The DOI matches its Crossref record; 71 of the 73 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 6 of the 28 sources its claims cite were checked for support.
Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis
Open accessAbstract
Working memory (WM), the ability to store and manipulate information for short periods of time, is an important predictor of scholastic aptitude and a critical bottleneck underlying higher-order cognitive processes, including controlled attention and reasoning. Recent interventions targeting WM have suggested plasticity of the WM system by demonstrating improvements in both trained and untrained WM tasks. However, evidence on transfer of improved WM into more general cognitive domains such as fluid intelligence (Gf) has been more equivocal. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis focusing on one specific training program, n-back. We searched PubMed and Google Scholar for all n-back training studies with Gf outcome measures, a control group, and healthy participants between 18 and 50 years of age. In total, we included 20 studies in our analyses that met our criteria and found a small but significant positive effect of n-back training on improving Gf. Several factors that moderate this transfer are identified and discussed. We conclude that short-term cognitive training on the order of weeks can result in beneficial effects in important cognitive functions as measured by laboratory tests.
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Claims the paper makes
37 Own result · 15 Own interpretation · 13 No full text of the sources · 5 Own method · 2 Partly supported · 2 No basis given · 1 Supported · 1 Supported so far · accuracy not yet measured
The cited sources support only part of this claim — read each source’s verdict below.
In the paper
“On theoretical grounds, the observed improvements are plausible, since Gf and n-back performance draw upon overlapping cognitive and neural processes, including shared demands on WM and interference resolution (Burgess et al., 2011;Buschkuehl, Hernandez-Garcia, Jaeggi, Bernard, & Jonides, 2014;von Bastian & Oberauer, 2013).”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Conclusions
What the sources say
- Supportedcites Burgess et al., 2011 source
The Introduction (page unavailable) describes the n-back task as involving working-memory updating and interference control, and reports links between fluid intelligence, n-back lure accuracy, and activity in frontal and parietal regions. The Discussion (page unavailable) concludes that neural interference-control mechanisms account for some, though not all, of the relationship between fluid intelligence and working-memory span. (LLM, conf=0.91)
- Partly supportedcites Buschkuehl, Hernandez-Garcia, Jaeggi, Bernard, & Jonides, 2014 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured
The Discussion (page unavailable) proposes that n-back and reasoning tasks may engage overlapping brain regions and psychological processes. The paper also identifies working memory as relevant to both in its introductory text, but it does not establish a shared interference-resolution demand; the only retrieved mention of interference control is in a reference title. (LLM, conf=0.86)
- Not matchedcites von Bastian & Oberauer, 2013
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Supported
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Although none of our analyzed parameters (session length, number of sessions, starting nback level, and rate of improvement) reached significance in our main regression analyses”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Discussion
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
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A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Although our meta-analysis did reveal significantly greater transfer in studies that used passive controls”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Discussion
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Classic fail-safe N calculation: The observed studies, with weighted g = 0.24, led to a combined weighted ES of g = 5.78.Adding the 59 null effect studies would increase the sample size to n = 83.Average ES in the new sample would be: 5:78 83 ¼ :069 .”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Conclusions
plaindirectn = 83- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A claim is checked only against the cited paper’s full text, never its abstract, and none is available for its sources.
In the paper
“Additionally, we found no difference depending on whether studies used dual or single n-back, which corroborates previous findings (Jaeggi et al., 2014;Jaeggi et al., 2010).”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Subgroup analyses
What the sources say
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“First, there was no difference in ES between research conducted by the present study authors, S.M.J. and M.B. and research conducted by other groups (Table 1).”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Discussion
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“However, there was no difference in the performance of either type of control group when compared directly with each other (Ctrl ES; p = .2)”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Subgroup analyses
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The most striking moderator of the observed transfer effect is geographic region.International studies tend to find more transfer than U.S. studies.”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Discussion
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“but there was significant improvement in the performance of treatment groups (Tx ES; p = .04)within those studies that also use passive controls.”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Subgroup analyses
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Finally, there was no statistical difference in ES between the 7 studies involving study authors S.J.M. and M.B. and the 13 studies that did not.”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Subgroup analyses
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- It may state two separate claims as one. 28
- Probably not a substantial claim. 17
- The quote only partly states this claim. 2
The sources with a verdict support this claim; the rest weren’t checked yet, have no full text we could read, or their verdicts aren’t rated yet.
In the paper
“However, evidence on transfer of improved WM into more general cognitive domains such as fluid intelligence (Gf) has been more equivocal.”
- Also stated in: § Abstract · plain
“Despite many promising studies (e.g., Jaeggi, Buschkuehl, Jonides, & Perrig, 2008;Rudebeck, Bor, Ormond, O'Reilly, & Lee, 2012;Stephenson & Halpern, 2013), the aforementioned quote reflects results from other well-controlled, rigorous attempts at replication that have failed to find transfer (Redick et al., 2013;Thompson et al., 2013).”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Redick et al., 2013 source
- Supportedcites Thompson et al., 2013 source
The Introduction reports both studies finding gains in fluid intelligence after working-memory training and studies finding no such gains. The Discussion (Implications for Working Memory Training) adds that three published replication attempts, including this study, failed to find transfer. Together, these passages support describing the evidence as equivocal. (LLM, conf=0.94)
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Also stated in: § Abstract · plain
Every source the paper cites for this claim was checked and supports it.
In the paper
“neuroimaging evidence has demonstrated functional overlap in the lateral prefrontal and parietal cortices, implicating shared neural resources that underlie both constructs (Burgess, Gray, Conway, & Braver, 2011).”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Abstract
What the sources say
- Supportedcites Burgess, Gray, Conway, & Braver, 2011 source
The Introduction’s “Common neural substrates” section identifies prefrontal and parietal regions as related to both fluid intelligence and working-memory span. The Abstract also reports that activity in dorsolateral prefrontal and parietal cortex correlated with both measures, supporting the claim of overlapping neural resources. Page numbers were not provided in the copy. (LLM, conf=0.93)
boostedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Supported
The cited sources support only part of this claim — read each source’s verdict below.
In the paper
“Furthermore, we have previously described a dose-dependent relationship between training and transfer, such that more training leads to more gain (Jaeggi et al., 2008).”
- Also stated in: § Abstract · plain
“This relationship has been replicated in some studies (Basak, Boot, Voss, & Kramer, 2008;Dahlin, Backman, Neely, & Nyberg, 2009;Stepankova et al., 2014;Tomic & Klauer, 1996), but not others (Redick et al., 2013).”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Abstract
What the sources say
- Supportedcites Jaeggi et al., 2008 source
The Results report that transfer to fluid intelligence varied with training time (8, 12, 17, or 19 days). The Discussion explicitly calls the gain dose-responsive and says its amount depends on training time, supporting the statement attached to this citation. The verbatim citing sentence does not attribute the separate claim about replications in other studies to this paper. (LLM, conf=0.94)
- Partly supportedcites Basak, Boot, Voss, & Kramer, 2008 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured
The General Discussion reports that transfer benefits were mostly observed after 23.5 hours of video-game training, while about half that time was not enough. This supports a relationship between training time and transfer in this study, but the paper does not establish that the relationship was replicated in some studies but not others. (LLM, conf=0.86)
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Redick et al., 2013 source
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Also stated in: § Abstract · plain
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Although we did find a negative correlation, the effect lost significance (from p = .05to p = .22)after trimming outliers (SOM, Table S1).Nevertheless, the slope of the effect (-.07) remained the same”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Discussion
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“In total, we included 20 studies in our analyses that met our criteria”
- Also stated in: § Study selection · plain
“In the end, 20 studies remained in the final meta-analysis (Fig. 2).”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Abstract
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim.
- Also stated in: § Study selection · plain
In the paper
“Egger's regression (Egger, Davey Smith, Schneider, & Minder, 1997), which is based on the association between standard error and ES, revealed no relationship (p = .68).”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Description of studies
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Egger, Davey Smith, Schneider, & Minder, 1997 source
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Passive control groups were mostly enrolled in international studies (10/12), as compared with active control groups (3/12)”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Discussion
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one. The quote only partly states this claim.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Both individually appeared to contribute toward the effect observed in passive controls and, together, reduced the ES gain caused by the condition of having a passive control from .31 to .09,rendering the p-value nonsignificant.”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Regression analyses
hedgeddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- The authors state this as an assumption: For the posttest effect size calculation, the authors assumed that treatment and control groups did not differ at pretest.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“First is that these results are based on a restricted range of the general population: healthy, young adults between 18 and 50 years of age who were largely at the peak of cognitive functioning.Within this restricted range of young adults, the majority of participants were college undergraduates, thereby skewing our samples even younger (mean age ± SD: 22.85 ± 2.60).”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Discussion
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Some heterogeneity (I 2 = 27.88%,p = .08)was found in Tx ES, which only looked at improvements within the treatment groups, but this heterogeneity was largely controlled out in Post ES (I 2 = 6.92%, p = .37),which directly compares treatment to control groups at posttest.”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Description of studies
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“In total, we analyzed data from 98 Gf outcome measures among 559 n-back trained participants and 463 controls.”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Description of studies
plainn = 559- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“No other predictors reached significance, but session length (p = .06,b = -.03) and starting n-back level (p = .06,b = -.33) both correlated marginally and negatively with Post ES when outliers were removed (SOM, Table S1).”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Regression analyses
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
- The authors state this as an assumption: For the posttest effect size calculation, the authors assumed that treatment and control groups did not differ at pretest.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“However, the effect lost significance when outliers were trimmed (p = .22,b = -.07;SOM, Table S1), although the slope remains the same.”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Regression analyses
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- The authors state this as an assumption: For the posttest effect size calculation, the authors assumed that treatment and control groups did not differ at pretest.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The treatment/control group difference in Gf at posttest (g = 0.24, SE = 0.07) is significantly greater than the treatment/control group difference at baseline (g = -0.003,SE = 0.08; group difference: p = .03).”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Overall effect size
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- The authors state this as an assumption: For the posttest effect size calculation, the authors assumed that treatment and control groups did not differ at pretest.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Transfer seemed to occur equally to both verbal and visual Gf tasks, although there were only a minority of studies that employed any form of verbal reasoning (n = 5), making this finding preliminary.”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Subgroup analyses
hedgedn = 5- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Importantly, the shortest session length in our sample was only 18.5 min”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Discussion
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
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Probably not a substantial claim.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“With a baseline ES of essentially 0, we conclude that no preexisting differences are present at the group level between treatment and control groups.”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Overall effect size
boosted- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“large improvements were found in Tx ES (Table 1), which is calculated independently of the control group.”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Discussion
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“international (outside the U.S.) studies demonstrated an average ES of .44 (SE = .10),while U.S. studies only averaged .06(SE = .09).The difference is significant at the p < .01level.”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Subgroup analyses
boostedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- The authors state this as an assumption: For the posttest effect size calculation, the authors assumed that treatment and control groups did not differ at pretest.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Our regression analysis equivocally supports this hypothesis.”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Discussion
hedgeddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The 20 studies included here were all completed between 2008 and 2013.”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Description of studies
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. The quote only partly states this claim.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Second, studies that used passive controls demonstrated more net transfer (g = 0.44, SE = .10)than those with active controls (g = 0.06, SE = .09),a difference that is also statistically significant at p < .01.”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Subgroup analyses
boostedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- The authors state this as an assumption: For the posttest effect size calculation, the authors assumed that treatment and control groups did not differ at pretest.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“the SOM contains alternate regression models with trimmed outliers that revealed marginally significant negative trends between Gf transfer and both starting n-back level (p = .06)and session length (p = .06;Table S1).”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Discussion
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“These factors, individually and together, account for a sizable portion of the passive control effect and reduce its estimated effect to the point of statistical insignificance (Table 3).”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Discussion
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“suggesting cultural differences in attrition that may be reflective of issues surrounding general compliance and investment in research.”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Discussion
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“even small improvements can have profound societal ramifications”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Conclusions
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: fails — It may be too vague to check against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Rests on an assumption: Fluid intelligence is a fundamental cognitive ability that underpins many life functions.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“These effects may contribute to differences not only between international and U.S. research participants, but also between methodological practices of researchers.”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Discussion
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“A note of caution is warranted here regarding these regression results: given the heavy influence of outliers (SOM, Table S1) and the relatively small sample sizes, these results should be viewed as preliminary”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Discussion
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“so it is not clear what would happen below this data range.”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Discussion
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The former suggests that those who start with more room to improve (i.e., lower n-back level on day 1) may also gain the most.”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Discussion
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
In the paper
“There is a substantial body of literature available on the effects of culture on cognition (cf.Muggleton & Banissy, 2014).”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Muggleton & Banissy, 2014 source
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Therefore, while the precise nature of the effects of remuneration for n-back training are still unclear”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Discussion
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
In the paper
“While this does control for important test-retest practice effects, it does not control for potential motivational or Hawthorne effects associated with being enrolled in an intervention study (Shipstead, Redick, & Engle, 2012).”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Shipstead, Redick, & Engle, 2012 source
hedged- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“However, due to the plurality of cultures (mostly European and American) represented in our meta-analysis, the precise reasons for the observed regional differences are not immediately clear.”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Discussion
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Percent agreement on the coding (interrater reliability) was high (94.14%),with κ = 0.88 (SE = 0.03) using a conservative expected agreement estimate of 50% (i.e., match or no match).”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Coding
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“thereby suggesting that the transfer of n-back training may not be restricted to matrix reasoning tests (Shipstead et al., 2012) but, rather, may reflect a more global improvement in Gf.”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Subgroup analyses
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Shipstead et al., 2012 source
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“thereby ruling out preexisting differences between cultures or differences in participant characteristics due to the highly selective universities in which certain U.S. studies were conducted.”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Discussion
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A claim is checked only against the cited paper’s full text, never its abstract, and none is available for its sources.
In the paper
“It is important to note, however, that their active control groups did not improve over baseline, nor did they outperform their associated passive control groups, suggesting that the failure to find transfer was irrespective of control type.”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Abstract
What the sources say
hedged- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“this meta-analysis of 20 different studies, 30 different treatment groups, and 24 different control groups, with data collected from 98 different Gf outcome measures, is a first step toward providing this extraordinary evidence.”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Discussion
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim.
In the paper
“Moreover, the effects of rewards and compensation on performance have an extensive body of literature behind them, which at times can also show mixed results (Cameron, Banko, & Pierce, 2001).”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Cameron, Banko, & Pierce, 2001 source
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
The authors state this as an assumption.
For the posttest effect size calculation, the authors assumed that treatment and control groups did not differ at pretest.
“under the assumption that no group differences existed at pretest.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Fluid intelligence is a fundamental cognitive ability that underpins many life functions.
“Since Gf is a fundamental cognitive skill that underlies a wide range of life functions”
The paper relies on this without support.
The healthy young adults in the meta-analysis are representative of society's workforce.
“particularly given the healthy young adults in our analyses, representative of society's workforce.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Prior claims about n-back training's effect on fluid intelligence are usually based on single studies with methodological limitations.
“Although claims to date are ordinarily based on single studies, each with various methodological limitations”
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?
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“For example, the meta-analysis of Au et al. [16] reported a small, but significant positive transfer effect on fluid intelligence in healthy young adults.”
From Adaptive working memory training does not produce transfer effects in cognition and neuroimaging (2022) · cites this paper as [16]
In the citing paper
“Cognitive training has shown to have an impact on task performance and on fluid intelligence (Gf) tests [13-15].”
Statistics recomputed
Every reported test result, recomputed from its test statistic and degrees of freedom. A result shows as not adding up only once an independent check has confirmed it.
- Consistentt(34) = 2reported p = .05 · recomputed p = .054
“t(34) = 2.0, p = .05”
- Consistentt(14) = 2.23reported p = .04 · recomputed p = .043
“t(14) = 2.23, p = .04”
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.
Rated minor: it would not touch a result — a value no result rests on, a p-value that stays on the same side of the significance level, or a conflict that is clerical, resolved elsewhere in the paper, or outside its own findings.
In the paper
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Conclusions
“| Active Control | 12 | .06 (.09) | .01* | 13 | .25 (.10) | .04* | 12 | .08 (.10) | .20 | | Passive Control | 12 | .44 (.10) | | 17 | .54 (.90) | | 12 | .28 (.10) | |”
§ Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis > Subgroup analyses
“there was significant improvement in the performance of treatment groups (Tx ES; p = .04)within those studies that also use passive controls.”
Citations
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 401–500 of 658
López-Higes, R., Prados, J. M., Rubio-Valdehita, S., Rodríguez‐Rojo, I. C., de Frutos‐Lucas, J., Montenegro, M., Carrasco, P. M., Crespo, D. P., & Delgado‐Losada, M. L. (2018) · Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnagi.2018.00264 · Cited by 11
Faul, L., Fogleman, N. D., Mattingly, K. M., & Depue, B. E. (2019) · Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3758/s13415-019-00695-2 · Cited by 11
Cognitive predictors of kindergarten achievement in African American children.
Blankson, A. N., Gudmundson, J. A., & Kondeh, M. (2019) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/edu0000346 · Cited by 10
“Children’s fluid intelligence has been shown to improve through computerized training tasks, such as non-verbal reasoning games and speed training programs (Au et al., 2015).”
BackgroundEditorial: Cognitive and Brain Aging: Interventions to Promote Well-Being in Old Age
Foster, P. P., Baldwin, C. L., Thompson, J. C., Espeseth, T., Jiang, X., & Greenwood, P. M. (2019) · Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnagi.2019.00268 · Cited by 9
Izhak, S. B., & Michal Lavidor, B. (2023) · Journal of Cognition and Development · doi:10.1080/15248372.2023.2172413 · Cited by 11
“Some argue that transference is achievable (Au et al., 2015; Jaeggi, Buschkuehl, Jonides, & Perrig, 2008; Klimova, 2016; Soveri et al., 2017), while others argue that there is insufficient evidence that CT truly enables transference(Cândea, Tefan, & Szentagotai-Tătar, 2015; Gobet & Sala, 2020; Lintern & Boot, 2021; Sa…”
BackgroundDoes working memory training enhance intelligence?
Tsubomi, H., Saito, S., Osaka, M., & Osaka, N. (2019) · The Japanese journal of psychology · doi:10.4992/jjpsy.90.18402 · Cited by 8
“…統制群が設定される 7。受動的統制群はトレーニング群 と同じタイミングで 1回目（トレーニング前）と 2回 目（トレーニング後）のテストを受けるが，トレーニ ングに関わる活動はしないで過ごす。トレーニング群 は，「トレーニングスケジュールを守る」・「コンピュー タの扱いに慣れる」・「実験者とやりとりをする」・「ト レーニングを通じて 2回目のテストへのモチベーショ ンや期待が高まる」といったことをトレーニング期間 中に経験するが，受動的統制群は経験しない。そのた め，トレーニング群の成績が受動的統制群より高く なったとしても，トレーニング中に経験したことによ…”
Louw, J. G., Olivier, L., Skeen, S., van Heerden, A., & Tomlinson, M. (2019) · JMIR Research Protocols · doi:10.2196/14489 · Cited by 8
“Cognitive training has shown to have an impact on task performance and on fluid intelligence (Gf) tests [13-15].”
Post-training Load-Related Changes of Auditory Working Memory – An EEG Study
Gudi-Mindermann, H., Rimmele, J. M., Bruns, P., Kloosterman, N. A., Donner, T. H., Engel, A. K., & Röder, B. (2020) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2020.00072 · Cited by 10
Unpacking placebo and working memory training effects on cognitive performance
Wager, T. D., & Jung, H. (2022) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2214268119 · Cited by 8
Working Memory Capacity of ChatGPT: An Empirical Study
Gong, D., Wan, X., & Wang, D. (2024) · Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence · doi:10.1609/aaai.v38i9.28868 · Cited by 19
“Training on working memory capacity using the n -back task has been shown to be effective in improving fluid intelligence (Au et al. 2015; Jaeggi et al. 2008), highlighting the special role of working memory capacity in human intelligence (Halford, Cowan, and Andrews 2007).”
MethodStuder-Luethi, B., & Meier, B. (2020) · Journal of Cognitive Enhancement · doi:10.1007/s41465-020-00202-3 · Cited by 10
When Averaging Goes Wrong: The Case for Mixture Model Estimation in Psychological SciencePreprint
Moreau, D., & Corballis, M. C. (2018) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/fq86j · Cited by 8
Kira, I. A., Alpay, E. H., Shuwiekh, H. A. M., & Türkeli, A. (2023) · Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/casp.2693 · Cited by 7
Executive functions in inductive and deductive reasoning
Kazali, E. (2024) · Journal of Experimental Child Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2024.106144 · Cited by 8
Ramme, R. A., Neumann, D. L., & Donovan, C. L. (2022) · Learning and Motivation · doi:10.1016/j.lmot.2022.101782 · Cited by 9
Eichelberger, D. A., Sticca, F., Kübler, D. R., Kakebeeke, T. H., Caflisch, J., Jenni, O. G., & Wehrle, F. M. (2023) · Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.intell.2023.101730 · Cited by 9
Nahas, C., Gandit, M., Quillion‐Dupré, L., & Monfort, E. (2023) · Disability and Rehabilitation Assistive Technology · doi:10.1080/17483107.2023.2284879 · Cited by 7
“Numerous systematic reviews and meta-analyses have been conducted, but consensus on its efficacy is lacking [4,8,12– 15].”
Kattlun, F., Hertel, E., Geis, C., Scherag, A., Wickel, J., & Finke, K. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1321145 · Cited by 8
“…training is effective in enhancing not only working memory functions themselves (Jaeggi et al., 2008; Klingberg, 2010), but that it could also stimulate cognitive functioning on a more general level in younger (Au et al., 2015) and older persons (Karbach and Verhaeghen, 2014; Zinke et al., 2014).”
BackgroundBahri, M., Farrahi, H., Mahdavinataj, H., & Batouli, S. A. H. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1377342 · Cited by 8
Cognitive Brain Training, Video Games, and Creativity
Vartanian, O. A., & Beatty, E. L. (2015) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-801462-2.00009-6 · Cited by 9
Pan, D., Daotuan, W. A. N. G., & Li, X. (2018) · Acta Psychologica Sinica · doi:10.3724/sp.j.1041.2018.01105 · Cited by 7
Stavroulaki, V., Giakoumaki, S. G., & Sidiropoulou, K. (2020) · Mechanisms of Ageing and Development · doi:10.1016/j.mad.2020.111415 · Cited by 10
Nakayama, Y., Suzuki, N., Nakaoka, H., Tsumura, K., Takaguchi, K., Takaya, K., Hanazato, M., Todaka, E., & Mori, C. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph181910246 · Cited by 10
Lv, X., Ren, X., Guo, C., & Tang, L. (2021) · Psychology of sport and exercise · doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2021.102105 · Cited by 8
Zihniyet Kuramı ve Öğrenme Motivasyonu
Bayrakçeken, S., Samancı, O., & Gökbulut, N. (2021) · Sinerji Uluslararası Alan Eğitimi Araştırmaları Dergisi · doi:10.54971/synergy.986217 · Cited by 7
Feng, P., Jiang, R., Wei, L., Calhoun, V. D., Jing, B., Li, J., & Jing Sui （Beijing Normal University）， my correct affiliation is beijing normal university, N. Q. U. O. S. A. T. (2022) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhac189 · Cited by 7
The role of the updating function in solving arithmetic word problems.
Mori, K., & Okamoto, M. (2016) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/edu0000134 · Cited by 7
“According to Baddeley’s (1986) three-component model, working memory involves two subsystems: a phonological loop, which stores verbal materials, and a visuospatial sketchpad, which houses visual information.”
BackgroundMethodNeugnot-Cerioli, M., Gagner, C., & Beauchamp, M. H. (2017) · Cogent Psychology · doi:10.1080/23311908.2017.1284360 · Cited by 9
“, 2010), a recent meta-analysis reviewing 20 studies of fluid intelligence interventions through working memory training showed a small (3–4 IQ points), yet significant, effect (Au et al., 2015).”
BackgroundInfluentialCan training change attentional breadth? Failure to find transfer effects
Fang, L., Hoorelbeke, K., Bruyneel, L., et al. (2017) · Psychological Research · doi:10.1007/s00426-017-0845-y · Cited by 7
“Nevertheless, recent meta-analytical findings regarding cognitive training effects in the field of working memory training suggest that such training effects can be obtained regardless of whether training is administered in the lab or at home (Au et al. 2014).”
BackgroundMoore, A. L., Carpenter, D. M., Miller, T. M., & Ledbetter, C. R. (2018) · Journal of Cognitive Enhancement · doi:10.1007/s41465-018-0094-z · Cited by 7
Louw, J. G., van Heerden, A. C., Olivier, L., Lambrechts, T., Broodryk, M., Bunge, L., Vosloo, M., & Tomlinson, M. (2021) · JMIR Formative Research · doi:10.2196/20658 · Cited by 7
Kolskår, K. K., Richard, G., Alnæs, D., Dørum, E. S., Sanders, A., Ulrichsen, K. M., Sánchez, J. M., Ihle‐Hansen, H., Nordvik, J. E., & Westlye, L. T. (2019) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/603985 · Cited by 11
Kamei, T., & Pavlović, M. (2020) · International Journal of Educational Research · doi:10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101726 · Cited by 6
Nguyen, L., Murphy, K. A., & Andrews, G. (2024) · Entertainment Computing · doi:10.1016/j.entcom.2024.100892 · Cited by 7
Marchi, B. D., Agovi, E., & Aliverti, A. (2024) · Information Systems Frontiers · doi:10.1007/s10796-024-10550-6 · Cited by 7
“• Low Stress (2 min) – Dual-2-Back task (Au et al., 2014): two stimulus sequences (one visual and one auditory) were presented simultaneously on a screen and the subject that had to press the spacebar whenever one of the two target matches the stimulus that appeared two steps before.”
Generalizable Learning: Practice Makes Perfect — But at What?
Seitz, A. R. (2017) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2017.01.064 · Cited by 5
New Directions in Training Designs
Cochrane, A., & Green, C. S. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-39292-5_3 · Cited by 6
Efficacy of Working Memory Training in Middle-aged Adults
George, V. M., Bajaj, G., & Bhat, J. S. (2020) · Eon'eo cheong'gag jang'ae yeon'gu/Communication sciences & disorders · doi:10.12963/csd.20768 · Cited by 8
Shokuhifar, G., Javanbakht, M., Vahedi, M., et al. (2024) · International Journal of Audiology · doi:10.1080/14992027.2024.2328556 · Cited by 6
“This test’s validity was reported to be 0.81(Au et al. 2015).”
InfluentialRalph, K. J., Gibson, B. S., Gondoli, D. M., Sztybel, P., Pauszek, J. R., Miller, R. W., & Litzow, E. (2017) · Journal of Cognitive Enhancement · doi:10.1007/s41465-017-0043-2 · Cited by 6
Kroll, J., Karolis, V. R., Brittain, P. J., Tseng, C.-E. J., Froudist‐Walsh, S., Murray, R. M., & Nosarti, C. (2019) · Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.intell.2019.101401 · Cited by 6
“The malleability of IQ is of great debate; for instance, it remains unclear whether working memory training may transfer to fluid intelligence (Au et al., 2015; Jaeggi, Buschkuehl, Jonides, & Perrig, 2008; Melby-Lervåg & Hulme, 2013).”
BackgroundImproving Visual Working Memory With Training on a Tactile Orientation Sequence Task in Humans
Guo, T., Ren, Y., Yu, Y., Yu, Y., Hasegawa, Y., Wu, Q., Yang, J., Takahashi, S., Ejima, Y., & Wu, J. (2021) · SAGE Open · doi:10.1177/21582440211031549 · Cited by 6
“Increasing evidence has shown that adults are capable of strong cognitive and brain plasticity that, with a short period of intensive practice via behavioral tasks, can improve working memory ability (Au et al., 2015; Jaeggi et al., 2008; Likova, 2012).”
BackgroundFAST: A Novel, Executive Function-Based Approach to Cognitive Enhancement
Almquist, J. N.-F., Mathan, S. A., Brem, A., Plessow, F., McKanna, J. A., Santarnecchi, E., Pascual‐Leone, Á., Kadosh, R. C., Pavel, M., & Yeung, N. (2019) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2019.00235 · Cited by 8
The Neural Mechanism Underlying Visual Working Memory Training and Its Limited Transfer Effect
Cai, Y., Yang, C., Wang, S., & Xue, G. (2022) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/jocn_a_01897 · Cited by 6
“In contrast, changes from an n-back task to a complex span task may affect information flow and the transfer effect (Soveri, Antfolk, et al., 2017; Au et al., 2015).”
Bomyea, J. A., Caudle, M. M., Dugas, N., Moore, R. C., Simmons, A. N., & Thomas, M. L. (2024) · Journal of Mood and Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.xjmad.2024.100095 · Cited by 6
“Our findings align with prior work showing that effects of cognitive training can generalize to broader constructs like fluid intelligence [77] and neural activation [68], and align with prior positive trials of training using working memory capacity paradigms in psychiatric populations [47,48].”
Pindus, D. M., Lloyd, K. M., Ligeza, T. S., Askow, A. T., McKenna, C., Bashir, N., Martin, H., Quiroz, F. B., Herrera, B. M., Cannavale, C., et al. (2025) · International Journal of Psychophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.112519 · Cited by 6
“WM is critical to learning (Ward et al., 2017), decision-making (Del Missier et al., 2010), and reasoning (Au et al., 2015), which predict better health and job success (Mashburn et al., 2023).”
Joëssel, F., Cunningham, E. G., & Green, C. S. (2025) · Journal of Cognitive Enhancement · doi:10.1007/s41465-025-00316-6 · Cited by 5
“…working memory (Ericson & Klingberg, 2023; Klingberg, 2010; Schmiedek et al., 2019), to executive functions (Green et al., 2012; Johann & Karbach, 2021; Strobach et al., 2012), to fluid intelligence (Jaeggi et al., 2008), see (Au et al., 2015), and finally to problem solving (Shute et al., 2015).”
Yufei, C., & Ningning, W. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1562462 · Cited by 5
“…the majority of current studies focus on indicators based on athletes’ attention allocation, visual processing, and training behavior, which aid in analyzing the relationship between spatial working memory capacity and athletes’ pre-conditioning performance (Jacky et al., 2015; Costa et al., 2023).”
MacLellan, A., Fairchild, G., & Button, K. (2025) · Cognitive Therapy and Research · doi:10.1007/s10608-025-10636-8 · Cited by 4
Treinar memória de trabalho promove mudanças em inteligência fluida?
Alves, M. M., & Silva, R. S. (2017) · Temas em Psicologia · doi:10.9788/tp2017.2-19pt · Cited by 8
“Modern thinkers are also skeptical about the possibility of changes in intelligence, emphasizing its elevated heritability and stability throughout the life cycle (Au et al., 2015).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialMental-Imagery-Based Mnemonic Training: A New Kind of Cognitive Training
Luan, X., Kawasaki, Y., Chen, Q., & Sugimori, E. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.740829 · Cited by 8
“, 2018), including on working memory (WM) training (Au et al., 2015), neuro-feedback training (Gruzelier, 2014), exercise training (Kramer and Colcombe, 2018), and music training (Schellenberg, 2011).”
BackgroundLeite, J., Gonçalves, Ó. F., & Carvalho, S. (2022) · Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnagi.2022.880510 · Cited by 5
“Moreover, previous meta-analyses suggested that cognitive training in healthy volunteers can indeed increase fluid intelligence (Karbach and Verhaeghen, 2014; Au et al., 2015).”
BackgroundKarbach, J., & Strobach, T. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-04760-2_8 · Cited by 6
N-Back training in middle adulthood: evidence for transfer only to structurally similar task
Juras, L., Sedlar, M. K., Vrhovski, G., & Vranić, A. (2024) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-024-05758-3 · Cited by 5
“…that updating training leads to considerable improvements in trained tasks, but the generalization of training effects has become a hot topic and a source of controversy in the field (Au et al., 2015; Karbach & Verhaeghen, 2014; Melby-Lervåg et al., 2016; Nguyen et al., 2019; Sala & Goblet, 2019).”
Self-reported strategy use in working memory tasks
Ritakallio, L., Fellman, D., Salmi, J., Jylkkä, J., & Laine, M. (2024) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-024-54160-3 · Cited by 7
“One can also note here that comparisons between lab-based and web-based testing conditions have spoken for the reliability of the results in web-based studies 52–54 .”
BackgroundSharpe, B. T., Smith, M. S., Williams, S., Hampshire, A., Bălăeţ, M., Trender, W. R., Hellyer, P. J., Talbot, J., & Smith, J. (2025) · International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics · doi:10.1016/j.ergon.2025.103741 · Cited by 6
Сognitive rehabilitation of cardiac surgery patients: problems and prospects
Tarasova, I. V., Trubnikova, O. A., & Kupriyanova, D. S. (2020) · Siberian medical review · doi:10.20333/2500136-2020-5-23-30 · Cited by 19
Walton, L., Domellöf, M. E., Boraxbekk, C., Domellöf, E., Rönnqvist, L., Bäckström, D. C., Forsgren, L., & Neely, A. S. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.587925 · Cited by 5
Interventions to Do Real-World Good: Generalization and Persistence
Green, C. S. (2020) · Gothic.net · doi:10.1177/1529100620933847 · Cited by 5
“( Au et al., 2015; Melby-Lervåg, Redick, & Hulme, 2016; Redick, Shipstead, Wiemers, Melby-Lervag, & Hulme, 2015).”
Zheng, Q., & Shum, K. K. (2024) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-023-06213-1 · Cited by 4
Jylkkä, J., Stickley, Z. L., Fellman, D., Waris, O., Ritakallio, L., Little, T. D., Salmi, J., & Laine, M. (2024) · Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1177/17470218241278272 · Cited by 6
“…yield transfer to other types of tasks, but rather enhances performance only on tasks that have close structural resemblance to the trained task (Au et al., 2015; Karbach & Verhaeghen, 2014; Kassai et al., 2019; Melby-Lervåg et al., 2016; Melby-Lervåg & Hulme, 2013; Sala & Gobet, 2017;…”
Xu, T., Liu, X., He, H., Zhou, C., Hildebrandt, A., & Chen, F. (2025) · Advanced Science · doi:10.1002/advs.202504518 · Cited by 4
Beneventi, H., Løhaugen, G. C. C., Andersen, G. L., Sundberg, C., Østgård, H. F., Bakkan, E., Walther, G., Vik, T., & Skranes, J. S. (2023) · Developmental Neurorehabilitation · doi:10.1080/17518423.2023.2259985 · Cited by 5
“31,32 Different working memory training programs have been used in numerous studies.”
MethodMazo, G., Pantaléo, S. M., van der Oord, A., Picq, J., Hertz‐Pannier, L., Brunet-Gouet, É., Azouvi, P., & Vallat‐Azouvi, C. (2024) · Neuropsychological Rehabilitation · doi:10.1080/09602011.2024.2319909 · Cited by 5
“…issues are particularly important regarding far transfer, as some meta-analyses reported a significantly positive far transfer effect (Au et al., 2015; Au et al., 2016) while others did not (Dougherty et al., 2016; Melby-Lervåg et al., 2016; Melby-Lervåg & Hulme, 2016; Pappa et al.,…”
The Effect of Visual Working Memory Training Could Transfer Across Stimuli
Bi, T., Wang, X., Kou, H., & Qiu, J. (2020) · Psychology Research and Behavior Management · doi:10.2147/prbm.s240526 · Cited by 5
“However, meta-analysis results indicated that the transfer from WM training to other cognitive skills such as fluid intelligence was small.(14,15) It was proposed that far transfer (between a WM task and other cognitive tasks) was relatively weak, while near transfer (among WM tasks) was evident and sustained.”
BackgroundCasual Game or Cognitive Gain: Multitask Casual Game as a Training for Young Adults
Martinčević, M., & Vranić, A. (2020) · Journal of Cognitive Enhancement · doi:10.1007/s41465-020-00173-5 · Cited by 4
Statistical Modeling of Latent Change
Könen, T., & Auerswald, M. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-39292-5_5 · Cited by 4
Könen, T., Strobach, T., & Karbach, J. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-39292-5_11 · Cited by 4
ERPs in Controls and ADHD Patients During Dual N-Back Task
Lintas, A., Mesrobian, S. K., Bader, M., & Villa, A. E. P. (2021) · Advances in cognitive neurodynamics · doi:10.1007/978-981-16-0317-4_20 · Cited by 4
Kranou-Economidou, D., & Kambanaros, M. (2021) · Behavioural Neurology · doi:10.1155/2021/9164543 · Cited by 4
Santhanam, P., Nath, T., Lindquist, M. A., & Cooper, D. S. (2022) · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · doi:10.1210/clinem/dgac189 · Cited by 4
Intelligenzsteigerung durch Neuroenhancement?
Neubauer, A. C., & Wood, G. M. D. O. (2022) · Psychologische Rundschau · doi:10.1026/0033-3042/a000599 · Cited by 4
Memory dual N-back training using mobile devices and its effect on working memory capacity
Dziura, N., & Ślebarska, K. (2024) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-024-05756-5 · Cited by 4
“Prior research revealed the positive effect of performing the Dual N-back task on fluid intelli - gence (Au et al., 2015), and cognitive capacity in relation to age and fatigue (Pergher et al., 2018).”
Gurr, C., Splittgerber, M., Puonti, O., Siemann, J., Luckhardt, C., Pereira, H. C., Amaral, J., Crisóstomo, J., Sayal, A., Ribeiro, M., et al. (2024) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.1372-23.2024 · Cited by 5
Ørskov, P. T., Norup, A., Debrabant, B., & Beatty, E. L. (2020) · Journal of Cognitive Enhancement · doi:10.1007/s41465-020-00191-3 · Cited by 4
Lillo, M. D., Brunsdon, V. E. A., Bradford, E. E. F., Gasking, F., & Ferguson, H. J. (2021) · Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1177/17470218211002509 · Cited by 8
“In fact, while one recent meta-analysis found small but significant improvements in fluid intelligence following WM training (Au et al., 2015), three others have concluded that near-transfer effects following training are weak and short lived, and do not generalise across the sub-components of EF…”
BackgroundWujcik, R., Nowak, M., & Nȩcka, E. (2017) · Polish Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1515/ppb-2017-0009 · Cited by 4
“…working memory (WM) training became popular about 15 years ago (e.g., Buschkuehl & Jaeggi, 2010; Klingberg, Forssberg, & Westerberg, 2002; Klingberg et al., 2005), although metaanalyses suggest that their effects may be small and shortlived (e.g., Au et al., 2014; Melby-Lervåg & Hulme, 2013).”
BackgroundZhu, M., Liu, B., & Jin, L. (2018) · IOP Conference Series Materials Science and Engineering · doi:10.1088/1757-899x/381/1/012186 · Cited by 4
“The general fluid intelligence is correlated with the human high cognitive ability, such as emotion understanding [1] and working memory [2].”
BackgroundSpencer‐Smith, M. M., & Klingberg, T. (2017) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781118920497.ch28 · Cited by 5
Berggren, R., Nilsson, J., Brehmer, Y., Schmiedek, F., & Lövdén, M. (2018) · doi:10.31219/osf.io/8y4ga · Cited by 4
Becker, E. S., Vanderhasselt, M.-A., Koster, E. H. W., & Vrijsen, J. N. (2021) · Cognitive Therapy and Research · doi:10.1007/s10608-021-10249-x · Cited by 4
The working memory modifiability: Effects of mediation on working memory and analogical thinking
Tzuriel, D., Hanuka-Levy, D., & Weiss, T. (2025) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.106061 · Cited by 3
Executive function predictors of science achievement in middle-school students
Varma, K., Boekel, M. V., Aylward, G., & Varma, S. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1197002 · Cited by 3
“…whether training EF and WM lead to improvements in other cognitive abilities such as language comprehension (e.g., Chein and Morrison, 2010), mathematical thinking (e.g., Holmes et al., 2009), fluid reasoning (Jaeggi et al., 2008; Au et al., 2014), and creative thinking (Lin et al., 2018).”
BackgroundNo evidence for an effect of a working memory training program on white matter microstructure
Lawlor‐Savage, L., Kusi, M., Clark, C. M., & Goghari, V. M. (2021) · Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.intell.2021.101541 · Cited by 5
The effect of EF on PM performance in school-age children
Ren, Z., Liang, X., Sun, F., & Wang, L. (2022) · European Journal of Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1080/17405629.2022.2049752 · Cited by 4
Finn, P., Nemes, L., Bailey, A., Gunn, R. L., Wiemers, E. A., & Redick, T. S. (2022) · Journal of Cognitive Enhancement · doi:10.1007/s41465-022-00241-y · Cited by 4
“There is an extensive literature on the impact of working memory (WM) training on various measures of executive cognitive function (ECF), fluid intelligence, and other far-transfer cognitive outcome measures (Au et al., 2015), including studies with clinical populations, such as those with substance use disorders (SUD…”
BackgroundAlhuwailah, A., Shuwiekh, H. A. M., & Kira, I. A. (2023) · International Perspectives in Psychology · doi:10.1027/2157-3891/a000068 · Cited by 3
Bonnechère, B., & Klass, M. (2023) · Games for Health Journal · doi:10.1089/g4h.2022.0120 · Cited by 3
Lee, E. K., Kim, H. S., & Yoo, H. K. (2017) · Journal of korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.5765/jkacap.2017.28.2.115 · Cited by 3
Does Working Memory Training Promote Changes in Fluid Intelligence?
Alves, M. M., & Silva, R. S. (2017) · Temas em Psicologia · doi:10.9788/tp2017.2-19en · Cited by 3
Santos, M. T., Schelini, P. W., Golino, H. F., Pereira, B. L. D. S., & Felix, L. M. (2017) · Revista Avaliação Psicológica · doi:10.15689/ap.2017.1603.12431 · Cited by 5
Ari�s (2018) · Research Publications (Maastricht University) · doi:10.26481/dis.20180517ra · Cited by 3
“Specifically n-back training, which is a commonly used task in WM task-transfer training studies, could lead to positive effects on general fluid intelligence ( Gf) (Au et al., 2015; Jaeggi et al., 2008; Beatty and Vartanian, 2015).”
BackgroundTraining Working Memory for Two Years – No Evidence of Transfer to IntelligencePreprint
Watrin, L., Hülür, G., & Wilhelm, O. (2021) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/hc8je · Cited by 3
Intelligence Can Be Used to Make a More Equitable Society but Only When Properly Defined and AppliedPreprint
Holden, L. R., & Hart, S. A. (2021) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/92cuk · Cited by 3
Slow Oscillations Modulate Functional Brain Changes Supporting Working MemoryPreprint
Zhang, J., Chen, P., Mednick, S. C., & Tambini, A. (2024) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2024.05.14.594161 · Cited by 3
“Studies have demonstrated that WM capacity can be enhanced through training and is reflected in plasticity in WM-related brain activity patterns 10–12 .”
BackgroundTrinczer, I. L., & Shalev, L. (2024) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm13237239 · Cited by 5
Lintas, A., Bader, M., & Villa, A. E. P. (2025) · Brain Sciences · doi:10.3390/brainsci15090998 · Cited by 2
Neural mechanisms of emotion-focused interventions: A meta-analytic review of fMRI studies
Li, Y., Li, G., Liu, Y., Liu, C., & Chen, A. (2025) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121469 · Cited by 3
End-user centred Adaptation Process of an Educational Exergame to Mobile Platforms
de Cerqueira, B. B., Barbosa, D. N. F., & Mossmann, J. B. (2020) · RENOTE · doi:10.22456/1679-1916.105987 · Cited by 2
Pappa, K., Flegal, K. E., Baylan, S., & Evans, J. J. (2021) · Applied Neuropsychology Adult · doi:10.1080/23279095.2021.1904243 · Cited by 2
Metadata
- Authors
- Au, J., Sheehan, E., Tsai, N., Duncan, G. J., Buschkuehl, M., & Jaeggi, S. M.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Irvine (US)
- MIND Research Institute (US)
- Corresponding author
- Au, Jacky
- Venue
- Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
- Published
- 2014-08-08
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 366-377
- ISSN
- 1069-9384 (ISSN-L)
- 1531-5320
- OpenAlex
- W1985948545
- Semantic Scholar
- 669a9f1a189a86de5adae42b90991148d90e53fc
- Cited by
- 727
- References
- 73
- Citations by year
- 2026: 33 · 2025: 39 · 2024: 42 · 2023: 45 · 2022: 57 · 2021: 66 · 2020: 97 · 2019: 73 · 2018: 78 · 2017: 81 · 2016: 63 · 2015: 47 · 2014: 4
- FWCI
- 7.44
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- escholarship.org
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Psychonomic Bulletin & Review (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
- Keywords
- working memory training, fluid intelligence, cognitive training, transfer of training, cognitive plasticity, working memory
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aptitude, Attention, Female, Humans, Intelligence, Learning, Male, Memory, Short-Term, Middle Aged, Practice, Psychological, Transfer, Psychology, Controlled Clinical Trials as Topic, Young Adult
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