Cognitive and Working Memory Training

Perspectives from Psychology, Neuroscience, and Human Development

Edited by Jared M. Novick, Michael F. Bunting, Michael R. Dougherty, and Randall W. Engle

Showcases the scientific evidence that cognitive training influences and benefits performance on a range of everyday tasks, including intelligence, memory, attention, vision, learning, creativity, and language processing
Investigates both healthy and special populations (e.g., young children, aging adults, those diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder)
Determines the best practices in the field regarding effective training methods, tools, designs, and uses for applied, theoretical, and computational goals
Reveals what has been learned--and what remains to be learned--about the advantages and potential caveats of cognitive training

Cognitive and Working Memory Training

Perspectives from Psychology, Neuroscience, and Human Development

Edited by Jared M. Novick, Michael F. Bunting, Michael R. Dougherty, and Randall W. Engle

Description

Cognitive and Working Memory Training assembles an interdisciplinary group of distinguished authors--all experts in the field--who have been testing the efficacy of cognitive and working memory training using a combination of behavioral, neuroimaging, meta-analytic, and computational modelling methods. This edited volume is a defining resource on the practicality and utility of the field of cognitive training research in general, and working memory training in particular. Importantly, one focus of the book is on the notion of transfer--namely, the extent to which cognitive training--be it through music, video-game play, or working memory demanding interventions at school--generalizes to learning and performance measures that were decidedly not part of the training regimen. As most cognitive scientists (and perhaps many casual observers) recognize, the notions of cognitive training and transfer have been widely controversial for many reasons, including disagreement over the reliability of outcomes and consensus on methodological "best practices," and even the ecological validity of laboratory-based tests. This collection does not resolve these debates of course; but its contribution is to address them directly by creating an exchange in a single compendium among scientists who, in separate research publications, do not always reach the same conclusions. The book is organized around comprehensive overview chapters from different disciplinary perspectives--Cognitive Psychology (by Hicks and Engle), Neuroscience (by Kuchinsky and Haarmann), and Development (by Ling and Diamond)--that define major issues, terms, and themes in the field, with a pointed set of challenge questions to which other scientists respond in subsequent chapters. The goal of this volume is to educate. It is designed for students and researchers, and perhaps the armchair psychologist. Crucially, the contributors recognize that it is good for science to persistently confront our understanding of an area: Debate and alternative viewpoints, backed by theory, data, and inferences drawn from the evidence, is what advances scientific knowledge. This book probes established paradigms in cognitive training research, and the long-form of these chapters (not found in scientific journals) allows detailed exploration of the current state of the science. Such breadth intends to invite novel ways of thinking about the nature of cognitive and perceptual plasticity, which may enlighten either new efforts at training, new inferences about prior results, or both.

Cognitive and Working Memory Training

Perspectives from Psychology, Neuroscience, and Human Development

Edited by Jared M. Novick, Michael F. Bunting, Michael R. Dougherty, and Randall W. Engle

List of Contributors

Prologue
MICHAEL F. BUNTING AND JARED M. NOVICK

Acknowledgements

SECTION I COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE

1 Cognitive Perspectives of Working Memory: Current Challenges in Working Memory Training
KENNY HICKS AND RANDALL W. ENGLE

2 Working Memory Training from an Individual Differences Perspective: Efficacy in Older Adults
ERIKA BORELLA, BARBARA CARRETTI, CESARE CORNOLDI, AND ROSSANA DE BENI

3 Training Working Memory for 100 Days: The COGITO Study
FLORIAN SCHMIEDEK, MARTIN LÖVDÉN, AND ULMAN LINDENBERGER

4 How Strong is the Evidence for the Effectiveness of Working Memory Training
CLAUDIA C. VON BASTIAN, SABRINA GUYE, AND CARLA DE SIMONI

SECTION II NEUROCOGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE

5 Neuroscience Perspectives on Cognitive Training
STEFANIE E. KUCHINSKY AND HENK J. HAARMANN

6 Working Memory Training and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
JACKY AU, SUSANNE M. JAEGGI, AND MARTIN BUSCHKUEHL

7 Cognitive Training: Component Processes and Criteria for Change
KRISTINE B. WALHOVD, ANDERS M. FJELL, AND LARS NYBERG

SECTION III DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVE

8 Review of the Evidence on, and Fundamental Questions Surrounding Efforts to Improve Executive Functions, Including Working Memory
ADELE DIAMOND AND DAPHNE S. LING

9 Fundamental Questions Surrounding Efforts to Improve Cognitive Function Through Video Game Training
ADAM EICHENBAUM, DAPHNE BAVELIER, AND C. SHAWN GREEN

10 Logical and Methodological Considerations in Cognitive Training Research
BEN KATZ AND PRITI SHAH

11 Music Training: Contributions to Executive Function
BROOKE M. OKADA AND L. ROBERT SLEVC

12 The Effectiveness of Training in Task Switching: New Insights and Open Issues from a Lifespan View
JUTTA KRAY AND SANDRA DÖRRENBÄCHER

Epilogue
MICHAEL DOUGHERTY AND RANDALL W. ENGLE

Name Index

Subject Index

Cognitive and Working Memory Training

Perspectives from Psychology, Neuroscience, and Human Development

Edited by Jared M. Novick, Michael F. Bunting, Michael R. Dougherty, and Randall W. Engle

Author Information

Jared Novick, PhD is Associate Professor of Hearing and Speech Sciences at the University of Maryland. His research focuses on the intersection of language, memory, and cognitive control processes.

Michael Bunting, PhD is Research Scientist at the University of Maryland Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security. His research interests include cognitive aptitude and tailored training.

Michael Dougherty, PhD is Professor of Psychology at the University of Maryland. His primary research interests lie at the crossroads of attention, memory, and decision-making.

Randall Engle, PhD is Professor of Psychology at Georgia Institute of Technology. For 35 years, he has explored the nature of working memory and causes of limitations in its capacity.

Contributors:

Jacky Au
Department of Cognitive Sciences & MIND Research Institute
University of California, Irvine, USA

Daphne Bavelier
Psychology and Education Sciences
University of Geneva
Geneva, Switzerland

Erika Borella
Department of General Psychology
University of Padova
Padova, Italy

Martin Buschkuehl
MIND Research Institute
Irvine, CA, USA

Barbara Carretti
Department of General Psychology
University of Padova
Padova, Italy

Cesare Cornoldi
Department of General Psychology
University of Padova
Padova, Italy

Rossana De Beni
Department of General Psychology
University of Padova
Padova, Italy

Carla De Simoni
Psychologisches Institut
University of Zurich

Adele Diamond
Department of Psychiatry
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC, Canada

Sandra Dörrenbächer
Department of Psychology
Saarland University
Saarbrücken, Germany

Adam Eichenbaum
Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA, USA

Randall W. Engle
School of Psychology
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA, USA

Anders M. Fjell
Department of Psychology
University of Oslo
Oslo, Norway

C. Shawn Green
Department of Psychology
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Madison, WI, USA

Sabrina Guye
University Research Priority Program "Dynamics of Healthy Aging"
University of Zurich
Zurich, Switzerland

Henk J. Haarmann
Applied Research Lab for Intelligence and Security
University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland, USA

Kenny Hicks
School of Psychology
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA, USA

Susanne M. Jaeggi
School of Education
University of California, Irvine, USA

Ben Katz
Department of Human Development and Family Science
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, VA, USA

Jutta Kray
Department of Psychology
Saarland University
Saarbrücken, Germany

Stefanie E. Kuchinsky
Applied Research Lab for Intelligence and Security
University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland, USA

Ulman Lindenberger
Max Planck Institute for Human Development
Center for Lifespan Psychology
Berlin, Germany

Daphne S. Ling
Department of Psychiatry
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC, Canada

Martin Lövdén
Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society (NVS), H1
Karolinska Institutet
Stockholm, Sweden

Lars Nyberg
Department of Integrative Medical Biology
Umeå University
Umeå, Sweden

Brooke M. Okada
Department of Psychology
University of Maryland
College Park, MD, USA

Florian Schmiedek
Department of Education and Human Development
German Institute for International Educational Research (DIPF)
Frankfurt am Main

Priti Shah
Department of Psychology
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI, USA
L. Robert Slevc
Department of Psychology
University of Maryland
College Park, MD, USA

Claudia C. von Bastian
Department of Psychology
University of Sheffield
Sheffield, UK

Kristine B. Walhovd
Department of Psychology
University of Oslo
Oslo, Norway

Cognitive and Working Memory Training

Perspectives from Psychology, Neuroscience, and Human Development

Edited by Jared M. Novick, Michael F. Bunting, Michael R. Dougherty, and Randall W. Engle

Reviews and Awards

"These well-written, thoroughly researched chapters offer cognitive scientists an exemplary depiction of what scholars have learned and the questions yet to be pursued." -- B. C. Beins, Ithaca College, Choice