Players get better at the exercises. Evidence that the gains reach the job is scarce.
The pitch arrives with glossy charts: fifteen minutes of brain games a day, and your leaders will think faster, focus longer, and decide better.
The myth. Brain-training exercises sharpen memory and attention, and the gains carry over to real work.
Why it sticks. Early lab studies looked promising, and a fast-growing app industry marketed the most hopeful reading. In 2016, the maker of Lumosity paid $2 million to settle U.S. Federal Trade Commission charges that its advertising overpromised.¹
What the research shows. That same year, Daniel Simons and six colleagues reviewed the studies behind the claims. People clearly got better at the games they practiced. They improved a little on very similar tasks. Evidence of gains in everyday performance was scarce. Many studies also lacked proper control groups, so participants' own expectations may explain part of the results.²
Try this instead. Practice the actual skill. Want better decisions in meetings? Rehearse real decisions with real stakes.
Talent Takeaway: When a vendor promises sharper minds, ask two questions: what exactly did you measure, and against which control group? The answers usually decide the purchase.
¹ Federal Trade Commission. (2016, January 5). Lumosity to pay $2 million to settle FTC deceptive advertising charges for its "brain training" program [Press release].
² Simons, D. J., Boot, W. R., Charness, N., Gathercole, S. E., Chabris, C. F., Hambrick, D. Z., & Stine-Morrow, E. A. L. (2016). Do "brain-training" programs work? Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 17(3), 103–186. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100616661983