We often think of experts and specialists as naturally talented, fascinated by their seemingly effortless brilliance. Think of great sports people such as Roger Federer or Simone Biles who make their incredible achievements look easy and graceful. But such beliefs about experts can have consequences, especially for individuals who are learning and who may be looking up to them as role models of achievement.
New research from the UCL School of Management suggests that presenting experts’ achievements as the result of effort rather than innate ability can significantly improve learners’ performance. Across a series of large-scale studies, former PhD student Nuria Tolsá-Caballero and Associate Professor Chia‑Jung Tsay found that students perform better when experts are believed to have developed their skills through persistence and hard work, rather than through natural brilliance.
Discussing the paper, which was publised in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, Dr Caballero said:
“The way we talk and think about expertise matters. When experts’ achievements are framed as the product of natural talent, expertise can feel out of reach for others. But when those same achievements are framed as the result of effort, learners feel more capable, value hard work more, and ultimately learn more.”
The research combines evidence from real-world data, laboratory experiments and a national field intervention. In one analysis of more than 1,200 student reviews of university professors, students who described their instructors as “strivers” reported higher grades than those who characterised them as “naturals”.
Controlled experiments provide stronger evidence of causality. In a preregistered study involving nearly 800 participants, individuals who were told a professor had achieved success through sustained effort scored higher on a subsequent test than those told the same accomplishments reflected innate talent. As learners believed the professor’s achievements were earned through effort, they placed greater value on hard work and developed stronger confidence in their own ability to improve, beliefs that ultimately helped them perform better.
A further meta-analysis across 12 replications (with a combined sample of nearly 4000 participants) confirmed that framing expertise as effort-driven consistently improves learning outcomes.
The researchers also tested the effect in a field experiment involving nearly 28,000 high school students in Guatemala. Participants received a short video embedded in an email from the education ministry. Those who watched a teacher describe his achievements as the result of persistence and dedication achieved higher end-of-year grades than those who saw the same story without any explanation of their achievements.
A key insight from the research is that silence on the origins of success is not neutral. When no explanation is provided, learners tend to assume that high achievement reflects natural talent rather than effort. This also becomes more pronounced as the level of expertise increases.
Such assumptions can be demotivating, the authors argue, because they imply that performance depends on fixed traits rather than factors under an individual’s control. By explicitly highlighting effort, institutions can counteract this “default to talent” and make success appear more attainable.
The study also identifies some boundaries. Effort-based narratives were effective only when attributed to individuals perceived as experts; similar messages about peers did not lead to measurable improvements in performance. This suggests that credibility and perceived authority play a decisive role. The findings also suggest that effort narratives may be especially useful for learners who would otherwise interpret experts’ achievements as evidence of natural talent. For learners who already infer effort on their own, explicitly highlighting effort may add less.
As job prospects for young people are becoming increasingly scarce, it is important that narratives around expertise in workplaces are presented as attainable and not as exclusive for a select talented few.
For educators and policymakers, making the effort behind experts’ accomplishments more visible may represent a simple, scalable way to improve performance.
