Towards more Effective Working Memory Training for Older Adults

随着年龄的增长，大多数人的工作记忆都会衰退，因此通过有效的训练来维持认知功能对个人和健康系统都是有益的。由于它们的动机吸引力和可定制性，严肃游戏有可能在某些功能领域实现有意义的改变。然而，现有的游戏化培训大多无法提供显著的改进。这可能是由于有效游戏化元素的使用有限，以及可靠的适应性组件的不知情选择，这很少基于当前的认知理论。因此，拟议项目的目的是开发和评估老年人的工作记忆游戏，具有改进的适应性机制和足够的游戏化元素。该项目的成功完成将为游戏化培训的设计提供重要的见解，并为认知理论提供信息，并为许多个人的福祉做出贡献。

As working memory decline affects most people during aging, effective training to maintain cognitive functioning is beneficial for both the individual and the health system. Due to their motivational appeal and customizable nature, serious games have the potential to achieve meaningful changes in several areas of functioning. Yet, existing gamified training mostly fails to provide significant improvements. This might be due to the limited use of effective gamification elements, as well as the uninformed selection of a reliable adaptivity component, which is rarely based on current cognitive theories. The aim of the proposed project is it therefore to develop and evaluate a working memory game for older adults, with an improved adaptivity mechanism and adequate gamification elements. The successful completion of this project will provide important insights into the design of gamified training as well as inform cognitive theories and contribute to the well-being of many individuals.