Does online brain-training really work?
It has recently become more popular to subscribe to online brain-training websites rather than use the services of a tutor. However, do these really improve your IQ, your memory, or even your concentration?
Lumosity is one example of an online brain-training site, but there are several others. Yet several studies, which examined the results of these types of brain-training programs report that it does not help the students to increase his/her IQ.
Lumosity claims that it has beneficial effects on cognitive abilities. So, we can question, which tests were performed to determine whether Lumosity and other similar programs, help subscribers perform better on concentration skills etc.. For instance, did participants get better results on their level of concentration because they became familiar to the test? If so, the results are not showing increased performance in particular cognitive capacities, but rather in that particular ability, due to practice effect. In other words, the brain training might increase performance on a specific practice task, but is not affecting general IQ.
Moreover, the beginning of some online brain-training programs require participants to perform an IQ test. This score is then used as a baseline to compare their results at the end of a training. Here again we can question whether the familiarity of the IQ test to the participants is exerting an effect. Still several students subscribe to these types of training to help them perform better in school!
Different tests would be require to examine the evolution of different skills such as memory and the trainin’s influence on fluid intelligence. Participants who engage in these types of training have to be carefull about the way they interpret their results, because it might not be representative of their true abilities.
