Traditionally, "abilities," "competencies," and "expertise" have been viewed as separate and largely distinct constructs and research areas within the broader field of psychology. In this traditional view, the psychology of abilities studies people's largely innate capabilities; the psychology of competencies studies skills people have acquired; and the psychology of expertise studies the development and structure of people's extraordinary mastery of skills. The PACE Center at Tufts is dedicated to the idea that these three areas of psychology are inextricably intertwined. Abilities are and must be measured as developing competencies, which in turn can be transformed into various forms of developing expertise. Abilities, then, are incipient forms of developing expertise. As a result, abilities, as well as the competencies and expertise that develop from them, are flexible and modifiable in nature.

The PACE Center is physically located at 108 Bromfield Road in Somerville, Massachusetts. Its director is Robert J. Sternberg, Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences at Tufts and its deputy director is Linda Jarvin, Associate Research Professor.