Cited by 981Cognitive Abilities and TestingNeural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesCognitive Functions and Memory

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The concurrent validity of the N -back task as a working memory measure

Jaeggi, Susanne M., Buschkuehl, Martin, Perrig, Walter J., Meier, Beat·2010·Memory

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Abstract

The N-back task is used extensively in literature as a working memory (WM) paradigm and it is increasingly used as a measure of individual differences. However, not much is known about the psychometric properties of this task and the current study aims to shed more light on this issue. We first review the current literature on the psychometric properties of the N-back task. With three experiments using task variants with different stimuli and load levels, we then investigate the nature of the N-back task by investigating its relationship to WM, and its role as an inter-individual difference measure. Consistent with previous literature, our data suggest that the N-back task is not a useful measure of individual differences in WM, partly because of its insufficient reliability. Nevertheless, the task seems to be useful for experimental research in WM and also well predicts inter-individual differences in other higher cognitive functions, such as fluid intelligence, especially when used at higher levels of load.

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Armson, M. J., Ryan, J. D., & Levine, B. (2019) · PeerJ · doi:10.7717/peerj.6839 · Cited by 13
Working Memory
Könen, T., Strobach, T., & Karbach, J. (2016) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-42662-4_6 · Cited by 14
Integration of computers in cognitive assessment and level of comprehensiveness of frequently used computerized batteries
Dede, E., Zalonis, I., Gatzonis, S., & Sakas, D. (2015) · Neurology Psychiatry and Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.npbr.2015.07.003 · Cited by 12
Exploring the n-back task: insights, applications, and future directions
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Can We “Brain-Train” Emotional Intelligence? A Narrative Review on the Features and Approaches Used in Ability EI Training Studies
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Disentangling the neural correlates of semantic and domain-general control: The roles of stimulus domain and task process
Hodgson, V. J., Ralph, M. A. L., & Jackson, R. L. (2024) · Imaging Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/imag_a_00092 · Cited by 14
“Following previous n - back paradigms ( Jaeggi et al., 2010; Kane et al., 2007), trials were fixed in length; each item was displayed for 500 ms, with an interstimulus interval of 1500 ms and a total trial length of 2 seconds.”
BackgroundMethod
Utility of the N-back task in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Luxton, J., Brinkman, T. M., Kimberg, C., Robison, L., Hudson, M., & Krull, K. (2014) · Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/13803395.2014.957168 · Cited by 10
Effects of backpack weight on the performance of basic short-term/working memory tasks during flat-surface standing
Son, M., Hyun, S., Beck, D., Jung, J., & Park, W. (2019) · Ergonomics · doi:10.1080/00140139.2019.1576924 · Cited by 13
“…monitoring, maintaining and updating the material, and matching the current stimulus to the target stimulus (Gluck, Mercado, and Myers 2013; Jaeggi et al. 2010; Owen et al. 2005); decision, selection, inhibition, and interference resolution processes are also involved (Jonides et al. 1997;…”
Background
The Impact of Working Memory Training on Cognitive Abilities in Older Adults: The Role of Cognitive Reserve
Mičič, S., Horvat, M., & Bakračevič, K. (2019) · Current Aging Science · doi:10.2174/1874609812666190819125542 · Cited by 12
Acute effects of cocoa flavanols on visual working memory: maintenance and updating
Altınok, A., Karabay, A., & Akyürek, E. G. (2022) · European Journal of Nutrition · doi:10.1007/s00394-021-02767-x · Cited by 10
Specific questions during retrieval practice are better for texts containing seductive details
Eitel, A., Endres, T., & Renkl, A. (2022) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.3984 · Cited by 12
Evidence of systematic attenuation in the measurement of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia.
Thomas, M. L., Patt, V. M., Bismark, A. W., Sprock, J., Tarasenko, M. A., Light, G. A., & Brown, G. G. (2017) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/abn0000256 · Cited by 11
“We used the Spearman-Brown-corrected split-half reliability so that our results would be consistent with studies of N-back reliability reported in the literature (e.g., Jaeggi et al., 2010).”
Influential
Multifaceted effects of need for cognitive closure on effort: A cardiovascular response study.
Szumowska, E., Szwed, P., Kossowska, M., & Wright, R. A. (2017) · Motivation Science · doi:10.1037/mot0000053 · Cited by 12
Prefrontal Cortex Oxygenation Evoked by Convergence Load Under Conflicting Stimulus-to-Accommodation and Stimulus-to-Vergence Eye-Movements Measured by NIRS
Richter, H. O., Forsman, M., Elçadi, G. H., Brautaset, R., Marsh, J. E., & Zetterberg, C. (2018) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2018.00298 · Cited by 12
“Mental Load With the n-Back Task In Cc and Cog conditions, viewing consisted of 10 min of sustained mental load administered via the so-called n-back task (Jonides et al., 1997; Linden et al., 2003; Jaeggi et al., 2010; León-Domínguez et al., 2015).”
Method
No Evidence That Baseline Prefrontal Cortical Excitability (3T-MRS) Predicts the Effects of Prefrontal tDCS on WM Performance
Talsma, L., Broekhuizen, J. A., Huisman, J., & Slagter, H. (2018) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2018.00481 · Cited by 10
“Because WM content has to be continuously updated, the letter N-back task is well suited to investigate WM updating performance (Jaeggi et al., 2010).”
Background
The Effects of Adult Ageing and Culture on the Tower of London Task
Phillips, L. H., Lawrie, L., Schaefer, A., Tan, C. Y., & Yong, M. H. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.631458 · Cited by 12
“Working memory was assessed with a 2-back task (Braver et al., 1997; Jaeggi et al., 2010).”
Method
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The role of individual differences in attentional blink phenomenon and real-time-strategy game proficiency
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“Jaeggi et al., 2010) bring little benefits and have minimal effect on domain-general cognitive skills, it comes as no surprise that VGs have started to be seen as a potentially promising new tool for enhancing cognitive skills.”
Method
It’s about the process, not the result: An fMRI approach to explore the encoding of explicit and implicit price information
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Domain-specific treatment effects in children with language and/or working memory impairments: A pilot study
Wener, S. E., & Archibald, L. M. D. (2011) · Child Language Teaching and Therapy · doi:10.1177/0265659010393536 · Cited by 12
“The n-back task requires constant updating of information being held in memory, and has been employed in many neuroimaging investigations of working memory (Kane and Engle, 2002; Conway et al., 2005; Jaeggi et al., 2010).”
Method
The Circadian Regulation of Sleep: Impact of a Functional ADA-Polymorphism and Its Association to Working Memory Improvements
Reichert, C., Maire, M., Gabel, V., Hofstetter, M., Viola, A., Kolodyazhniy, V., Strobel, W. M., Goetz, T., Bachmann, V., Landolt, H., et al. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0113734 · Cited by 14
Because difficulty is not the same for everyone: the impact of complexity in working memory is associated with cannabinoid 1 receptor genetic variation in young adults
Ruiz‐Contreras, A. E., Román-López, T. V., Caballero-Sánchez, U., Rosas-Escobar, C. B., Ortega-Mora, E. I., Barrera-Tlapa, M. A., Romero‐Hidalgo, S., Carrillo‐Sánchez, K., Hernández-Morales, S., Vadillo‐Ortega, F., et al. (2016) · Memory · doi:10.1080/09658211.2016.1172642 · Cited by 12
“However, one of the most used tasks to assess WM in humans is the N-back paradigm (Jaeggi et al., 2010; León-Domínguez, Martín-Rodríguez, & León-Carrión, 2015).”
Background
Sign-tracking to non-drug reward is related to severity of alcohol-use problems in a sample of individuals seeking treatment
Watson, P., Prior, K., Ridley, N. J., Monds, L. A., Manning, V., Wiers, R. W. H. J., & Pelley, M. E. L. (2024) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2024.108010 · Cited by 11
Inhibitory control mediates the effect of high intensity interval exercise on food choice
Sardjoe, M., Aldred, S., Adam, T. C., Plasqui, G., Brunstrom, J. M., Dourish, C. T., & Higgs, S. (2024) · Appetite · doi:10.1016/j.appet.2024.107499 · Cited by 12
“Task specific data were removed if participants scored less than the chance finding of 50% accuracy on any cognitive task (except the N-back task, where a cut-off point of 30% was used; Jaeggi et al., 2010).”
Direct and Indirect Effects of Inhibition, Working Memory and Cognitive Flexibility on Reading Comprehension of Narrative and Expository Texts: Same or Different Effects?
Escobar, J., & Espinoza, V. (2024) · Reading & Writing Quarterly · doi:10.1080/10573569.2024.2400993 · Cited by 19
“This important relation could be explained by the more widespread use of verbal paradigms for the assessment of WM, such as digit retention or N-back tasks especially in research contexts (Jaeggi et al., 2010; Wilhelm et al., 2013).”
Impact of multi-dimensional cognitive demands on takeover performance, physiological and eye-tracking measures in conditionally automated vehicles
Wang, A., Shi, W., He, D., & Yang, H. (2025) · Transportation Research Part F Traffic Psychology and Behaviour · doi:10.1016/j.trf.2025.06.011 · Cited by 11
Nutritional Quality of Breakfast Affects Cognitive Function: An fMRI Study
Akitsuki, Y., Nakawaga, S., Sugiura, M., & Kawashima, R. (2011) · Neuroscience & Medicine · doi:10.4236/nm.2011.23026 · Cited by 11
“0 Tesla MRI scanner (Philips Achieva Quasar Dual, Philips Medical Systems, Best, The Netherlands) while they were conducting N-back tasks (0back, 2back, 3back and 4back) [8,9].”
Investigating the Improvement of Decoding Abilities and Working Memory in Children with Incremental or Entity Personal Conceptions of Intelligence: Two Case Reports
Alesi, M., Rappo, G., & Pepi, A. (2016) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01939 · Cited by 12
“This was the experimental condition in which participants were not rewarded to participate or were modestly paid (Jaeggi et al., 2008, 2010).”
Method

Authors: Jaeggi, S. M., Buschkuehl, M., Perrig, W. J., & Meier, B.
Affiliations: University of Michigan (US)
University of Bern (CH)
Corresponding author: Jaeggi, Susanne M.
ORCID: Jaeggi, Susanne M.
Meier, Beat
Venue: Memory
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Published: 2010-04-19
Volume: 18
Issue: 4
Pages: 394-412
ISSN: 0965-8211 (ISSN-L)
1464-0686
DOI: 10.1080/09658211003702171
OpenAlex: W2104281515
Semantic Scholar: 1cdd5a855d4ded37954d52981b618cd9a6576f96
Cited by: 981
References: 77
Citations by year: 2026: 85 · 2025: 92 · 2024: 112 · 2023: 70 · 2022: 85 · 2021: 78 · 2020: 57 · 2019: 79 · 2018: 62 · 2017: 55 · 2016: 48 · 2015: 50 · 2014: 39 · 2013: 26 · 2012: 24
FWCI: 28.44
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Memory (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
BORIS (University Library Bern) (submittedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
Keywords: n-back task, working memory, concurrent validity, individual differences, reliability statistics, fluid intelligence, workload, psychometric properties
MeSH terms: Adolescent, Adult, Association Learning, Attention, Female, Humans, Individuality, Intelligence, Male, Memory, Short-Term, Neuropsychological Tests, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Psychometrics, Reaction Time, Reading, Retention, Psychology, Serial Learning, Speech Perception, Verbal Learning, Reproducibility of Results, Young Adult, Executive Function

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The concurrent validity of the N -back task as a working memory measure

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