Abstract
We assessed the transfer effects of training working memory strategies to a novel problem-solving task. Previous WM training studies have produced little evidence for transfer across contexts. In the current study, 64 6- to 9-year-olds were randomly assigned to one of four training conditions: semantic and rehearsal training, semantic training only, rehearsal training only, and treated control group. All training groups performed significantly better on the transfer task than the control group, but training groups did not differ significantly from each other. Implications of the findings for cognitive interventions and future WM training studies are discussed.
Highlights
Working memory (WM) is a limited-capacity system responsible for temporary storage and simultaneous processing and manipulation of information (Baddeley, 2003; Müller and Kerns, 2015)
The results of this study show that strategy-based WM training produced a far-transfer effect on a problem-solving task
Children who do well in WM-related tasks employ exactly the strategies that were trained in the current study
Summary
Working memory (WM) is a limited-capacity system responsible for temporary storage and simultaneous processing and manipulation of information (Baddeley, 2003; Müller and Kerns, 2015). WM has been linked to general intelligence and reasoning skills (Süß et al, 2002; Kane et al, 2004; Au et al, 2015), and shown to be predictive of academic outcomes such as school readiness and achievement (Bull and Lee, 2014; Müller and Kerns, 2015). Given the important role of WM capacity in cognitive processes and scholastic skills, considerable attention has been given to WM training with the goal of improving WM capacity (Karr et al, 2014; Melby-Lervåg et al, 2016; Weicker et al, 2016). To be considered effective, training effects should generalize to untrained tasks that are dissimilar from the trained task (far transfer; Barnett and Ceci, 2002). To be considered effective, training effects should transfer temporally, that is, be maintained over time
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