Updating and working memory training: Immediate improvement, long-term maintenance, and generalisability to non-trained tasks
Abstract
Despite the popularity of working memory (WM) and updating training, recent reviews have questioned their efficacy. We evaluated a computer-based training programme based on the Running Span and Keep Track paradigms. We assigned 111 7-year-olds with poor WM and mathematical performances to updating training, one of two control groups, or a fourth group, who were administered Cogmed, a commercially available programme. At the immediate posttest, updating training produced only marginal improvements relative to control, but this was sustained and became significant six months post-training. Cogmed training resulted in substantial improvement at immediate posttest, but became marginal at delayed posttest. Neither type of training resulted in better performance in mathematics or generalised to other WM tasks that differed between WM or updating capacity and mathematics performance may be moderated by factions that do not benefit directly from improved capacity.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In four studies, different groups completed different WM training programs.
“In four studies different groups completed different WM training programs: updating and Cogmed RM (Ang, Lee, Cheam, Poon, & Koh (2015); complex span and running span (Foster et al., 2017) complex span and simple span (Harrison et al. (2013); n-back and complex span (Minear et al., 2016).”
From Working memory training involves learning new skills (2019) · cites this paper as Ang, Lee, Cheam, Poon, & Koh, 2015
Cites
Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences
Muller, K. E., & Cohen, J. (1989) · Technometrics · doi:10.2307/1270020 · Cited by 99,588 · see citing works
Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A.-G., & Buchner, A. (2007) · Behavior Research Methods · doi:10.3758/bf03193146 · Cited by 65,971 · see citing works
Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences
Cohen, J. (1990) · Computers Environment and Urban Systems · doi:10.1016/0198-9715(90)90050-4 · Cited by 65,406 · see citing works
Miyake, A., Friedman, N. P., Emerson, M. J., Witzki, A. H., Howerter, A., & Wager, T. D. (2000) · Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1006/cogp.1999.0734 · Cited by 15,798 · see citing works
The episodic buffer: a new component of working memory?
Baddeley, A. (2000) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/s1364-6613(00)01538-2 · Cited by 7,359 · cited 1× · see citing works
“WM, defined as processes or structures that allow information to be maintained and manipulated simultaneously (Baddeley, 2000), is often deemed a fundamental capacity that affects how well other higher cognitive functions are performed.”
Background(1998) · Cited by 4,172 · see citing works
Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory
Jaeggi, S. M., Buschkuehl, M., Jonides, J., & Perrig, W. J. (2008) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0801268105 · Cited by 2,187 · see citing works
Computerized training of working memory in children with ADHD – a randomized, controlled trial
Klingberg, T., Fernell, E., Olesen, P. J., Johnson, M., Gustafsson, P., Dahlström, K., Gillberg, C. G., Forssberg, H., & Westerberg, H. (2005) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-200502000-00010 · Cited by 1,949 · cited 2× · see citing works
“In a seminal study, Klingberg et al. (2005) tested a computerized game-based training programme and found that it improved WM performances on both measures that were structurally similar and those that differed from tasks used during training (near and far transfer, respectively).”
BackgroundIs working memory training effective? A meta-analytic review
Melby-Lervåg, M., & Hulme, C. (2013) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0028228 · Cited by 1,782 · see citing works
Bull, R., & Scerif, G. (2001) · Developmental Neuropsychology · doi:10.1207/s15326942dn1903_3 · Cited by 1,501 · cited 3× · see citing works
“…long-term maintenance, and generalizability to non-trained tasks Working memory (WM) and updating predict children’s performances in reading (e.g., Gathercole & Pickering, 2000) and mathematics (e.g., Bull & Scerif, 2001; Lee, Pe, Ang, & Stankov, 2009; St Clair-Thompson & Gathercole, 2006).”
BackgroundWechsler Individual Achievement Test
Smith, D. R. (2001) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-012058570-0/50008-2 · Cited by 1,416 · see citing works
Executive functions and achievements in school: Shifting, updating, inhibition, and working memory
St Clair-Thompson, H. L., & Gathercole, S. E. (2006) · Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1080/17470210500162854 · Cited by 1,278 · see citing works
Is working memory training effective?
Shipstead, Z., Redick, T. S., & Engle, R. W. (2012) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0027473 · Cited by 1,101 · see citing works
Training and transfer effects of executive functions in preschool children
Thorell, L. B., Lindqvist, S., Bergman Nutley, S., Bohlin, G., & Klingberg, T. (2009) · Developmental Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2008.00745.x · Cited by 1,041 · see citing works
Adaptive training leads to sustained enhancement of poor working memory in children
Holmes, J., Gathercole, S. E., & Dunning, D. L. (2009) · Developmental Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2009.00848.x · Cited by 961 · see citing works
Short- and long-term benefits of cognitive training
Jaeggi, S. M., Buschkuehl, M., Jonides, J., & Shah, P. (2011) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1103228108 · Cited by 769 · see citing works
Memory updating in working memory: The role of the central executive
Morris, N., & Jones, D. M. (1990) · British Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1990.tb02349.x · Cited by 737 · see citing works
Developmental changes in executive functioning.
Lee, K., Bull, R., & Ho, R. M. H. (2013) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/cdev.12096 · Cited by 633 · see citing works
Self-citationRedick, T. S., Shipstead, Z., Harrison, T. L., Hicks, K. L., Fried, D. E., Hambrick, D. Z., Kane, M. J., & Engle, R. W. (2013) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General · doi:10.1037/a0029082 · Cited by 617 · see citing works
Jaeggi, S. M., Studer-Luethi, B., Buschkuehl, M., Su, Y.-F., Jonides, J., & Perrig, W. J. (2010) · Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.intell.2010.09.001 · Cited by 509 · see citing works
Dahlin, E., Nyberg, L., Bäckman, L., & Neely, A. S. (2008) · Psychology and Aging · doi:10.1037/a0014296 · Cited by 457 · see citing works
Wechsler Individual Achievement Test
Johnson, K. L. (2010) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_1499 · Cited by 404 · see citing works
Assessment of working memory in six- and seven-year-old children.
Gathercole, S. E., & Pickering, S. J. (2000) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-0663.92.2.377 · Cited by 375 · see citing works
Separate roles for executive and phonological components of working memory in mental arithmetic
Furst, A. J., & Hitch, G. J. (2000) · Memory & Cognition · doi:10.3758/bf03198412 · Cited by 348 · see citing works
Working memory components of the Corsi blocks task
Vandierendonck, A., Kemps, E., Fastame, M. C., & Szmalec, A. (2004) · British Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1348/000712604322779460 · Cited by 332 · see citing works
Nutley, S. B., Söderqvist, S., Bryde, S., Thorell, L. B., Humphreys, K., & Klingberg, T. (2011) · Developmental Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2010.01022.x · Cited by 284 · see citing works
Complex span versus updating tasks of working memory: The gap is not that deep.
Schmiedek, F., Hildebrandt, A., Lövdén, M., Wilhelm, O., & Lindenberger, U. (2009) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition · doi:10.1037/a0015730 · Cited by 277 · see citing works
Cogmed working memory training: Does the evidence support the claims?
Shipstead, Z., Hicks, K. L., & Engle, R. W. (2012) · Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.jarmac.2012.06.003 · Cited by 249 · see citing works
Chacko, A., Bedard, A. C., Marks, D. J., Feirsen, N., Uderman, J. Z., Chimiklis, A., Rajwan, E., Cornwell, M., Anderson, L., Zwilling, A., et al. (2014) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.12146 · Cited by 244 · see citing works
Training attentional control and working memory – Is younger, better?
Wass, S. V., Scerif, G., & Johnson, M. H. (2012) · Developmental Review · doi:10.1016/j.dr.2012.07.001 · Cited by 235 · see citing works
Taking working memory training from the laboratory into schools
Holmes, J., & Gathercole, S. E. (2013) · Educational Psychology · doi:10.1080/01443410.2013.797338 · Cited by 234 · see citing works
Dunning, D. L., Holmes, J., & Gathercole, S. E. (2013) · Developmental Science · doi:10.1111/desc.12068 · Cited by 228 · see citing works
Keeping Track of Several Things at Once
Yntema, D. B. (1963) · Human Factors The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society · doi:10.1177/001872086300500102 · Cited by 213 · see citing works
Working memory training does not improve intelligence in healthy young adults
Chooi, W.-T., & Thompson, L. A. (2012) · Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.intell.2012.07.004 · Cited by 209 · see citing works
Failure of Working Memory Training to Enhance Cognition or Intelligence
Thompson, T. W., Waskom, M. L., Garel, K.-L. A., Cardenas-Iniguez, C., Reynolds, G. O., Winter, R., Chang, P., Pollard, K., Lala, N., Alvarez, G. A., et al. (2013) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0063614 · Cited by 208 · see citing works
Computerized working memory training: Can it lead to gains in cognitive skills in students?
Alloway, T. P., Bibile, V., & Lau, G. (2013) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012.10.023 · Cited by 193 · see citing works
Improving children's working memory and classroom performance
Clair‐Thompson, H. S., Stevens, R. F., Hunt, A., & Bolder, E. (2010) · Educational Psychology · doi:10.1080/01443410903509259 · Cited by 186 · see citing works
Adaptive working-memory training benefits reading, but not mathematics in middle childhood
Karbach, J., Strobach, T., & Schubert, T. (2015) · Child Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/09297049.2014.899336 · Cited by 183 · see citing works
BACKWARDNESS IN THE BASIC SUBJECTS
Burt, C. (1942) · British Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.2044-8279.1942.tb02199.x · Cited by 151 · see citing works
Backwardness in the basic subjects
Schonell, F. J. (1948) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 144 · see citing works
van Dongen‐Boomsma, M., Vollebregt, M. A., Buitelaar, J. K., & Slaats‐Willemse, D. (2014) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.12218 · Cited by 142 · see citing works
Training working memory in kindergarten children: Effects on working memory and early numeracy
Kroesbergen, E. H., Noordende, J. E. V. '., & Kolkman, M. E. (2012) · Child Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/09297049.2012.736483 · Cited by 131 · see citing works
Far transfer to language and math of a short software-based gaming intervention.
Goldin, A. P., Hermida, M. J., Shalom, D. E., Elias Costa, M., Lopez-Rosenfeld, M., Segretin, M. S., Fernández-Slezak, D., Lipina, S. J., & Sigman, M. (2014) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1320217111 · Cited by 131 · see citing works
Backwards digit recall: A measure of short-term memory or working memory?
Clair‐Thompson, H. S. (2009) · The European Journal of Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1080/09541440902771299 · Cited by 130 · see citing works
Effect of working memory training on working memory, arithmetic and following instructions
Nutley, S. B., & Klingberg, T. (2014) · Psychological Research · doi:10.1007/s00426-014-0614-0 · Cited by 120 · see citing works
Executive processes in visual and spatial working memory tasks
Rudkin, S. J., Pearson, D., & Logie, R. H. (2006) · Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1080/17470210600587976 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Lee, K. L., Ng, S. F., Pe, M. L., Ang, S. Y., Hasshim, M. N. A. M., & Bull, R. (2011) · British Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.2044-8279.2010.02016.x · Cited by 110 · see citing works
Self-citationCan intelligence be increased by training on a task of working memory?
Moody, D. E. (2009) · Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.intell.2009.04.005 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
Dahlin, K. I. E. (2013) · Journal of Education and Learning · doi:10.5539/jel.v2n1p118 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Mathematics Education - The Singapore Journey
(2009) · Series on mathematical education · doi:10.1142/9789812833761 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Executive functions and working memory behaviours in children with a poor working memory
Clair‐Thompson, H. S. (2011) · Learning and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2011.02.008 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Effect of updating training on fluid intelligence in children
Zhao, X. W., Wang, Y., Liu, D., & Zhou, R. (2011) · Chinese Science Bulletin · doi:10.1007/s11434-011-4553-5 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Working memory training remains a work in progress.
Shipstead, Z., Hicks, K. L., & Engle, R. W. (2012) · Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.jarmac.2012.07.009 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Central executive involvement in children's spatial memory
Ang, S. Y., & Lee, K. L. (2008) · Memory · doi:10.1080/09658210802365347 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Self-citationFoy, J. G. (2014) · International Education Research · doi:10.12735/ier.v2i2p19 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
The future promise of Cogmed working memory training.
Gibson, B. S., Gondoli, D. M., Johnson, A. C., Steeger, C. M., & Morrissey, R. A. (2012) · Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.jarmac.2012.07.003 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Do measures of working memory predict academic proficiency better than measures of intelligence
Lee, K. L., Pe, M. L., Ang, S. Y., & Stankov, L. (2009) · NIE Digital Repository (National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University) · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Self-citation
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Melby-Lervåg, M., Redick, T. S., & Hulme, C. (2016) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691616635612 · Cited by 910 · see citing works
Working memory training involves learning new skills
Gathercole, S. E., Dunning, D. L., Holmes, J., & Norris, D. (2019) · Journal of Memory and Language · doi:10.1016/j.jml.2018.10.003 · Cited by 225 · see citing works
Working memory training in typically developing children: A meta-analysis of the available evidence.
Sala, G., & Gobet, F. (2017) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/dev0000265 · Cited by 216 · see citing works
Cross-national harmonization of neurocognitive assessment across five sites in a global study.
Batistuzzo, M. C., Sheshachala, K., Alschuler, D. M., Hezel, D. M., Lewis-Fernández, R., de Joode, N. T., Vriend, C., Lempert, K. M., Narayan, M., Marincowitz, C., et al. (2023) · Neuropsychology · doi:10.1037/neu0000838 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
The asymmetry of working memory training transfer: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Fu, J., Zhou, Y., Yuan, M., & Cai, Y. (2026) · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · doi:10.3758/s13423-026-02994-5
- Authors
- Ang, S. Y., Lee, K., Cheam, F., Poon, K., & Koh, J.
- Affiliations
- Nanyang Technological University (SG)
- Ministry of Education (SG)
- Venue
- Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition
- Published
- 2015-06
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 121-128
- ISSN
- 2211-3681 (ISSN-L)
- 2211-369X
- OpenAlex
- W2097333735
- Cited by
- 53
- References
- 57
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 2
- FWCI
- 9.04
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition (publishedVersion)
- NIE Digital Repository (National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University) (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Education (OER17-11KL)
- Ministry of Education
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Developmental and Educational Neuropsychology
- Keywords
- working memory training, Cogmed, mathematics achievement, children, long-term maintenance, generalizability, computer-based training
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
