KIDS-WIN (Kids' Working Memory and Self-Regulation Intervention Study):The Effect of Working Memory and Self-Regulation Training on School and Developmental Outcomes of Elementary School Children: A Field Experiment in Germany and Switzerland

传统上，认知技能（基本上是智商）被认为是教育成功和劳动力市场结果等许多结果的决定性技能。最近的研究表明，所谓的非认知技能（或动机技能），如动机，毅力和自我控制，对这些结果起着至关重要的作用。一种特别重要的非认知技能是延迟满足的能力，这种技能依赖于自我控制。先前的研究表明，这种技能（在儿童早期就已经测量过）与健康、财富以及成年后参与犯罪活动的可能性（较低）等结果密切相关。因此，自我控制是否可以通过学校的特定训练来提高，这对社会至关重要。从这些见解中，我们可以学习如何减轻导致我们社会中根本性社会经济不平等的问题。计划中的研究项目是一个随机实地实验，旨在调查一年级学生的自我控制能力可以训练到什么程度。我们在德国（美因茨）和瑞士（温特图尔）对1100名小学生进行了两次所谓的干预（即培训）：工作记忆培训和自我调节策略培训。这两次培训的详细内容在文件“Beschreibung des Vorhabens”中讨论。为了确定培训的短期和长期影响，我们调查了干预前后以及6个月和12个月后的数据。这些调查包括学生的测试，工作记忆，延迟折扣，学校表现，以及老师和家长关于从经济学的角度来看，这两种干预措施都非常有希望，因为以前的证据表明，对幼儿的投资--特别是对他们的非认知技能的投资--产生很高的个人和社会回报。工作记忆和自我调节训练都是低成本的干预措施，因此我们希望它们具有成本效益，即使平均效果很小。如果培训对弱势儿童的效果最强-正如以前的教育干预研究所表明的那样-我们的干预将促进教育系统中的机会平等。从教育和社会政策的角度来看，这将特别有趣，因为德国的教育成功在很大程度上取决于社会背景。

Traditionally, cognitive skills (IQ basically) have been considered the decisive skills for many outcomes like educational success and labor market outcomes. The more recent research has shown that so-called noncognitive skills (or motivational skills) like motivation, perseverance, and self-control play a crucial role for these outcomes. One particularly important noncognitive skill is the ability to delay gratification, a skill which depends on self-control. Previous research has shown that this skill (measured already in early childhood) is closely correlated with outcomes like health, wealth, and the (lower) probability to be involved in criminal activity in adult life. Hence, the question whether self-control can be improved by specific trainings in school is of crucial importance for the society. From such insights we could learn how to attenuate problems that lead to fundamental socio-economic inequality in our society.The planned research project is a randomized field experiment with the aim to investigate to what extent first graders' ability to self-control can be trained. We conduct two so-called interventions (i.e. trainings) with 1100 elementary school students in Germany (Mainz) and Switzerland (Winterthur): a working memory training and a training of a self-regulation strategy. Details for both trainings are discussed in the document 'Beschreibung des Vorhabens'. In order to identify short and long-term effects of the trainings we survey data immediately before and after the intervention as well as six and twelve months later. The surveys include student tests of (among others) working memory, delay discounting, school performance, and IQ as well as teacher and parents questionnaires about (among others) behavioral outcomes and familial background of the students.Both interventions are very promising from an economic perspective because previous evidence has shown that investments in young children - and especially in their noncognitive skills - produce high personal and social returns. The working memory and the self-regulation training are both low cost interventions and therefore we expect them to be cost efficient even if the effect is small on average. If the training effect is strongest with disadvantaged children - as previous educational intervention studies suggested - , our intervention will promote equal opportunities in the educational system. This would be specifically interesting from a perspective of educational and social policy since educational success in Germany strongly depends on social background.