How to build better memory training games

Deveau, Jenni; Jaeggi, Susanne M.; Zordan, Victor; Phung, Calvin; Seitz, Aaron R.

doi:10.3389/fnsys.2014.00243

Cited by 77 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 96 publications

(122 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…To further explore the degree to which cognitive improvement is possible with brain-training games, the next step is to examine how to maximize their efficacy, such as called for by Deveau et al (2014) and by Boot et al (2011). Future studies should attempt a value-added approach (Mayer 2014), taking existing brain-training games and altering them to include elements that should theoretically enhance their efficacy, then comparing them to the original games.…”

Section: Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shining the Light of Research on Lumosity

Bainbridge

Mayer

2017

J Cogn Enhanc

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Lumosity is a subscription-based suite of online brain-training games, intended to improve cognitive skills. Due to an influx of products designed to train cognition through games such as Lumosity, it is important to determine their effectiveness for the sake of consumers and for the potential implications of any training effects for theories of transfer of cognitive skills. Two training experiments were conducted using the Lumosity platform. Participants were divided into three groups: those who trained with five attention games in Lumosity (attention group), those who trained with five flexibility games in Lumosity (flexibility group), and an inactive control group. Participants were assessed on accuracy and response time for two cognitive tests of attention (useful field of view and change detection) and two cognitive tests of flexibility (Wisconsin card sort and Stroop) both before and after a training period. In experiment 1, the training period was 3 h spread over four sessions. In experiment 2, the training period was 15 to 20 h spread over an average of 73 sessions. The trained groups did not show significantly greater pretest-toposttest gains than the control group on any measures in either experiment, except in experiment 2 where the flexibility group significantly outperformed the other two groups on Stroop response time and UFOV reaction time. A practical implication concerns the lack of strong evidence for the effectiveness of brain-training games to improve cognitive skills. A theoretical implication concerns the domain specificity of cognitive skill learning from brain training games.

show abstract

Section: Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shining the Light of Research on Lumosity

Bainbridge

Mayer

2017

J Cogn Enhanc

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We hypothesize that interventions including the six aforementioned factors will enhance training effects well beyond current limits. According to CALLA, a large variety of tasks could potentially encourage aging adults to favor long-term adaptability over short-term efficiency, including music, art, and new language lessons [Antoniou, Gunasekera, & Wong, 2013;Bugos et al, 2007;Noice et al, 2014;Park et al, 2014], and perhaps certain types of video games [Anguera et al, 2013;Boot, Champion, Daniel, & Charness, 2013;Deveau, Jaeggi, Zordan, Phung, & Seitz, 2015], as long as they include the six factors.…”

Section: Improving Cognitive Function In Aging Adults Via Broad Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cognitive abilities themselves are a double-edged sword [e.g., some situations benefit from cognitive control, while others do not; Amer et al, 2016;Thompson-Schill et al, 2009]. Perhaps instead of using isolated tasks to train specific abilities in specific contexts, cognitive training interventions could engage basic cognitive abilities in multiple contexts across different domains (i.e., broad learning) to improve training outcomes [Deveau et al, 2015]. When the learner knows what is relevant and irrelevant for a given task and has practice engaging with relevant information and inhibiting irrelevant information in a variety of situations, many basic cognitive abilities may naturally increase on a given cognitive measurement (e.g., flanker task, N-back task).…”

Section: Improving Cognitive Function In Aging Adults Via Broad Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Perhaps engaging in our proposed six factors could encourage the learner to be "active" and develop a sense of autonomy [Weisberg, et al, 2016;Yeager & Dweck, 2012]. Although our framework overlaps with other frameworks for learning in childhood and adulthood [e.g., Deveau et al, 2015;Golinkoff & HirshPasek, 2016], no current model, especially ones related to cognitive aging, includes all six of these factors.…”

Section: Theoretical Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A Novel Theoretical Life Course Framework for Triggering Cognitive Development across the Lifespan

Rebok

Lin

2016

Human Development

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although intellectual engagement is a significant factor associated with adult cognitive health, it is unclear what it includes, why and how it declines across the lifespan, and importantly, whether its decline has a causal role in cognitive aging. This integrative review introduces a novel theoretical life course framework that synthesizes research on early childhood experiences and cognitive aging to address the following three points. First, we specify six critical factors of intellectual engagement for long-term, broad cognitive development: (a) open-minded input-driven learning, (b) individualized scaffolding, (c) growth mindset, (d) forgiving environment, (e) serious commitment to learning, and (f) learning multiple skills simultaneously. We show that these factors increase basic cognitive abilities (e.g., working memory, inhibition) and promote far transfer. Second, we trace the decline of the six factors from infancy to aging adulthood (broad learning to specialization). Finally, we propose that these six factors can be applied to expand cognitive functioning in aging adults beyond currently known limits.

show abstract

“…In our previous work, we suggested that training paradigms that incorporate attention and reinforcement, multisensory facilitation, multistimulus training, and other game-design elements can maximize training benefits by reinforcing on-task engagement (Deveau et al 2015). Applying this engaged learning approach to WM training, especially the N-back training paradigm, might potentially foster larger training gains and transfer benefits.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Benefits and Challenges of Implementing Motivational Features to Boost Cognitive Training Outcome

et al. 2017

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the current literature, there are a number of cognitive training studies that use N-back tasks as their training vehicle; however, the interventions are often bland, and many studies suffer from considerable attrition rates. An increasingly common approach to increase participant engagement has been the implementation of motivational features in training tasks; yet, the effects of such “gamification” on learning have been inconsistent. To shed more light on those issues, here, we report the results of a training study conducted at two Universities in Southern California. A total of 115 participants completed 4 weeks (20 sessions) of N-back training in the laboratory. We varied the amount of “gamification” and the motivational features that might make the training more engaging and, potentially, more effective. Thus, 47 participants trained on a basic color/identity N-back version with no motivational features, whereas 68 participants trained on a gamified version that translated the basic mechanics of the N-back task into an engaging 3D space-themed “collection” game (Deveau et al. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, 8, 243, 2015). Both versions used similar adaptive algorithms to increase the difficulty level as participants became more proficient. Participants’ self-reports indicated that the group who trained on the gamified version enjoyed the intervention more than the group who trained on the non-gamified version. Furthermore, the participants who trained on the gamified version exerted more effort and also improved more during training. However, despite the differential training effects, there were no significant group differences in any of the outcome measures at post-test, suggesting that the inclusion of motivational features neither substantially benefited nor hurt broader learning. Overall, our findings provide guidelines for task implementation to optimally target participants’ interest and engagement to promote learning, which may lead to broader adoption and adherence of cognitive training.

show abstract

How to build better memory training games

Cited by 77 publications

References 96 publications

Shining the Light of Research on Lumosity

Shining the Light of Research on Lumosity

A Novel Theoretical Life Course Framework for Triggering Cognitive Development across the Lifespan

The Benefits and Challenges of Implementing Motivational Features to Boost Cognitive Training Outcome

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About