New Study Suggests Brain Training Games Are a Hoax

The optimistic belief that human intelligence is malleable and can therefore be improved has helped cultivate a thriving industry of “scientific” brain training games. The major draw of these games is apparent in their marketing schemes which promise that playing a fun game for an hour or so a day can actually boost your IQ.

This is pure placebo, according to a new study by George Mason University published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Now, most people who use intelligence-boosting games like Lumosity and Neuronation on their smartphones probably don’t believe that logging hundreds of hours playing these puzzles can eventually give you a genius level IQ. But the promise of even marginally improving your IQ has been tantalizing enough that brain-training has boomed into a billion-dollar industry.

Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission penalized Lumos Labs (creator of Lumosity) with a $2 million fine for deceptive advertising, arguing that the promise that these games could stave off memory-loss, dementia, and improve memory were false.

The researchers of the latest study argue that experiments that test the effectiveness of brain-training games are flawed because their participants knew ahead of time they were joining in a “brain training study.” This information primed them to expect the brain-training to work and essentially created a placebo effect.

To test their hypothesis, the researchers tested two groups of subjects with memory training games. One group was informed that they would be participating in a “cognitive enhancement study” and the other was told that they were merely part of a “study.”

After just one hour of memory training, the first group’s IQ jumped 5-10 points while the other stayed flat. The first group’s expectation that the memory training was scientifically proven to work simply improved their performance.

Those seeking cognitive improvements are better off exercising and walking (which have been proven to lead to modest gains) than purchasing an app.