Expert
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An expert is someone widely recognized as a reliable source of knowledge, technique, or skill whose judgment is accorded authority and status by the public or their peers. The expert differs from the specialist in that a specialist has to be able to solve a problem and an expert has to know its solution. The opposite of an expert is generally known as a layperson, while someone who occupies a middle grade of understanding is generally known as a technician and often employed to assist experts. A person may well be an expert in one field and a layperson in many other fields. The concepts of experts and expertise are debated within the field of epistemology under the general heading of expert knowledge. In contrast, the opposite of a specialist would be a generalist, somebody with expertise in many fields.
Experts have prolonged or intense experience through practice and education in a particular field. In specific fields, the definition of expert is well established by consensus and therefore it is not necessary for an individual to have a professional or academic qualification for them to be accepted as an expert. In this respect, a shepherd with 50 years of experience tending flocks would be widely recognized as having complete expertise in the use and training of sheep dogs and the care of sheep. Another example from computer science is that an expert system may be taught by a human and thereafter considered an expert, often outperforming human beings at particular tasks. In law, an expert witness must be recognized by argument and authority.
The term is widely used informally, with people being described as 'experts' in order to bolster the relative value of their opinion, when no objective criteria for their expertise is available. The term crank is likewise used to disparage opinions. Academic elitism arises when experts become convinced that only their opinion is useful, sometimes on matters beyond their personal expertise.
By a similar token, a fear of experts can arise from fear of an intellectual elite's power. In earlier periods of history, simply being able to read made one part of an intellectual elite. The introduction of the printing press in Europe during the fifteenth century and the diffusion of printed matter contributed to higher literacy rates and wider access to the once-rarefied knowledge of academia. The subsequent spread of education and learning changed society, and initiated an era of widespread education whose elite would now instead be those who produced the written content itself for consumption, in education and all other spheres.
[edit] See also
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Germain (2006) has developed a measure of perception of employee expertise called the Generalized Expertise Measure (GEM). She has also found that there is a behavioral dimension found in "experts", in addition to the dimensions suggested by Swanson and Holton (2001).
Here is Germain's scale. This material is copyrighted and must not be used without citing the author (Germain, 2006).
1. This person has knowledge that is specific to his or her field of work. 2. This person shows that they have the education necessary to be an expert in their field. 3. This person has knowledge about their field. 4. This person has the qualifications required to be an expert in their field. 5. This person has been trained in his or her area of expertise. 6. This person is ambitious about their work in the company. 7. This person can assess whether a work-related situation is important or not. 8. This person is capable of improving himself or herself. 9. This person is charismatic. 10. This person can deduce things from work-related situations easily. 11. This person is intuitive in their job. 12. This person is able to judge what things are important in their job. 13. This person has the drive to become what he or she is capable of becoming in their field. 14. This person is self-assured. 15. This person has self-confidence. 16. This person is an expert who is outgoing.
References:
Germain, M. L. (2006). Development and preliminary validation of a psychometric measure of expertise: The Generalized Expertise Measure (GEM). Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. Barry University, Florida.
Swanson, R. A., & Holton III, E. F. (2001). Foundations of Human Resource Development. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
[edit] References
- Ericsson, 2000: Expert Performance and Deliberate Practice
- Harald A. Mieg, 2001: The social psychology of expertise. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- K. Anders Ericsson, Neil Charness, Paul Feltovich & Robert R. Hoffman (Eds.), 2006: Cambridge handbook on expertise and expert performance. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
