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Moves in Mind: The Psychology of Board Games

Book · August 2004

DOI: 10.4324/9780203503638

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203 14,198

3 authors:

Fernand Gobet Alex de Voogt

The London School of Economics and Political Sci… Drew University
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Jean Retschitzki
Université de Fribourg
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 Moves in Mind
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Board games have long fascinated as mirrors of intelligence, skill, cunning,

and wisdom. While board games have been the topic of many scientific
studies, and have been studied for more than a century by psychologists, there
was until now no single volume summarizing psychological research into
board games. This book, which is the first systematic study of psychology and
board games, covers topics such as perception, memory, problem solving and
decision making, development, intelligence, emotions, motivation, education,
and neuroscience. It also briefly summarizes current research in artificial
intelligence aiming at developing computers playing board games, and
critically discusses how current theories of expertise fare with board games.
Finally, it shows that the information provided by board-game research, both
data and theories, have a wider relevance for the understanding of human
psychology in general.

Fernand Gobet is Professor of Psychology at Brunel University, West London.

He is an international master of the International Chess Federation and has
played for several years with the Swiss national team.
Alex de Voogt is at the University of Leiden and Managing Editor of the
journal Board Game Studies.
Jean Retschitzki is Professor of Psychology at the University of Fribourg.
He was elected President of the Swiss Society of Psychology in 1998.
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 Moves in Mind
The Psychology of Board Games
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Fernand Gobet, Alex de Voogt, and

Jean Retschitzki
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First published 2004

by Psychology Press
27 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 2FA
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Psychology Press
270 Madison Avenue, New York NY 10016
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004.
Psychology Press is a member of T&F Informa plc
Copyright © 2004 Psychology Press
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
This publication has been produced with paper manufactured to strict
environmental standards and with pulp derived from sustainable
forests.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gobet, Fernand.
Moves in mind : the psychology of board games / Fernand Gobet,
Alex de Voogt, Jean Retschitzki.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-84169-336-7 (hardcover)
1. Board games—Psychological aspects. 2. Cognitive psychology.
I. Voogt, Alexander J. de. II. Retschitzki, Jean. III. Title.
GV1312.G63 2004
794—dc22 2004008865
ISBN 0-203-50363-5 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN 0-203-59526-2 (Adobe eReader Format)

ISBN 1-84169-336-7 (Print Edition)
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JR
AV
FG
To Chananda

To Abdu Foum

To Angoua Kouadio
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 Contents
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Preface xi
List of abbreviations xiii

1 Introduction 1
Moves in mind 1
Board games and cognitive psychology 2
Role of board games in science 5
Role of board games in psychology 6
Structure of the book 9

2 Formal analyses of board games 11

Fundamental concepts 12
Board games in computer science and artificial intelligence 13
Information and complexity analysis 25
Game theory and the concept of error 27
Conclusion 28

3 Theories of board-game psychology 31

Brief history of board-game psychology 31
Theories of chess skill 33
Influences from other theories of cognition 45
Theories of development and environment 47
Conclusion 49

4 Perception and categorization 51

Low-level perception 51
High-level perception and categorization 59
Conclusion 66
 viii Contents
5 Memory, knowledge, and representations 69
Memory for board positions 70
Recall of sequences of moves and of games 81
Estimation of the number of chunks in LTM 86
Mode of representation 88
Representations used in blindfold playing 91
Knowledge and memory schemata 95
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Discussion 99
Conclusion 104

6 Problem solving and decision making 105

Empirical data on search behaviour 105
Empirical data on the role of perception in problem solving 117
Empirical data on the role of knowledge in problem solving 119
Analogy formation in novice players 123
Theoretical accounts 123
Discussion 126
Conclusion 130

7 Learning, development, and ageing 133

Early stages of learning 133
Development of play and game behaviour 138
Developmental studies of specific board games 140
Ageing 149
Conclusion 152

8 Education and training 155

Introduction 155
Board-game instruction and the transfer of skill 156
Teaching the rules and basic instruction 163
Training and coaching at an advanced level 165
Conclusion 168

9 Individual differences and the neuropsychology of talent 171

Intelligence and visuo-spatial abilities 172
Personality 178
Emotions and motivation 178
Board games and neuroscience 180
Conclusion 186
 Contents ix
10 Methodology and research designs 187
Definitions of expertise 187
Game specificity 189
Illiterate games 190
Ecological validity 190
Cross-cultural aspects 192
Creation and use of archives and databases 192
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Observations and natural experiments 196

Interviews and questionnaires 196
Introspection and retrospection 196
Protocol analysis 197
Standard experimental manipulations 198
Neuroscientific approaches 200
Typical research designs 201
Mathematical and computational modelling 202
Weaknesses and strengths of methodologies used in board-
game research 203

11 Conclusion 205
Board-game complexity 205
Landscape of board games 206
Impact of board-game research 206
Future 207

References 209
Appendix 1: Rules of board games 237
Appendix 2: Measures of expertise in board games 247
Appendix 3: Example of protocol analysis 249
Author index 253
Subject index 261
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