Brain Fitness Exercises

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When French psychologist Alfred Binet designed the first standardized intelligence test, he felt strongly that an IQ score shouldn’t become a label. Binet feared that a low IQ score could affect a person’s self esteem as well as the opinions of others. But it wasn’t long before people were using IQ test scores to categorize and discriminate. Henry Goddard, who popularized IQ testing in the US, held that low IQ was caused by a recessive gene. Goddard’s views echoed those of the American public at the time, who worried that a disproportionate number of immigrants were of low intelligence.

The concept of a fixed, immutable level of intelligence soon entered mainstream consciousness. And despite numerous studies showing that many factors can affect IQ scores over time, the idea that we’re stuck with the intelligence we’re born with persists, even with many psychologists and educators.

Which means, of course, that we should be able to take steps to increase our IQ. But until a remarkable study made public in April of this year, no one had any clue how to do it.

Boosting Intelligence With Memory Training

Last year, a Professor of Psychology at the University of Queensland, Graeme Halford, theorized that as we work on a mental task, our brain has a finite degree of processing power. It divides this processing power, Halford suggested, between managing our short term memory (known as working-memory in this application) and fluid intelligence, or problem-solving functions. The more we have to think about what we need to remember, the less we can focus on solving the problem.

Halford’s theory inspired researchers from the Universities of Michigan and Bern to propose that increasing working-memory capacity might free up brain power to dedicate to solving problems. Using a specially designed exercise to progressively train visual and aural working-memory capacity, the scientists set about testing their hypothesis.

Their study tested participants’ fluid intelligence before and after training using questions from a standard IQ test administered in a restricted time period. And to allow for familiarity with the test they compared these results to those of a group who hadn’t received any training. Remarkably, the study not only demonstrated that fluid intelligence could change with working-memory training, the degree of change was dramatic. With 19 days of training, the fluid intelligence scores for each person in the trained group increased by at least 40% more than those in the non-trained group.

When the results of this study were published in April, they garnered a lot of attention in the media and the scientific community. But the biggest reaction came from people who read about the results and wanted to try the training for themselves. (In the interests of full disclosure, my company has released a commercial version of the training. Feedback from those who’ve used the training at home have confirmed the researchers’ findings; some even taking before and after IQ tests on their own dime and recording substantial increases in IQ scores on full-scale certified tests.)

With this groundbreaking study we can at last leave behind us the concept of immutable intelligence. I’ve no doubt that Alfred Binet would be pleased to see his principles vindicated, even though it took more than a century to come about.

About the Author: Learn more: increasing fluid intelligence by training working-memory. Martin Walker is a member of The British Neuroscience Association, Learning and The Brain, and MENSA. Mind Evolve, LLC publishes free information on the field of neuroscience and brain training, as well as effective, affordable brain fitness software under the Mind Sparke brand.

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