Imagine a game that not only entertains you, but also assesses your cognitive abilities. Skill Lab, a groundbreaking game-based tool, accomplishes just that. By combining six mini-games and 14 established cognitive tasks, Skill Lab provides an engaging narrative while simultaneously evaluating a wide range of cognitive skills. The beauty of Skill Lab lies in its validation in the real world, rather than restrictive lab settings. With over 10,000 participants on a citizen science platform, the game was thoroughly tested and proven to predict eight cognitive abilities based on users’ gameplay behavior. But it doesn’t stop there! Follow-up tests showed that Skill Lab can distinguish subtle differences between each cognitive ability and capture a shared main factor of generalized cognitive ability. Plus, these game-based measures are five times faster than traditional task-based assessments. Not only did the results replicate previous findings on age-related decline in cognitive abilities, they also demonstrate the potential for population-scale benchmarking and personalized mental health diagnostics. Ready to enhance your cognitive powers? Dive into the exciting research behind Skill Lab!
Abstract
Rapid individual cognitive phenotyping holds the potential to revolutionize domains as wide-ranging as personalized learning, employment practices, and precision psychiatry. Going beyond limitations imposed by traditional lab-based experiments, new efforts have been underway toward greater ecological validity and participant diversity to capture the full range of individual differences in cognitive abilities and behaviors across the general population. Building on this, we developed Skill Lab, a novel game-based tool that simultaneously assesses a broad suite of cognitive abilities while providing an engaging narrative. Skill Lab consists of six mini-games as well as 14 established cognitive ability tasks. Using a popular citizen science platform (N = 10,725), we conducted a comprehensive validation in the wild of a game-based cognitive assessment suite. Based on the game and validation task data, we constructed reliable models to simultaneously predict eight cognitive abilities based on the users’ in-game behavior. Follow-up validation tests revealed that the models can discriminate nuances contained within each separate cognitive ability as well as capture a shared main factor of generalized cognitive ability. Our game-based measures are five times faster to complete than the equivalent task-based measures and replicate previous findings on the decline of certain cognitive abilities with age in our large cross-sectional population sample (N = 6369). Taken together, our results demonstrate the feasibility of rapid in-the-wild systematic assessment of cognitive abilities as a promising first step toward population-scale benchmarking and individualized mental health diagnostics.
Dr. David Lowemann, M.Sc, Ph.D., is a co-founder of the Institute for the Future of Human Potential, where he leads the charge in pioneering Self-Enhancement Science for the Success of Society. With a keen interest in exploring the untapped potential of the human mind, Dr. Lowemann has dedicated his career to pushing the boundaries of human capabilities and understanding.
Armed with a Master of Science degree and a Ph.D. in his field, Dr. Lowemann has consistently been at the forefront of research and innovation, delving into ways to optimize human performance, cognition, and overall well-being. His work at the Institute revolves around a profound commitment to harnessing cutting-edge science and technology to help individuals lead more fulfilling and intelligent lives.
Dr. Lowemann’s influence extends to the educational platform BetterSmarter.me, where he shares his insights, findings, and personal development strategies with a broader audience. His ongoing mission is shaping the way we perceive and leverage the vast capacities of the human mind, offering invaluable contributions to society’s overall success and collective well-being.