Research & scores
Does Brain Training Work? What Your Game Score Can Tell You
By HumanCalc · Published · 2 min read
A game score tells you how you performed on that game's task under its particular rules. A higher level or better accuracy can be useful feedback, but it is not automatically evidence of a change in general intelligence, everyday memory or work performance.
HumanCalc offers browser practice inspired by cognitive tasks. We explain how the games operate and link the research background so you can distinguish the exercise from claims about broader benefits.
Separate task performance from transfer
Task performance is your result on the exercise you played. Transfer asks whether practice changes performance on another task or outcome. Answering the second question requires evidence beyond a personal game history. Two scores recorded at different levels are also different conditions, not a direct comparison.
Why we link different research findings
Jaeggi and colleagues reported fluid-intelligence gains after working-memory training in their 2008 study. A 2016 meta-analysis by Melby-Lervåg, Redick and Hulme found no convincing far-transfer benefits when compared with treated controls. These papers address particular protocols and outcomes; neither validates HumanCalc's implementation.
Make your own comparisons useful
A practical note can be more informative than a label: 'I followed the N=2 rule without matching the previous turn' tells you what you learned. HumanCalc does not label a score as an IQ measurement or a population ranking.
- Record the game and difficulty, not just the score.
- Compare complete sessions with the same rules and settings.
- Keep input and device conditions consistent for timing games.
- Look at accuracy as well as speed or level.
- Notice what changed: rule understanding, calculation method, typing or ability to follow a sequence.
Choose a concrete practice goal
Try keeping a running total, learning the Dual N-Back matching rule or recalling a short shape sequence. Choose the task you want to practise, then use its results as feedback on that task. Session length can fit your schedule; our short routine is a suggested format rather than a validated training dose.
