IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/intell/v73y2019icp78-87.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Mechanisms of working memory training: Insights from individual differences

Author

Listed:
  • Meiran, Nachshon
  • Dreisbach, Gesine
  • von Bastian, Claudia C.

Abstract

Computerized working-memory training (WM), despite typically yielding large practice effects in the training task, transfers reliably almost only to similar tasks and barely transfers to Fluid Intelligence (Gf). We hypothesized that WM training tasks gradually become less related to Gf due to the development of task-specific skills that reduce reliance on WM. As a result, what is being trained in the advanced stages of training is weakly related to WM and Gf. This hypothesis leads to predicting that with training progression, there would be a gradual change in the rank-ordering of individuals (quasi-simplex) in the per-session scores of the training task coupled with a trend in reduction in Gf loadings of these scores. We reanalyzed individual differences in per-session scores in the training task from two moderately large-scale published studies. Results show that, as predicted, the correlations between per-session scores decreased with increasing temporal distance between sessions, suggesting a quasi-simplex pattern indicative of a gradual change in the rank-ordering of individuals. However, contrary to the prediction, the training tasks maintained or even tended to increase their Gf loading with training progression. We provide post-hoc accounts for these results, some which challenge prevalent assumptions beyond the attempt to improve Gf through improving WM.

Suggested Citation

  • Meiran, Nachshon & Dreisbach, Gesine & von Bastian, Claudia C., 2019. "Mechanisms of working memory training: Insights from individual differences," Intelligence, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 78-87.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:intell:v:73:y:2019:i:c:p:78-87
    DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2019.01.010
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289618301843
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.intell.2019.01.010?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lloyd Humphreys, 1960. "Investigations of the simplex," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 25(4), pages 313-323, December.
    2. Paul Dwyer, 1937. "The determination of the factor loadings of a given test from the known factor loadings of other tests," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 2(3), pages 173-178, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Campbell[maltese cross], Donald T., 1996. "Regression artifacts in time-series and longitudinal data," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 377-389, November.
    2. Chen, Gilad & Mathieu, John E., 2008. "Goal orientation dispositions and performance trajectories: The roles of supplementary and complementary situational inducements," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 106(1), pages 21-38, May.
    3. Ledyard Tucker, 1971. "Relations of factor score estimates to their use," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 36(4), pages 427-436, December.
    4. Bishwa Mukherjee, 1966. "Derivation of likelihood-ratio tests for Guttman quasi-simplex covariance structures," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 31(1), pages 97-123, March.
    5. Kenneth A. Bollen & Patrick J. Curran, 2004. "Autoregressive Latent Trajectory (ALT) Models A Synthesis of Two Traditions," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 32(3), pages 336-383, February.
    6. Steven M. Director, 1979. "Underadjustment Bias in the Evaluation of Manpower Training," Evaluation Review, , vol. 3(2), pages 190-218, May.
    7. John Creager & Lonnie Valentine, 1962. "Regression analysis of linear composite variance," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 27(1), pages 31-37, March.
    8. Ellen L. Hamaker, 2005. "Conditions for the Equivalence of the Autoregressive Latent Trajectory Model and a Latent Growth Curve Model With Autoregressive Disturbances," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 33(3), pages 404-416, February.
    9. Emil Heermann, 1966. "The algebra of factorial indeterminancy," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 31(4), pages 539-543, December.
    10. Guy Groen, 1971. "Stochastic processes and the guttman simplex," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 36(3), pages 289-302, September.
    11. Duane F. Alwin & Kristina Zeiser & Don Gensimore, 2014. "Reliability of Self-reports of Financial Data in Surveys," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 43(1), pages 98-136, February.
    12. Anders Skrondal & Petter Laake, 2001. "Regression among factor scores," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 66(4), pages 563-575, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:intell:v:73:y:2019:i:c:p:78-87. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/intelligence .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.