Failure of Working Memory Training to Enhance Cognition or Intelligence
Open accessAbstract
Fluid intelligence is important for successful functioning in the modern world, but much evidence suggests that fluid intelligence is largely immutable after childhood. Recently, however, researchers have reported gains in fluid intelligence after multiple sessions of adaptive working memory training in adults. The current study attempted to replicate and expand those results by administering a broad assessment of cognitive abilities and personality traits to young adults who underwent 20 sessions of an adaptive dual n-back working memory training program and comparing their post-training performance on those tests to a matched set of young adults who underwent 20 sessions of an adaptive attentional tracking program. Pre- and post-training measurements of fluid intelligence, standardized intelligence tests, speed of processing, reading skills, and other tests of working memory were assessed. Both training groups exhibited substantial and specific improvements on the trained tasks that persisted for at least 6 months post-training, but no transfer of improvement was observed to any of the non-trained measurements when compared to a third untrained group serving as a passive control. These findings fail to support the idea that adaptive working memory training in healthy young adults enhances working memory capacity in non-trained tasks, fluid intelligence, or other measures of cognitive abilities.
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The literature on transfer from working memory training to fluid intelligence is mixed, with some promising studies and rigorous replications failing to find transfer.
“However, evidence on transfer of improved WM into more general cognitive domains such as fluid intelligence (Gf) has been more equivocal.”
From Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis (2015) · cites this paper as Thompson et al., 2013
Such near transfer effects may not be surprising since many outcome measures are very similar to the training tasks themselves and improvement may be the result of a learned strategy instead of improved cognitive capacity.
“However, such near transfer effects may not be surprising since many of these outcome measures are very similar to the training tasks themselves and improvement may be the result of a learned strategy instead of improved cognitive capacity [87].”
There is also substantial evidence that transfer fails to occur.
“While there are numerous reports of transfer in the literature, there is also substantial evidence for failure of transfer (Thompson et al. 2013; Jackson et al. 2012).”
From Divergent Research Methods Limit Understanding of Working Memory Training (2020) · cites this paper as Thompson et al. 2013
In several studies comparing dual n-back training to active or no contact control groups, training related gains were not identified in any group relative to another for any outcome.
“in several studies comparing dual n-back working memory training to either active or no contact control groups, training related gains were not identified in any one group relative to another for any outcome [24–26].”
From Dual N-back working memory training in healthy adults: A randomized comparison to processing speed training. (2016) · cites this paper as [25]
Our findings support previous work which fails to replicate near and far transfer benefits of dual n-back working memory training when directly compared to an active control condition.
“Our findings support previous work which fails to replicate near and far transfer benefits of dual n-back working memory training when directly compared to an active control condition (see [24–26]).”
From Dual N-back working memory training in healthy adults: A randomized comparison to processing speed training. (2016) · cites this paper as [25]
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“, [5,10,17,25]), remain susceptible to criticism based on the measures chosen to detect change.”
BackgroundThe development and malleability of executive control abilities
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Memory and language improvements following cognitive control training.
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Functional brain activation associated with working memory training and transfer
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Seven Pervasive Statistical Flaws in Cognitive Training Interventions
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Computer and Videogame Interventions for Older Adults' Cognitive and Everyday Functioning
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(Un)Great Expectations: The Role of Placebo Effects in Cognitive Training
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How Does Auditory Training Work? Joined-Up Thinking and Listening
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A Review of the Effects of Abacus Training on Cognitive Functions and Neural Systems in Humans
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Effects of cognitive training on the structure of intelligence
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The effect of monetary compensation on cognitive training outcomes
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The State of Cognitive Control in Language Processing
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Content Matters: Why Nurturing Creativity Is So Different in Different Domains
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“…of trained groups is also small (∼ 15 per group, Chooi & Thompson, 2012; De Simoni & von Bastian, 2018; Gibson et al., 2012; Redick et al., 2013; Thompson et al., 2013), raising the target level of significance would have rendered the reported transfer non-significant (e.g. Anguera et al.,…”
BackgroundA More Rigorous Examination of the Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Working Memory Capacity
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Individual Differences in Cognitive Training Research
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Can we enhance working memory? Bias and effectiveness in cognitive training studies
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- Authors
- 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., & Gabrieli, J. D. E.
- Affiliations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- Boston University (US)
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research (US)
- Corresponding author
- Thompson, Todd W.
- ORCID
- Venue
- PLoS ONE
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Published
- 2013-05-22
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- e63614
- ISSN
- 1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3661602
- OpenAlex
- W2054335768
- Cited by
- 208
- References
- 64
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 29 · 2015: 24 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 7
- FWCI
- 34.32
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Knowledge@UChicago (University of Chicago) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- DSpace@MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- University of Chicago (cc-by)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Defense
- National Institutes of Health
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (NBCHC070105)
- Advanced Research Projects Agency
- National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (T90DA022759, R90DA023427)
- NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research (R90DA023427, T90DA022759/R90DA023427, T90DA022759)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Keywords
- working memory training, fluid intelligence, adaptive training, transfer of training, cognitive enhancement, processing speed, reading skills, attentional tracking, young adults, intelligence
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Cognition, Education, Female, Humans, Intelligence, Male, Memory, Short-Term, Reading, Young Adult
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