Task-switching training improves untrained switching and other executive functions in school-aged children, though transfer findings are heterogeneous¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (3 entries) · reviewr2·q2·i0negligible
Currency · newest study 2017 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q2 i? Four sessions of task-switching training improved performance in an untrained switching task, inhibition, verbal and visuo-spatial working memory, and fluid intelligence in 8- to 10-year-olds compared to single-task training controls. → Buttelmann F and Karbach J 2017
q2 i? Four sessions of switching training produced significant improvements in an untrained switching task, inhibition and working memory in 7- to 12-year-old boys with ADHD. → Buttelmann F and Karbach J 2017 (2)
q2 i0 In 10- to 14-year-olds, three sessions of task-switching training yielded training gains and transfer to an untrained switching task but no transfer to inhibition. → Buttelmann F and Karbach J 2017 (3)
Evidence¶
Buttelmann F and Karbach J 2017¶
Buttelmann F and Karbach J (2017). Development and Plasticity of Cognitive Flexibility in Early and Middle Childhood. Front. Psychol. 8:1040. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01040
q2 · i? · review · r2
The review reports, citing Karbach and Kray (2009), a study in which children (8-10 years) and younger and older adults (N = 168) performed four sessions of task-switching training; "training also improved inhibition, verbal and visuo-spatial WM and fluid intelligence."
"training improved performance in an untrained switching task compared to a control group performing single-task training. Further, training also improved inhibition, verbal and visuo-spatial WM and fluid intelligence."
Buttelmann F and Karbach J 2017 (2)¶
Buttelmann F and Karbach J (2017). Development and Plasticity of Cognitive Flexibility in Early and Middle Childhood. Front. Psychol. 8:1040. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01040
q2 · i? · causal · r?
The review reports, citing Kray et al. (2012), a task-switching training study in 7- to 12-year-old boys with ADHD (N = 20), motivated by their deficits in inhibition and working memory; improvements were significant but no effect size is printed.
"four sessions of switching training resulted in significant improvements in an untrained switching task, inhibition and WM in 7- to 12-year-old boys with ADHD ( N = 20; Kray et al., 2012)."
Buttelmann F and Karbach J 2017 (3)¶
Buttelmann F and Karbach J (2017). Development and Plasticity of Cognitive Flexibility in Early and Middle Childhood. Front. Psychol. 8:1040. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01040
q2 · i0 · review · r2
The review reports, citing Zinke et al. (2012), task-switching training in 10- to 14-year-olds (N = 80) with transfer to an untrained switching task "but no transfer to inhibition"; the null transfer is reported without an effect size.
"After three sessions of training, participants showed significant training gains and also transfer to an untrained switching task, but no transfer to inhibition."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Short-term memory task profiles differ by age: 7–8-year-olds show no verbal–spatial difference, while 9–10-year-olds show a verbal > visuo-spatial > motor gradient. — related
- Transfer from computer-based working-memory and reasoning training in children is narrow: gains stay within the trained domain — related
- Metacognitive scaffolding added to computer-based executive attention training produces larger intelligence gains in preschoolers than regular training or an untrained active control — related
- Computer-based training reliably improves children's working memory and reasoning, but computerized training has not succeeded in improving 4- to 6-year-olds' inhibitory control — related
- Isolated EF interventions show robust near-term EF gains but poor transfer, including to early mathematics — related
- Interventions targeting SRL or EF show little evidence of far transfer to the other construct — related
- Physical activity interventions in childhood improve fluid intelligence with a small summary effect, based on moderate-certainty evidence — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
task-switching-training-transfer-ef |
title |
Task-switching training improves untrained switching and other executive functions in school-aged children, though transfer findings are heterogeneous |
description |
Task-switching training improves untrained switching and other executive functions in school-aged children, though transfer findings are heterogeneous |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
mixed |
newest_evidence |
2017 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-16 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
3 — buttelmann-f-and-karbach-j-2017, buttelmann-f-and-karbach-j-2017-2, buttelmann-f-and-karbach-j-2017-3 |
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