“Headiness” or “Intelligence” for Baseball in the Collegiate Athlete

Abstract

To correct a long-standing omission in the domain of sports, 198 collegiate baseball players were asked to describe briefly athletic play that many coaches label as either “heady,” “smart,” “intelligent.” or “ingenious.” The players were also asked to estimate the contribution of heredity to such performance. The results showed that 48% of these players characterized such performance as being automatic and lacking conscious mediation, while 52% said such performance was the result of conscious effort. Whether the performance was conscious or automatic (unconscious), over 97% of the players said that heredity was a minor contributor, while the major contributor was extensive practice and experience.