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• Strategies generated during training predict training gains. • These self-generated strategies stabilize early on. • Externally given strategy elicits only fleeting training task gain. • Working memory training represents cognitive skill learning. Cognitive mechanisms underlying the limited transfer effects of working memory (WM) training remain poorly understood. We tested in detail the Strategy Mediation hypothesis, according to which WM training generates task-specific strategies that facilitate performance on the trained task and its untrained variants. This large-scale pre-registered randomized controlled trial (n = 258) used a 4-week adaptive WM training with a single digit n-back task. Strategy use was probed with open-ended strategy reports. We employed a Strategy training group (n = 73) receiving external strategy instruction, a Traditional training group (n = 118) practicing without strategy instruction, and Passive controls (n = 67). Both training groups showed emerging transfer to untrained n-back task variants already at intermediate test after 3 training sessions, extending to all untrained n-back task variants at posttest after 12 training sessions. The Strategy training group outperformed the Traditional training group only at the beginning of training, indicating short-lived strategy manipulation effects. Importantly, in the Traditional training group, strategy evolvement modulated the gains in the trained and untrained n-back tasks, supporting the Strategy Mediation hypothesis. Our results concur with the view of WM training as cognitive skill learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive skill learning postulates strategy generation and implementation when people learn to perform new tasks. Here we followed self-reported strategy use and objective performance in a working memory (WM) updating task to reveal strategy development that should take place when faced with this novel task. In two pre-registered online experiments with healthy adults, we examined short-term strategy acquisition in a ca 20–30-minute adaptive n-back WM task with 15 task blocks by collecting participants' strategy reports after each block. Experiment 1 showed that (a) about half of the participants reported using a strategy already during the very first task block, (b) changes in selected strategy were most common during the initial task blocks, and (c) more elaborated strategy descriptions predicted better task performance. Experiment 2 mostly replicated these findings, and it additionally showed that compared to open-ended questions, the use of repeated list-based strategy queries influenced subsequent strategy use and task performance, and also indicated higher rates of strategy implementation and strategy change during the task. Strategy use was also a significant predictor of n-back performance, albeit some of the variance it explained was shared with verbal productivity that was measured with a picture description task. The present results concur with the cognitive skill learning perspective and highlight the dynamics of carrying out a demanding cognitive task. • Strategies are used very early in a cognitive task (n-back) that is novel to participants. • The initial stages in performing a novel working memory task are very dynamic in terms of strategy use. • Strategy use predicts objective performance on the n-back task. • Repeated list-based strategy queries affect participants' strategy use and cognitive task performance. • Psychometric research should focus not only on average performance level, but also on the dynamics of how a task is learnt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]