von Bastian, C.C. orcid.org/0000-0002-0667-2460, Belleville, S., Udale, R.C. orcid.org/0000-0003-1704-554X et al. (3 more authors) (2022) Mechanisms underlying training-induced cognitive change. Nature Reviews Psychology, 1. pp. 30-41. ISSN 2731-0574
Abstract
The prospect of enhancing cognition through behavioural training interventions, for example, the repetitive practice of cognitive tasks or metacognitive strategy instruction, has seen a surge in popularity over the past 20 years. Although overwhelming evidence demonstrates that such training interventions increase performance in the trained tasks, controversy remains over whether these benefits transfer to other tasks and abilities beyond the trained context. In this Review, we provide an overview of the effectiveness of cognitive training to induce transfer to untrained tasks, with a particular focus on the theoretical mechanisms that have been proposed to underlie training and transfer effects. We highlight that there is relatively little evidence that training enhances cognitive capacity, that is, the overall cognitive resources available to an individual. By contrast, substantial evidence supports training-induced improvements in cognitive efficiency, that is, optimized performance within existing cognitive capacity limits. We conclude that shifting research towards identifying the cognitive mechanisms underlying gains in cognitive efficiency offers a fruitful avenue for developing effective cognitive training interventions. However, to advance our understanding of human cognition and cognitive plasticity we must strive to develop and refine theories that generate testable hypotheses.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 The Authors. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Nature Reviews Psychology. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Attention; Behavioural methods; Cognitive control; Learning and memory; Working memory |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Psychology (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Economic and Social Research Council ES/V013610/1 German Research Foundation 440721743 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 11 Oct 2021 11:41 |
Last Modified: | 12 Jul 2022 00:15 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Nature |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/s44159-021-00001-3 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:178761 |