Does working memory training lead to generalized improvements in children with low working memory? A randomized...

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Children with low working memory often struggle academically.
• Working memory training can improve performance on memory tasks.
• The transferability of these gains to real-world settings is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if working memory training benefits extend to classroom activities and other cognitive skills in children with low working memory.
• To assess the long-term effects of working memory training.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving children aged 7-9 years with low working memory.
• Participants received adaptive working memory training, non-adaptive training, or no training.
• Outcomes measured included working memory tasks, classroom analogues, and other cognitive assessments.

Main Results:

• Adaptive training led to improvements in untrained working memory tests.
• No significant improvements were observed in classroom analogues or other cognitive assessments.
• Gains in verbal working memory were sustained one year post-training.

Conclusions:

• Working memory training may selectively improve working memory performance.
• Benefits do not appear to extend to complex classroom activities or broader cognitive skills.
• Sustained improvements in verbal working memory suggest potential long-term effects on specific tasks.