Individualisation in cognitive skills training: Essential or superfluous? Examining the effectiveness of an adaptive game for training executive functions in young adults

Abstract

Significant resources have been allocated to the development of training programmes designed to enhance executive functions. Recently, digital games have emerged as a promising tool for this purpose. However, the impact of adaptive games, which adjust game difficulty based on the player's performance, on trained and untrained executive functions (i.e., near and far transfer) remains to be investigated. In the present study, 59 young adults participated in an executive function game designed to improve shifting abilities for a total duration of 120 min, distributed over four consecutive days. The differential effects of both an adaptive and a non-adaptive game version on shifting (i.e., near transfer), and updating and inhibition (i.e., far transfer) were examined. The findings indicated that while near and far transfer effects were identified, there were no discernible variations in training outcomes between the two game versions. The present study thus contributes to the expansion of the evidence base in the field of executive function games.