What’s Working in Working Memory Training? An Educational Perspective

Educational Psychology Review

Volumn 27, Issue 4, 2015, Pages 617-633

  Redick, Thomas S ^a   Shipstead, Zach ^b   Wiemers, Elizabeth A ^a   Melby Lervåg, Monica ^c   Hulme, Charles ^d  

^a PURDUE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^c UNIVERSITY OF OSLO   (Norway)

^d UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Academic attainment; Intervention; Training; Working memory

Indexed keywords

EID: 84948576506     PISSN: 1040726X     EISSN: 1573336X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s10648-015-9314-6     Document Type: Article

References (69)

1. Alderson, R. M., Rapport, M. D., Hudec, K. L., Sarver, D. E., & Kofler, M. J. (2010). Competing core processes in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): do working memory deficiencies underlie behavioral inhibition deficits? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 38, 497–507. doi:10.1007/s10802-010-9387-0.
2. Alloway, T. (2012). Can interactive working memory training improve learning? Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 23(3), 197–207. ISSN 1093-023X.
3. Alloway, T. P., & Alloway, R. G. (2010). Investigating the predictive roles of working memory and IQ in academic attainment. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 106, 20–29. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2009.11.003.
4. Alloway, T. P., & Alloway, R. G. (2013). The working memory advantage: train your brain to function stronger, smarter, faster. New York: Simon & Schuster.
5. Alloway, T. P., Bibile, V., & Lau, G. (2013). Computerized working memory training: can it lead to gains in cognitive skills in students? Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 632–638. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012.10.023.
6. Ang, S. Y., Lee, K., Cheam, F., Poon, K., & Koh, J. (2015). Updating and working memory training: immediate improvement, long-term maintenance, and generalisability to non-trained tasks. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition. doi:10.1016/j.jarmac.2015.03.001.
7. Aries, R. J., Groot, W., & Van den Brink, H. M. (2014). Improving reasoning skills in secondary history education by working memory training. British Educational Research Journal, 41, 210–228. doi:10.1002/berj.3142.
8. Baddeley, A. (2012). Working memory: theories, models, and controversies. Annual Review of Psychology, 63, 1–29. doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-120710-100422.
9. Bergman-Nutley, S., & Klingberg, T. (2014). Effect of working memory training on working memory, arithmetic and following instructions. Psychological Research, 78(6), 869–877. doi:10.1007/s00426-014-0614-0.
10. Boot, W. R., Simons, D. J., Stothart, C., & Stutts, C. (2013). The pervasive problem with placebos in psychology: why active control groups are not sufficient to rule out placebo effects. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 8, 445–454.
11. Buschkuehl, M., & Jaeggi, S. M. (2010). Improving intelligence: a literature review. Swiss Medical Weekly, 140, 266–272.
12. Button, K. S., Ioannidis, J. P. A., Mokrysz, C., Nosek, B. A., Flint, J., Robinson, E. S. J., & Munafò, M. R. (2013). Power failure: why small sample size undermines the reliability of neuroscience. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 14, 365–376. doi:10.1038/nrn3475.
13. Chacko, A., Feirsen, N., Bedard, A.-C., Marks, D., Uderman, J. Z., & Chimiklis, A. (2013). Cogmed working memory training for youth with ADHD: a closer examination of efficacy utilizing evidence-based criteria. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 42, 769–783. doi:10.1080/15374416.2013.787622.
14. Chacko, A., Bedard, A. C., Marks, D. J., Feirsen, N., Uderman, J. Z., Chimiklis, A., & Ramon, M. (2014). A randomized clinical trial of Cogmed working memory training in school‐age children with ADHD: a replication in a diverse sample using a control condition. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 55(3), 247–255. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12146.
15. Clarke, P. J., Snowling, M., Truelove, E., & Hulme, C. (2010). Ameliorating children’s reading comprehension difficulties: a randomized controlled trial. Psychological Science, 21, 1106–1116. doi:10.1177/0956797610375449.
16. Conway, A. R. A., Jarrold, C., Kane, M. J., Miyake, A., & Towse, J. N. (2007). Variation in working memory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
17. Dahlin, K. E. (2011). Effects of working memory training on reading in children with special needs. Reading and Writing, 24(4), 479–491. doi:10.1007/s11145-010-9238-y.
18. Dahlin, K. E. (2013). Working memory training and the effect on mathematical achievement in children with attention deficits and special needs. Journal of Education and Learning, 2(1), 118–133. doi:10.5539/jel.v2n1p118.
19. Diamond, A., & Lee, K. (2011). Interventions shown to aid executive function development in children 4 to 12 years old. Science, 333(6045), 959–964. doi:10.1126/science.1204529.
20. Dunning, D. L., Holmes, J., & Gathercole, S. E. (2013). Does working memory training lead to generalized improvements in children with low working memory? A randomized controlled trial. Developmental Science, 16(6), 915–925. doi:10.1111/desc.12068.
21. Egeland, J., Aarlien, A. K., & Saunes, B. (2013). Few effects of far transfer of working memory training in ADHD: a randomized controlled trial. Plos One, 8(10). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0075660.
22. Ericsson, K. A., Chase, W. G., & Faloon, S. (1980). Acquisition of a memory skill. Science, 208(4448), 1181–1182. doi:10.1126/science.7375930.
23. Foy, J. G., & Mann, V. A. (2014). Adaptive cognitive training enhances executive control and visuospatial and verbal working memory in beginning readers. International Education Research, 2, 19–43. doi:10.12735/ier.v2i2p19.
24. Friedman, N. P., Miyake, A., Young, S. E., DeFries, J. C., Corley, R. P., & Hewitt, J. K. (2008). Individual differences in executive functions are almost entirely genetic in origin. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 137(2), 201–225. doi:10.1037/0096-3445.137.2.201.
25. Goldin, A. P., Segretin, M. S., Herminda, M. J., Paz, L., Lipina, S. J., & Sigman, M. (2013). Training planning and working memory in third graders. Mind, Brain and Education, 7(2), 136–146. doi:10.1111/mbe.12019.
26. Gray, S. A., Chaban, P., Martinussen, R., Goldberg, R., Gotlieb, K. R., Hockenberry, M., & Tannock, R. (2012). Effects of a computerized working memory training program on working memory, attention, and academics in adolescents with severe LD and comorbid ADHD: a randomized controlled trial. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53(12), 1277–1284. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2012.02592.x.
27. Henry, L. A., Messer, D. J., & Nash, G. (2013). Testing for near and far transfer effects with a short, face‐to‐face adaptive working memory training intervention in typical children. Infant and Child Development, 23(1), 84–103. doi:10.1002/icd.1816.
28. Holmes, J., & Gathercole, S. E. (2014). Taking working memory training from the laboratory into schools. Educational Psychology, 34(4), 440–450. doi:10.1080/01443410.2013.797338.
29. Holmes, J., Gathercole, S. E., & Dunning, D. L. (2009). Adaptive training leads to sustained enhancement of poor working memory in children. Developmental Science, 12(4), F9–F15. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2009.00848.x.
30. Horvat, M. (2014). Vpliv treninga delovnega spomina na kognitivne sposobnosti (The effect of working memory training on cognitive abilities). Master’s thesis, University of Maribor.
31. Hovik, K. T., Saunes, B., Aarlien, A. K., & Egeland, J. (2013). RCT of working memory training in ADHD: long-term near-transfer effects. Plos ONE, 8(12). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0080561.
32. Hulme, C., & Snowling, M. (2009). Developmental cognitive disorders. Oxford: Blackwell/Wiley.
33. Hurley, D. (2012). Can you make yourself smarter?, New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/magazine/can-you-make-yourself-smarter.html.
34. Jacob, R., & Parkinson, J. (2015). The potential for school-based interventions that target executive function to improve academic achievement: a review. Review of Educational Research.
35. Jaeggi, S. M., Buschkuehl, M., Jonides, J., & Shah, P. (2011). Short and long-term benefits of cognitive training. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108, 10081–10086. doi:10.1073/pnas.1103228108.
36. Jaeggi, S. M., Buschkuehl, M., Shah, P., & Jonides, J. (2014). The role of individual differences in cognitive training and transfer. Memory & Cognition, 42(3), 464–480. doi:10.3758/s13421-013-0364-z.
37. Karbach, J., Strobach, T., & Schubert, T. (2015). Adaptive working-memory training benefits reading, but not mathematics in middle childhood. Child Neuropsychology. doi:10.1080/09297049.2014.899336.
38. Klingberg, T. (2010). Training and plasticity of working memory. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 14(7), 317–324. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2010.05.002.
39. Klingberg, T., Fernell, E., Olesen, P. J., Johnson, M., Gustafsson, P., Dahlström, K., & Westerberg, H. (2005). Computerized training of working memory in children with ADHD: a randomized, controlled trial. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 44, 177–186. doi:10.1097/00004583-200502000-00010.
40. Kroesbergen, E. H., van ’t Noordende, J. E., & Kolkman, M. E. (2014). Training working memory in kindergarten children: effects on working memory and early numeracy. Child Neuropsychology, 20(1), 23–37. doi:10.1080/09297049.2012.736483.
41. Loosli, S., Buschkuehl, M., Perrig, W., & Jaeggi, S. (2011). Working memory training improves reading processes in typically developing children. Child Neuropsychology, 18, 62–78. doi:10.1080/09297049.2011.575772.
42. Mansur-Alves, M., Flores-Mendoza, C., & Tierra-Criollo, C. J. (2012). Preliminary evidence of effectiveness in cognitive training to improve school children intelligence. Psicologica Reflexão e Crítica, 26, 423–434. doi:10.1590/S0102-79722013000300001.
43. Martinussen, R., Hayden, J., Hogg-Johnson, S., & Tannock, R. (2005). A meta-analysis of working memory impairments in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 44(4), 377–384. doi:10.1097/01.chi.0000153228.72591.73.
44. Melby-Lervåg, M., & Hulme, C. (2013). Is working memory training effective? A meta-analytic review. Developmental Psychology, 49, 270–291. doi:10.1037/a0028228.
45. Pugin, F., Metz, A. J., Stauffer, M., Wolf, M., Jenni, O. G., Huber, R. (2014). Working memory training shows immediate and long-term effects on cognitive performance in children and adolescents. Version 1. F1000Res, 3, 82. doi:10.12688/f1000research.3665.1.
46. Rabiner, D. L., Murray, D. W., Skinner, A. T., & Malone, P. S. (2010). A randomized trial of two promising computer-based interventions for students with attention difficulties. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 38, 131–142. doi:10.1007/s10802- 009-9353-x.
47. Rapport, M. D., Orban, S. A., Kofler, M. J., & Friedman, L. M. (2013). Do programs designed to train working memory, other executive functions, and attention benefit children with ADHD? A meta-analytic review of cognitive, academic, and behavioral outcomes. Clinical Psychology Review, 33(8), 1237–1252. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2013.08.005.
48. Redick, T. S. (2015). Working memory training and interpreting interactions in intelligence interventions. Intelligence, 50, 14–20. doi:10.1016/j.intell.2015.01.014.
49. Redick, T. S., & Lindsey, D. R. B. (2013). Complex span and n-back measures of working memory: a meta-analysis. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 20, 1102–1113.
50. Redick, T. S., Heitz, R. P., & Engle, R. W. (2007). Working memory capacity and inhibition: cognitive and social consequences. In D. S. Gorfein & C. M. MacLeod (Eds.), Inhibition in cognition (pp. 125–142). Washington: American Psychological Association.
51. Redick, T. S., Shipstead, Z., Harrison, T. L., Hicks, K. L., Fried, D. E., Hambrick, D. Z., Kane, M. J., & Engle, R. W. (2013). No evidence of intelligence improvement after working memory training: a randomized, placebo-controlled study. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 142, 359–379.
52. Rode, C., Robson, R., Purviance, A., Geary, D. C., & Mayr, U. (2014). Is working memory training effective? A study in a school setting. PLoS ONE, 9(8), e104796. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0104796.
53. Roughan, L., & Hadwin, J. A. (2011). The impact of working memory training in young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Learning and Individual Differences, 21, 759–764. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2011.07.011.
54. Shavelson, R. J., Yuan, K., Alonzo, A. C., Klingberg, T., & Andersson, M. (2008). On the impact of computerized cognitive training on working memory and fluid intelligence. In D. C. Berliner & H. Kuppermintz (Eds.), Contributions of educational psychology to changing institutions, environments, and people (pp. 1–11). New York, NY: Routledge.
55. Shipstead, Z., Redick, T. S., & Engle, R. W. (2010). Does working memory training generalize? Psychologica Belgica, 50, 245–276.
56. Shipstead, Z., Hicks, K. L., & Engle, R. W. (2012a). Cogmed working memory training: does the evidence support the claims? Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 1, 185–193. doi:10.1016/j.jarmac.2012.06.003.
57. Shipstead, Z., Redick, T. S., & Engle, R. W. (2012b). Is working memory training effective? Psychological Bulletin, 138, 628–654.
58. Simmons, J. P., Nelson, L. D., & Simonsohn, U. (2011). False-positive psychology: undisclosed flexibility in data collection and analysis allows presenting anything as significant. Psychological Science, 22, 1359–1366. doi:10.1177/0956797611417632.
59. Soderqvist, S., Nutley, S. B, Ottersen, J., Grill, K. M., & Klingberg, T. (2012). Computerized training of non-verbal reasoning and working memory in children with intellectual disability. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 6. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2012.00271.
60. St Clair-Thompson, H., Stevens, R., Hunt, A., & Bolder, E. (2010). Improving children’s working memory and classroom performance. Educational Psychology: An International Journal of Experimental Educational Psychology, 30(2), 203–219. doi:10.1080/01443410903509259.
61. Swanson, H. L., & Jerman, O. (2006). Math disabilities: a selective meta-analysis of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 76, 249–274. doi:10.3102/00346543076002249.
62. Swanson, H. L., Zheng, X. H., & Jerman, O. (2009). Working memory, short-term memory, and reading disabilities: a selective meta-analysis of the literature. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 42, 260–287. doi:10.1177/0022219409331958.
63. Thorell, L. B., Lindqvist, S., Nutley, S. B., Bohlin, G., & Klingberg, T. (2009). Training and transfer effects of executive functions in preschool children. Developmental Science, 12(1), 106–113. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2008.00745.x.
64. Turner, M. L., & Engle, R. W. (1989). Is working memory capacity task dependent? Journal of Memory and Language, 28, 127–154.
65. Van der Molen, M. J., Van Luit, J. E. H., van der Molen, M. W., Klugkist, I., & Jongmans, M. J. (2010). Effectiveness of a computerised working memory training in adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 54(5), 433–447. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2010.01285.x.
66. Walberg, H. J., & Tsai, S. (1983). Matthew effects in education. American Educational Research Journal, 20, 359–373. doi:10.2307/1162605.
67. Wang, Z., Zhou, R., & Shah, P. (2014). Spaced cognitive training promotes training transfer. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00217.
68. Witt, M. (2011). School based working memory training: preliminary finding of improvement in children’s mathematical performance. Advances in Cognitive Psychology, 7, 7–15. doi:10.2478/v10053-008-0083-3.
69. Zhao, X., Wang, Y., Liu, D., & Zhou, R. (2011). Effect of updating training on fluid intelligence in children. Chinese Science Bulletin, 56, 2202–2205. doi:10.1007/s11434-011-4553-5.