"Does Far Transfer Exist? Negative Evidence From Chess, Music, and Working Memory Training"

[Gwern Branwen]

"Does Far Transfer Exist? Negative Evidence From Chess, Music, and
Working Memory Training", Sala & Gobet 2017:
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0963721417712760

> Chess masters and expert musicians appear to be, on average, more intelligent than the general population. Some researchers have thus claimed that playing chess or learning music enhances children’s cognitive abilities and academic attainment. We here present two meta-analyses assessing the effect of chess and music instruction on children’s cognitive and academic skills. A third meta-analysis evaluated the effects of working memory training—a cognitive skill correlated with music and chess expertise—on the same variables. The results show small to moderate effects. However, the effect sizes are inversely related to the quality of the experimental design (e.g., presence of active control groups). This pattern of results casts serious doubts on the effectiveness of chess, music, and working memory training. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings; extend the debate to other types of training such as spatial training, brain training, and video games; and conclude that far transfer of learning rarely occurs.

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gwern
https://www.gwern.net

[Hi]

So what are we, like 20 years ahead of these losers? Jesus Christ they're slow learners.

[Pete Levy [PL]]

Are anywhere in internet any studies on: Far effect with mixed methods, e.g.CHESS + MUSIC or CHESS  + WM or CHESS  + WM + MUSIC or CHESS + MEDITATION? It would be very interesting! :-)

[Hi]

Pete, not sure if you're attempting to correct my mention at all but its basic analogical thinking that negates the necessity to do over-exhaustive studies on things that have already paid their best relative to more promising options (in particular as it relates to the relational reasoning games) that I and others have previously spoken about in this group. Otherwise you're still right, its definitely interesting though the attention researchers in the field of cognitive development have been paying to opportunity cost in light of what I've mentioned here is alarmingly negligent.