 |s2cid=116247757 |url=http://naspaa.org/JPAEMessenger/Article/VOL19-1/10_Getha_Taylor_et_al.pdf |access-date=2018-11-27 |archive-date=2017-08-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829213927/http://www.naspaa.org/jpaemessenger/Article/VOL19-1/10_Getha_Taylor_et_al.pdf |url-status=dead }}
{{refend}}
{{Psychology}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Four Stages Of Competence}}
[[Category:Skills]]
[[Category:Learning theory (education)]]