#16 The Mind of Skill, Part 2: Endurance—Noel Brick on self-regulation, attention, and cognitive strategies

The present podcast is the second episode in a podcast-series which we have named ‘The Mind of Skill’. As the name indicates, this series investigates the mental dimensions of skill by interviewing a line of current experts.  Besides being of interest in itself, the nature of skill is related to more general questions of human existence. To take some examples, many of the ancient Greek philosophers saw a clear link between virtue and skill: according to them, virtuous individuals who were capable of living well could in some sense also be seen as people who acquired the skill to live. Buddhist teachings also often stress the virtuous and awakened person as a skilful person—skilful in conduct, concentration, and wisdom. In Zen Buddhist practice this is highlighted in activities such as calligraphy, poetry, tea-making, and many other activities requiring a high level of skill. These examples stress that there seems to be a clear connection between skill and the good life. The hope is that this series can clarify some aspects of this connection and perhaps even inspire the listener to explore it.The focus of this particular episode is endurance—and the relations between endurance, skill, and different psychological processes. To introduce us to these exciting relations, the guest of this episode is sports psychologist and lecturer at Ulster University, Dr. Noel Brick. Noel has done research on a great variety of topics concerning the psychological benefits and dynamics involved in both high-level elite and recreational athletes. Among his many interesting publications, a considerable amount of them focus on the cognitive and metacognitive processes that athletes utilise to control their attention and coping mechanisms under performance. The first part of the interview with Noel concerns his own background in both sports psychology and long-distance running. In the second part, the interview concerns different elements in self-regulation of elite athletes and the importance of attention and general cognitive control in such regulation. On the background of this, the third part of the interview discusses the importance of metacognition in controlling such cognitive strategies and enabling performance enhancing attention allocation. At last, the fourth part of the interview ends with some broader considerations on how we all can learn from the psychology of elite athletes and their performance. This part also mentions that Noel, together with Scott Douglas, will release a book on this topic in the summer 2021.  We hope you enjoy the interview!  Host: Victor LangeProduction: Heine VolderMusic: Victor Lange & Heine Volder

Om Podcasten

Regnfang Podcast er dedikeret til at udforske menneskesindet. Gennem samtaler med danske og udenlandske forskere, forfattere, litterater, kunstnere og musikere, ønsker vi at skabe bedre forståelse for, hvad der skaber vores mentale liv, samt hvordan vi selv aktivt kan være med til at forme det. I Regnfang Podcast vil du således møde alt fra kulturhistoriske, neuro-videnskabelige, filosofiske, antropologiske, religiøse og poetiske indsigter om sindet. Desuden kan du stifte bekendtskab med konkrete greb og metoder, man kan anvende til at intervenere på ens egne mentale udfoldelse, såsom meditation, åndedræt, litteratur og musik. Læs mere om Regnfang på regnfang.nu