The DigiLab, in collaboration with co-authors from the Leibniz-Institute for Research and Information in Education (Friederike Blume) and New York University (Shashank Pawar, Jan Plass), has published a new article in the journal "Learning and Individual Differences."
Our study compared the effectiveness of adaptive and non-adaptive games in improving executive shifting functions in young adults. Over four days, totaling 120 minutes, the participants played either an adaptive or a non-adaptive version of the game.
We observed positive effects on executive functions, both in the trained area of shifting and in untrained areas such as updating and inhibition, for both game versions – adaptive as well as non-adaptive.
However, no significant differences in the training effects were found between the adaptive and non-adaptive versions of the game. This suggests that adapting difficulty levels may not necessarily lead to increased effectiveness.
These findings provide important insights for cognitive training, game developers, educators, and those responsible for educational policy.
Link to the paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1041608024001109#f0005
