Working memory training in typically developing children: A meta-analysis of the available evidence

Developmental Psychology

Volumn 53, Issue 4, 2017, Pages 671-685

  Sala, Giovanni ^a   Gobet, Fernand ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Intelligence; Meta analysis; Training; Transfer; Working memory

Indexed keywords

ADOLESCENT; ATTENTION; CHILD; CHILD PSYCHOLOGY; COGNITION; HUMAN; INHIBITION (PSYCHOLOGY); INTELLIGENCE; LEARNING; LITERACY; MATHEMATICAL PHENOMENA; META ANALYSIS; PRESCHOOL CHILD; SHORT TERM MEMORY;

ADOLESCENT; ATTENTION; CHILD; CHILD, PRESCHOOL; COGNITION; HUMANS; INHIBITION (PSYCHOLOGY); INTELLIGENCE; LEARNING; LITERACY; MATHEMATICAL CONCEPTS; MEMORY, SHORT-TERM; PSYCHOLOGY, CHILD;

EID: 85011373273     PISSN: 00121649     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1037/dev0000265     Document Type: Article

References (82)

1. Ackerman, P. L., Beier, M. E., & Boyle, M. O. (2005). Working memory and intelligence: The same or different constructs? Psychological Bulletin, 131, 30-60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.131.1.30
2. 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 & Cognition, 4, 121-128. http://dx.doi.org/10 .1016/j.jarmac.2015.03.001
3. Archibald, L. M. D., & Gathercole, S. E. (2006). Short-term and working memory in specific language impairment. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 41, 675-693. http://dx.doi.org/10 .1080/13682820500442602
4. Au, J., Buschkuehl, M., Duncan, G. J., & Jaeggi, S. M. (2016). There is no convincing evidence that working memory training is NOT effective: A reply to Melby-Lervåg and Hulme (2015). Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 23, 331-337. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13423-015-0967-4
5. Au, J., Sheehan, E., Tsai, N., Duncan, G. J., Buschkuehl, M., & Jaeggi, S. M. (2015). Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: A meta-analysis. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 22, 366-377. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13423-014-0699-x
6. Baddeley, A. (1992). Working memory. Science, 255, 556-559. http://dx .doi.org/10.1126/science.1736359
7. Bergman Nutley, S., Söderqvist, S., Bryde, S., Thorell, L. B., Humphreys, K., & Klingberg, T. (2011). Gains in fluid intelligence after training non-verbal reasoning in 4-year-old children: A controlled, randomized study. Developmental Science, 14, 591-601. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ j.1467-7687.2010.01022.x
8. Bijmolt, T. H. A., & Pieters, R. G. M. (2001). Meta-analysis in marketing when studies contain multiple measurements. Marketing Letters, 12, 157-169. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1011117103381
9. 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, 247-255. http://dx.doi.org/10 .1111/jcpp.12146
10. Chein, J. M., & Morrison, A. B. (2010). Expanding the mind's workspace: Training and transfer effects with a complex working memory span task. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 17, 193-199. http://dx.doi.org/10 .3758/PBR.17.2.193
11. Cheung, S. F., & Chan, D. K. (2004). Dependent effect sizes in metaanalysis: Incorporating the degree of interdependence. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 780-791. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.89 .5.780
12. Conway, A. R. A., Cowan, N., & Bunting, M. F. (2001). The cocktail party phenomenon revisited: The importance of working memory capacity. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 8, 331-335. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/ BF03196169
13. Conway, A. R. A., & Engle, R. W. (1996). Individual differences in working memory capacity: More evidence for a general capacity theory. Memory, 4, 577-590. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/741940997
14. Deary, I. J., Strand, S., Smith, P., & Fernandes, C. (2007). Intelligence and educational achievement. Intelligence, 35, 13-21. http://dx.doi.org/10 .1016/j.intell.2006.02.001
15. De Corte, E., & Verschaffel, L. (1986). Effects of computer experience on children's thinking skills. Journal of Structural Learning, 9, 161-174.
16. Donovan, M. S., Bransford, J. D., & Pellegrino, J. W. (1999). How people learn: Bridging research and practice. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
17. Dougherty, M. R., Hamovitz, T., & Tidwell, J. W. (2016). Reevaluating the effectiveness of n-back training on transfer through the Bayesian lens: Support for the null. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 23, 306-316. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13423-015-0865-9
18. Duval, S., & Tweedie, R. (2000). Trim and fill: A simple funnel-plot-based method of testing and adjusting for publication bias in meta-analysis. Biometrics, 56, 455-463. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0006-341X.2000 .00455.x
19. Egger, M., Davey Smith, G., Schneider, M., & Minder, C. (1997). Bias in meta-analysis detected by a simple, graphical test. British Medical Journal, 315, 629-634. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.315.7109.629
20. Engle, R. W., Tuholski, S. W., Laughlin, J. E., & Conway, A. R. A. (1999). Working memory, short-term memory, and general fluid intelligence: A latent-variable approach. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 128, 309-331. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.128.3.309
21. Ericsson, K. A., & Charness, N. (1994). Expert performance: Its structure and acquisition. American Psychologist, 49, 725-747. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1037/0003-066X.49.8.725
22. Gobet, F. (2015). Understanding expertise: A multi-disciplinary approach. London, UK: Palgrave/Macmillan.
23. Gray, J. R., Chabris, C. F., & Braver, T. S. (2003). Neural mechanisms of general fluid intelligence. Nature Neuroscience, 6, 316-322. http://dx .doi.org/10.1038/nn1014
24. Gurtner, J. L., Gex, C., Gobet, F., Nunez, R., & Restchitzki, J. (1990). La récursivite rend-elle l'intelligence artificielle? [Does recursion make intelligence artificial?]. Schweizersche Zeitschrift für Psychologie/Revue suisse de psychologie, 49, 17-26.
25. Halford, G. S., Cowan, N., & Andrews, G. (2007). Separating cognitive capacity from knowledge: A new hypothesis. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 11, 236-242. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2007.04.001
26. Hedges, L. V., & Olkin, I. (1985). Statistical methods for meta-analysis. Orlando, FL: Academic Press.
27. Henry, L. A., Messer, D. J., & Nash, G. (2014). 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, 84-103. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/icd.1816
28. Higgins, J. P. T., Thompson, S. G., Deeks, J. J., & Altman, D. G. (2003). Measuring inconsistency in meta-analyses. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 327, 557-560. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.327.7414.557
29. Hornung, C., Brunner, M., Reuter, R. A. P., & Martin, R. (2011). Children's working memory: Its structure and relationship to fluid intelligence. Intelligence, 39, 210-221. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2011 .03.002
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, Slovenia.
31. Jaeggi, S. M., Buschkuehl, M., Jonides, J., & Perrig, W. J. (2008). Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105, 6829-6833. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0801268105
32. 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. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1103228108
33. Kane, M. J., & Engle, R. W. (2003). Working-memory capacity and the control of attention: The contributions of goal neglect, response competition, and task set to Stroop interference. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 132, 47-70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445 .132.1.47
34. Kane, M. J., Hambrick, D. Z., & Conway, A. R. A. (2005). Working memory capacity and fluid intelligence are strongly related constructs: Comment on Ackerman, Beier, and Boyle (2005). Psychological Bulletin, 131, 66-71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.131.1.66
35. Karbach, J., Strobach, T., & Schubert, T. (2015). Adaptive workingmemory training benefits reading, but not mathematics in middle childhood. Child Neuropsychology, 21, 285-301. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/ 09297049.2014.899336
36. Karbach, J., & Verhaeghen, P. (2014). Making working memory work: A meta-analysis of executive-control and working memory training in older adults. Psychological Science, 25, 2027-2037. http://dx.doi.org/10 .1177/0956797614548725
37. Klingberg, T. (2010). Training and plasticity of working memory. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 14, 317-324. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2010 .05.002
38. 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 & Adolescent Psychiatry, 44, 177-186. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00004583-200502000- 00010
39. 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, 23-37. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2012.736483
40. Kuhn, J. T., & Holling, H. (2014). Number sense or working memory? The effect of two computer-based trainings on mathematical skills in elementary school. Advances in Cognitive Psychology, 10, 59-67. http://dx.doi.org/10.5709/acp-0157-2
41. Kun, Y. (2007). Impact of computerized cognitive training on working memory, fluid intelligence, science achievement (Doctoral dissertation). Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
42. Lee, S. E. (2014). The impact of working memory training on third grade students' reading fluency and reading comprehension performance (Doctoral dissertation). Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL.
43. Lindsay, J. R. (2012). Everything I need to know I learned before elementary school: The relationships between phoneme awareness, letter knowledge, and working memory (Doctoral dissertation). University of California, Irvine, CA.
44. Loosli, S. V., Buschkuehl, M., Perrig, W. J., & Jaeggi, S. M. (2012). Working memory training improves reading processes in typically developing children. Child Neuropsychology, 18, 62-78. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1080/09297049.2011.575772
45. Mansur-Alves, M., & Flores-Mendoza, C. (2015). Working memory training does not improve intelligence: Evidence from Brazilian children. Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica, 28, 474-482. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/ 1678-7153.201528306
46. Mansur-Alves, M., Flores-Mendoza, C., & Tierra-Criollo, C. J. (2013). Evidências preliminares da efetividade do treinamento cognitivo para melhorar a inteligência de crianças escolares [Preliminary evidence of effectiveness in cognitive training to improve school children intelligence]. Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica, 26, 423-434. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1590/S0102-79722013000300001
47. Melby-Lervåg, M., & Hulme, C. (2013). Is working memory training effective? A meta-analytic review. Developmental Psychology, 49, 270-291. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0028228
48. Melby-Lervåg, M., & Hulme, C. (2016). There is no convincing evidence that working memory training is effective: A reply to Au et al. (2014). and Karbach and Verhaeghen (2014). Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 23, 324-330. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13423-015-0862-z
49. Melby-Lervåg, M., Redick, T. S., & Hulme, C. (2016). Working memory training does not improve performance on measures of intelligence or other measures of "far-transfer": Evidence from a meta-analytic review. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 11, 512-534. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1177/1745691616635612
50. Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., & Altman, D. G., & the PRISMA Group. (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. Annals of Internal Medicine, 151, 264 -269, W64. http://dx.doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-151-4- 200908180-00135
51. Morrison, A. B., & Chein, J. M. (2011). Does working memory training work? The promise and challenges of enhancing cognition by training working memory. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 18, 46-60. http:// dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13423-010-0034-0
52. Nevo, E., & Breznitz, Z. (2014). Effects of working memory and reading acceleration training on improving working memory abilities and reading skills among third graders. Child Neuropsychology, 20, 752-765. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2013.863272
53. Passolunghi, M. C. (2006). Working memory and arithmetic learning disability. In T. P. Alloway & S. E. Gathercole (Eds.), Working memory and neurodevelopmental condition (pp. 113-138). Hove, UK: Psychology Press.
54. Passolunghi, M. C., & Costa, H. M. (2016). Working memory and early numeracy training in preschool children. Child Neuropsychology, 22, 81-98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2014.971726
55. Peng, P., Namkung, J., Barnes, M., & Sun, C. Y. (2016). A meta-analysis of mathematics and working memory: Moderating effects of working memory domain, type of mathematics skill, and sample characteristics. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108, 455-473. http://dx.doi.org/10 .1037/edu0000079
56. Perkins, D. N., & Salomon, G. (1994). Transfer of learning. In T. N. Postlethwaite & T. Husen (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Education (pp. 6452-6457). Oxford, UK: Elsevier.
57. Peters, J. L., Sutton, A. J., Jones, D. R., Abrams, K. R., & Rushton, L. (2008). Contour-enhanced meta-analysis funnel plots help distinguish publication bias from other causes of asymmetry. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 61, 991-996. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2007.11 .010
58. 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. F1000 Research, 3, 82.
59. 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, 1237-1252. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2013.08.005
60. Redick, T. S., Calvo, A., Gay, C. E., & Engle, R. W. (2011). Working memory capacity and go/no-go task performance: Selective effects of updating, maintenance, and inhibition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 37, 308-324. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1037/a0022216
61. Redick, T. S., Shipstead, Z., Wiemers, E. A., Melby-Lervåg, M., & Hulme, C. (2015). What's working in working memory training? An educational perspective. Educational Psychology Review, 27, 617-633. http://dx.doi .org/10.1007/s10648-015-9314-6
62. 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, e104796. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0104796
63. Rohde, T. E., & Thompson, L. A. (2007). Predicting academic achievement with cognitive ability. Intelligence, 35, 83-92. http://dx.doi.org/10 .1016/j.intell.2006.05.004
64. Sala, G., & Gobet, F. (2016). Do the benefits of chess instruction transfer to academic and cognitive skills? A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 18, 46-57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2016.02 .002
65. Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. E. (2015). Methods of meta-analysis: Correcting error and bias in research findings (3rd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
66. Schwaighofer, M., Fischer, F., & Buhner, M. (2015). Does working memory training transfer? A meta-analysis including training conditions as moderators. Educational Psychologist, 50, 138-166. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1080/00461520.2015.1036274
67. 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.
68. Shipstead, Z., Redick, T. S., & Engle, R. W. (2010). Does working memory training generalize? Psychologica Belgica, 50, 245-276. http://dx.doi .org/10.5334/pb-50-3-4-245
69. Shipstead, Z., Redick, T. S., & Engle, R. W. (2012). Is working memory training effective? Psychological Bulletin, 138, 628-654. http://dx.doi .org/10.1037/a0027473
70. Simonsohn, U., Nelson, L. D., & Simmons, J. P. (2014). p-Curve and effect size: Correcting for publication bias using only significant results. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9, 666-681. http://dx.doi.org/10 .1177/1745691614553988
71. Simonsohn, U., Simmons, J. P., & Nelson, L. D. (2015). Better P-curves: Making P-curve analysis more robust to errors, fraud, and ambitious P-hacking, a reply to Ulrich and Miller (2015). Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 144, 1146 -1152. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ xge0000104
72. Söderqvist, S., & Bergman Nutley, S. (2015). Working memory training is associated with long term attainments in math and reading. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 1711. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01711
73. St Clair-Thompson, H., Stevens, R., Hunt, A., & Bolder, E. (2010). Improving children's working memory and classroom performance. Educational Psychology, 30, 203-219. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/ 01443410903509259
74. Studer-Luethi, B., Bauer, C., & Perrig, W. J. (2016). Working memory training in children: Effectiveness depends on temperament. Memory & Cognition, 44, 171-186. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13421-015-0548-9
75. Swanson, H. L. (2006). Working memory and reading disabilities: Both phonological and executive processing deficits are important. In T. P. Alloway & S. E. Gathercole (Eds.), Working memory and neurodevelopmental disorders (pp. 59-88). Hove, UK: Psychology Press.
76. Thorell, L. B., Lindqvist, S., Bergman, S., Bohlin, N. G., & Klingberg, T. (2009). Training and transfer effects of executive functions in preschool children. Developmental Science, 12, 106-113. http://dx.doi.org/10 .1111/j.1467-7687.2008.00745.x
77. Thorndike, E. L., & Woodworth, R. S. (1901). The influence of improvement in one mental function upon the efficiency of other functions: I. Psychological Review, 8, 247-261. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0074898
78. Tracz, S. M., Elmore, P. B., & Pohlmann, J. T. (1992). Correlational meta-analysis: Independent and nonindependent cases. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 52, 879-888. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/ 0013164492052004007
79. Wang, Z., Zhou, R., & Shah, P. (2014). Spaced cognitive training promotes training transfer. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, 217. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00217
80. Weicker, J., Villringer, A., & Thöne-Otto, A. (2016). Can impaired working memory functioning be improved by training? A meta-analysis with a special focus on brain injured patients. Neuropsychology, 30, 190-212. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/neu0000227
81. Witt, M. (2011). School based working memory training: Preliminary finding of improvement in children's mathematical performance. Advances in Cognitive Psychology, 7, 7-15. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/ v10053-008-0083-3
82. Zhao, X., Wang, Y., Liu, D., & Zhou, R. (2011). Effect of updating training on fluid intelligence in children. Chinese Science Bulletin, 56, 2202-2205. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11434-011-4553-5