Strategy and Core Cognitive Training Effects on Working Memory Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The field of cognitive training (CT) has been researched for over a century. However, there is still a debate regarding its ability to produce cognitive improvement, especially in working memory (WM) indices. This meta-analysis examined whether there is an advantage in training gains by comparing th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of cognition and development Vol. 24; no. 4; pp. 486 - 513
Main Authors Ben Izhak, Shachar, Lavidor, Michal
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Philadelphia Routledge 08.08.2023
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Age Differences
Cognitive ability
Cognitive Development
Cognitive Processes
Comparative Analysis
Effect Size
Learning Strategies
Memory
Meta Analysis
Metacognition
Outcome Measures
Outcomes of Education
Research Methodology
Research Reports
Short Term Memory
Systematic review
Teaching Methods
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Summary:The field of cognitive training (CT) has been researched for over a century. However, there is still a debate regarding its ability to produce cognitive improvement, especially in working memory (WM) indices. This meta-analysis examined whether there is an advantage in training gains by comparing the results of two specific WM training approaches, Core Training (CRT) and Strategy Training (ST). Meta-analytic techniques were used to summarize 28 independent effect sizes from 24 studies with 1521 subjects, calculated only from studies that compared both training approaches in a single study. We found moderate effect sizes of trained tasks improvement with a clear advantage to ST over CRT, from which younger trainees benefitted the most. However, this advantage has almost disappeared for untrained tasks due to the limited improvement each approach produced on its own.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ObjectType-Evidence Based Healthcare-1
ISSN:1524-8372
1532-7647
DOI:10.1080/15248372.2023.2172413