Talent as a social construction: Proposing a constructivist conceptualization of athletic talent

Abstract

AbstractTalent identification, selection, and development represent critical areas of inquiry for sport scientists as indicated in the large amount of research attention dedicated to these topics. However, talent researchers rarely explicitly discuss their underlying conceptual understanding of “talent”.Within this article, we approach the construct “talent” from the perspective of social constructivism. We consider talent as a social construction that is historically changing and contextually embedded. Organizations that act as “purchasers” of talent (sports clubs, youth squads, etc.) have to develop ideas about which athletes represent the best fit against the background of the performance conditions within the respective sport (in the sense of possessing the set of characteristics that is most promising for future success). The purpose of these organizational “talent” descriptions is to try to ensure that the person with the highest chance of being successful is promoted. However, multidimensionality, asynchronicity, and discontinuity of talent development make the prediction of sporting success extremely difficult. Talent development needs to be thought of as an iterative process that is highly individualized and idiosyncratic. To make a person fit to the expectations of an organization requires a high degree of flexibility, reflexivity, and, not least, patience from talent development programs.Using the example of athletic talent, we show that the principles of constructivism provide a useful terminological, theoretical, and methodological basis for the empirical analysis of the complex process of talent emergence and development. Methodologically, idiographic approaches are needed that explore the intrinsic dynamics of talent development pathways.