Increasing Verbal Working Memory in Young-Old Adults by a Subtract-2 Span Task on Mobile Application

Abstract

Working memory is the ability to retain and manipulate information for several seconds up to a minute while maintaining other information. Verbal working memory is the verbal component of this ability and declines with age. This research was conducted to determine if training with the Reverse Digit Span task and Order Span Task could reverse this trend. Participants ranging from 65 to 75 years old were tested with the Reverse Digit Span task, Order Digit Span task, and Operation Span task before being split into two groups. The experimental group trained on the website five times a week for three weeks. Afterward, all participants were tested again to see if there was a significant improvement. The results were statistically insignificant, showing that this training method does not increase older adults' working memory in three weeks.