Malleability of expectations of computerized cognitive training

Abstract

Commercial computerized cognitive training (CCT) programs have grown rapidly in popularity over the past several years. However, the effectiveness of commercial CCT at improving cognition is highly contested, and the degree to which expectations of CCT outcomes affect self-reported gains remains unclear. Here, we examined the malleability of CCT expectations by testing if a brief positive or negative message about CCT would influence attitudes regarding its effectiveness in 565 participants from Amazon's Mechanical Turk. We also assessed if personality, need for cognition (NFC), and fixed versus incremental theories of intelligence (TOI) moderate these effects. As predicted, individuals in the positive condition had more positive CCT expectations relative to those in the negative condition. Individuals with incremental TOI had more positive expectations than fixed TOI individuals, regardless of message condition. Higher NFC and open-mindedness were associated with more positive expectations in the positive condition and more negative expectations in the negative condition. Agreeableness was associated with more positive expectations in the positive condition. These results indicate that CCT expectations are malleable to persuasive messages, and this effect is influenced by NFC, TOI, open-mindedness, and agreeableness. The results support the need for future research to investigate expectancy effects on CCT outcomes.