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Working Memory Training for Older Participants: A Control Group Training Regimen and Initial Intellectual Functioning Assessment
Published on: September 20, 2020
The effects of working memory training on decision-making in collegiate basketball referees: a randomized controlled
Pengfei Kang1, Heng Zhang2, Qiulin Wang3
1Department of Physical Education, Nanjing University of Finance & Economics, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Background:
Collegiate basketball referees necessitate swift information processing and precise decision-making under duress, with working memory serving as a fundamental cognitive function. Investigations into cognitive training for referees are still few.
Methods:
This randomised controlled trial investigated the impact of an 8-week working memory training program on decision-making among 28 collegiate basketball referees (ages 19-22), who were allocated to either an experimental group (n = 14) or a control group (n = 14). The accuracy of decision-making, response time, and working memory capacity were evaluated.
Results:
The experimental group exhibited notable enhancements in decision-making accuracy, especially with cognitive decisions; diminished response times; and augmented working memory capacity.
Conclusion:
Working memory training improves cognitive efficiency in collegiate basketball referees with limited officiating experience, facilitating quicker and more precise officiating decisions under laboratory static-image testing conditions. These observed medium-sized effects are sample-specific and should not be generalized to professional elite referees. Targeted cognitive training may function as an effective strategy to enhance officiating performance for this specific population.
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