3.4.10—Improving cognition
- Syllabus
- First assessment 2027
- Objective
- 3.4.10
- Level
- SL
Improving cognition means changing a process and checking transfer
Cognitive improvement targets a process such as attention, memory strategy, appraisal or problem representation. A useful intervention states the mechanism, practice conditions and outcome that should change.
Worked examples, retrieval practice, feedback and reducing extraneous load can support learning, but gains may remain task-specific. Transfer requires testing a new context, not only repeating the trained exercise.
A learner who practises retrieving ideas from memory may improve delayed recall; a second task checks whether the strategy transfers beyond the original list. Motivation, sleep and prior knowledge also moderate the result.
Better performance on the trained task is not proof of general intelligence improvement. Specify what changed, how it was measured and where the effect should generalise.