The role of proactive interference in working memory training and transfer

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Working memory training yields inconsistent results on cognitive transfer.
• Mechanisms underlying working memory transfer remain under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate the role of proactive interference in working memory training.
• Examine how training methods influence transfer to other cognitive skills.

Main Methods:

• Eighty-six adults completed a pretest-posttest design with ten working memory training sessions.
• Training involved an operation span task with either consistent (letters) or varied (letters, digits, words) recall items.
• Active control group performed a visual-search task.
• Measures included working memory, verbal fluency, and reading comprehension.

Main Results:

• All groups improved performance post-training.
• The 'operation-letters' group showed enhanced transfer to letter-based working memory tasks.
• No significant transfer was observed to non-letter working memory tasks, verbal fluency, or reading comprehension.

Conclusions:

• Proactive interference does not appear to be a key factor in working memory training transfer.
• A strategy-based account, focusing on stimulus content, better explains training and transfer patterns.
• Working memory training effectiveness is influenced by specific task demands and strategies employed.