In psychology, the four stages of competence, or the "conscious competence" learning model, relates to the psychological states involved in the process of progressing from incompetence to competence in a skill. People may have several skills, some unrelated to each other, and each skill will typically be at one of the stages at a given time. Many skills require practice to remain at a high level of competence. The four stages suggest that individuals are initially unaware of how little they know, or unconscious of their incompetence. As they recognize their incompetence, they consciously acquire a skill, then consciously use it. Eventually, the skill can be utilized without it being consciously thought through: the individual is said to have then acquired unconscious competence.

History

The four stages appeared in the 1960 textbook Management of Training Programs by three management professors at New York University. Management trainer Martin M. Broadwell called the model "the four levels of teaching" in an article published in February 1969. Paul R. Curtiss and Phillip W. Warren mentioned the model in their 1973 book The Dynamics of Life Skills Coaching. The model was used at Gordon Training International by its employee Noel Burch in the 1970s; there it was called the "four stages for learning any new skill". Later the model was frequently attributed to Abraham Maslow, incorrectly since the model does not appear in his major works. Several elements, including helping someone "know what they don't know" or recognize a blind spot, can be compared to elements of a Johari window, which was created in 1955, although Johari deals with self-awareness, while the four stages of competence deal with learning stages.

Stages

The four stages are: