Towards more Effective Working Memory Training for Older Adults

由于大多数人在衰老过程中都会受到工作记忆衰退的影响，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。由于其激励性的吸引力和可定制的性质，严肃的游戏有可能在几个功能领域实现有意义的变化。然而，现有的游戏化培训大多无法提供显著的改善。这可能是因为有效的游戏化元素的使用有限，以及在不知情的情况下选择了可靠的适应性成分，这很少基于当前的认知理论。因此，拟议项目的目的是为老年人开发和评估一种工作记忆游戏，具有改进的适应机制和足够的游戏化元素。这个项目的成功完成将为游戏化训练的设计提供重要的见解，并为认知理论提供信息，并为许多人的福祉做出贡献。

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.