Work

The Hype Cycle of Working Memory Training

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: Seventeen years and hundreds of studies after the first working memory training journal article was published, evidence for the efficacy of working memory training is still wanting. Numerous studies show that individuals who repeatedly practice computerized working memory tasks improve on those tasks and closely related variants. Critically, although individual studies have claimed improvements in untrained abilities and behaviors, systematic reviews of the broader literature show that studies producing large, positive findings are often those with the most methodological shortcomings. The current review discusses the past, present, and future status of working memory training, including consideration of factors that might influence working memory training and transfer efficacy.

Source: Current Directions in Psychological Science

DOI: 10.1177/0963721419848668

Author: Thomas S. Redick

Institution: Purdue University West Lafayette

Language: English

Topic: Cognitive Abilities and Testing

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Awards: Collaborative Research: Testing Individualized Cognitive Training Interventions Based on a Multifaceted Theory of Working Memory, Behavioral Disinhibition in Early-onset Alcoholism, FW-HTF: Collaborative Research: Pre-Skilling Workers, Understanding Labor Force Implications and Designing Future Factory Human-Robot Workflows Using a Physical Simulation Platform