Attitudes and Beliefs Toward Computerized Cognitive Training in the General Population

Abstract

Introduction: In recent years, computerized cognitive training (CCT) programs have been developed commercially for widespread public consumption. Despite early enthusiasm, whether these programs enhance cognitive abilities in healthy adults is a contentious area of investigation. Given the mixed findings in the literature, researchers are beginning to investigate how beliefs and attitudes toward CCT impact motivation, expectations, and gains after cognitive training. Method: We collected survey data from 497 North American participants from Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk). This survey asked novel questions regarding respondents' beliefs about the effectiveness of CCT for improving different domains of cognition, mood, and daily life; beliefs about whether CCT programs are supported by research; and whether impressions of CCT have improved or worsened over time. Exploratory analyses are reported descriptively, while parametric tests were used to analyze a priori hypotheses. Results: Almost half of the surveyed participants had used CCT, and respondents with a self-reported psychological or neurological disorder were more likely to have used CCT platforms than participants without such conditions. Motivations for using CCT included curiosity; to improve or maintain cognition; to prevent cognitive decline; and/or for enjoyment or fun. Participants believed that CCT is somewhat effective for improving mood and cognition across a variety of domains. Greater age and fewer years of education predicted perceived effectiveness of CCT. Finally, participants largely reported unchanged opinions of CCT platforms over time. Conclusion: Our study suggests the need for future research regarding the general population's beliefs and attitudes toward CCT, along with knowledge translation for relevant stakeholders.

Aging Associated Specificity in Training Visual Short-Term Memory

“…Several factors are also known to support long-term cognitive training. These include the possession of high behavior control, intrinsic motivation to achieve a goal, and interest in the performed activity, including due to the awareness of the development of cognitive deficits [22,28,47]. Previously, it was shown that when assessing motivational inducers of behavior, older women single out cognitive training as a priority in maintaining their health; however, only 8% of this group actually consistently participated in cognitive training using a battery of computerized techniques [48].…”

“…Apparently, therefore, the lack of visible success after the first training sessions causes them to refuse further activities. Individualized cognitive training with feedback that reinforces subjective assessments of change can help to improve cognitive self-esteem in older adults [22], and success can help to reduce perceptions of difficulties and become more willing to participate in cognitive activities [50].…”

“…Some researchers to increase the probability of this expansion propose to pay attention to the personalization of a CCTP, and to increase efficiency-to perform the training not individually, but in groups [11]. However, according to another point of view, exactly individualized computerized cognitive training may enhance cognitive self-efficacy in healthy seniors [22].…”

Computerized cognitive training and evidence-based practice in pediatric psychology.

“…Despite the concerns noted above, CTT has only been growing in popularity (Goghari, Krzyzanowski, Yoon, Dai, & Toews, 2020). As discussed by Hague et al (2020), this raises difficult questions for health psychologists who are asked to provide these services, often by patients and parents who are desperate for any sort of improvement.…”

Cognitive Training for Mental Health Problems

“…These interventions, henceforth referred to as computerized cognitive training (CCT), have surged in popularity in both the general public (e.g., Goghari et al, 2020) and the clinical research literature, with more than $25 million in funding from the National Institutes of Mental Health dedicated to the development or refinement of these treatments in the past year alone (NIH Reporter, 2022). Despite this rapid public uptake and investment of resources, however, 4 there is still considerable debate about whether and to what extent CCTs as a class remain a promising direction for intervention research or a clinically useful resource for patients.…”