The impact of the SMART program on cognitive and academic skills: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract

Online interventions promoted to enhance cognitive ability hold great appeal for their potential positive impact in social, employment, and educational domains. Cognitive training programs have, thus far, not been shown to influence performance on tests of general cognitive aptitude. Strengthening Mental Abilities with Relational Training (SMART) is an online program that claims to raise intelligence quotient (IQ). This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluates the effect of SMART on indices of cognitive aptitude and academic performance. The review protocol was registered at PROSPERO (CRD42019132404). A systematic literature search of bibliographic databases (ERIC, PsycINFO, PubMed, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Scopus, Proquest Psychology) identified five studies (N = 195) that met the criterion for inclusion. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias 'RoB 2' tool.Overall, there was a moderate impact of SMART on measures of nonverbal IQ (g = 0.57, 95% CI [0.24, 0.89]). There was insufficient evidence to determine the impact of SMART on any other domain.

Relational Frame Theory: A framework for psychologists to develop positive interventions to bring about real change in applied settings

“…In a systematic review and meta-analysis of the SMART programme (see May et al, 2022) just published in the British Journal of Educational Technology, that included only studies with control groups, we found a moderate effect size for SMART (g = 0.57) on non-verbal IQ. While we remain cautiously optimistic about the merits and premise of the SMART programme, we called for larger, more rigorous randomised controlled trials to be conducted to more adequately assess the efficacy of the programme.…”

“…was established to enhance cognitive ability (Cassidy et al, 2016). It is a gamified programme, that trains the ability to relate stimuli, or in other words, domain general reasoning (May et al, 2022). Just a small subset of possible relational frames (Same/Opposite; More than/Less than) are trained using arbitrary nonsense syllables over a series of 55 stages of increasing difficulty in the programme.…”

“…It is an important feature of the programme that it does not use any material or stimuli that appear in school or university tests. Thus, SMART aims to establish "a generalised relational reasoning skill that can be applied to any educational domain or subject matter" (May et al, 2022).…”

Inclusion or infringement? A systematic research review of students' perspectives on student privacy in technology‐enhanced, hybrid and online courses

“…The purpose of this synthesis was to conduct a systematic review of the existing literature on student privacy in online, hybrid and technology‐enhanced courses using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses) approach (May et al, 2021). The review aims to: summarize the current state of knowledge on student perceptions of privacy in online, hybrid and technology‐enhanced courses, identify students' perceptions of their privacy and/or threats to their privacy in online, hybrid and technology‐enhanced courses, including data collection, storage and dissemination practices as well as instructional practices, highlight the gaps in the existing research. …”

An Open-Source Relational Network Derivation Script in R for Modeling and Visualizing Complex Behavior for Scientists and Practitioners

“…Relational models of language and cognition are receiving increased attention in both cognitive science and behavioral psychology. For example, cognitive researchers have shown that relational reasoning is central to fluid intelligence developmentally ( Crone et al, 2009 ); behavioral psychologists have found that training in relational reasoning can impact intelligence in normally developing ( May et al, 2022 ) and developmentally delayed populations ( Dixon et al, 2021 ). Artificial general intelligence (AGI) is similarly drawing together research traditions in their focus on relational reasoning ( Johansson, 2019 ).…”