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Cognitive and Working Memory Training
Cognitive and Working
Memory Training
Perspectives From Psychology, Neuroscience,
and Human Development
Edited by
JA R E D M . N OV IC K
M IC HA E L F. BU N T I N G
M IC HA E L R . D OU G H E RT Y
R A N DA L L W. E N G L E

1
 3
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers
the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education
by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University
Press in the UK and certain other countries.

Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press

198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America.

© Oxford University Press 2020

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted
by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction
rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the
above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the
address above.

You must not circulate this work in any other form

and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019949802

ISBN 978–​0–​19–​997446–​7

1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed by Integrated Books International, United States of America
To our families.

For our students.

 Contents

Acknowledgments xi
Contributors xiii
Prologue xvii
Michael F. Bunting and Jared M. Novick

I . C O G N I T I V E P E R SP E C T I V E

1. Cognitive Perspectives of Working Memory Training:

Current Challenges in Working Memory Training 3
Kenny Hicks and Randall W. Engle
Introduction 3
Investigating Transfer 5
Criticisms of Working Memory Training 6
Four Directed Questions 8
Conclusion 11
2. Working Memory Training From an Individual Differences
Perspective: Efficacy in Older Adults 14
Erika Borella, Barbara Carretti, Cesare Cornoldi,
and Rossana De Beni
Introduction 14
Question 1: Theory of Working Memory Training 15
Question 2: Major Claims of Working Memory Training 19
Question 3: Methodological Issues 28
Question 4: Contributions to the Field 33
3. Training Working Memory for 100 Days: The COGITO Study 40
Florian Schmiedek, Martin Lövdén, and Ulman Lindenberger
Question 1: Theory of Working Memory Training 40
Question 2: Major Claims of Working Memory Training 43
Question 3: Methodological Issues 46
Question 4: Contributions to the Field 50
4. How Strong Is the Evidence for the Effectiveness of Working
Memory Training? 58
Claudia C. von Bastian, Sabrina Guye, and Carla De Simoni
Introduction 58
Question 1: Theory of Working Memory Training 58
Question 2: Major Claims of Working Memory Training 60
viii Contents

Question 3: Methodological Issues 61

Question 4: Contributions to the Field 70
Conclusion 71

I I . N E U R O C O G N I T I V E P E R SP E C T I V E

5. Neuroscience Perspectives on Cognitive Training  79

Stefanie E. Kuchinsky and Henk J. Haarmann
Introduction 79
Does Training Effectively Target Desired Cognitive Systems? 81
Do the Benefits of Cognitive Training Transfer? 84
Do the Benefits of Cognitive Training Persist? 86
For Whom Is Cognitive Training Most Effective? 88
Can Behavioral Training Be Augmented With Brain
Regulation and Stimulation? 91
What Neuroscience Approaches on the Horizon Might
Change the Cognitive Training Game? 93
Conclusion 96
6. Working Memory Training and Transcranial Direct
Current Stimulation 105
Jacky Au, Martin Buschkuehl, and Susanne M. Jaeggi
Introduction 105
What Is Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation? 106
Cognitive Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation 107
Pairing WM Training With Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation 109
How Does Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Inform
Cognitive Training Research? 116
Final Remarks 120
Funding and Conflicts of Interest 121
7. Cognitive Training: Component Processes and Criteria for Change 131
Kristine B. Walhovd, Anders M. Fjell, and Lars Nyberg
Introduction 131
Will the Real Component Process Please Stand Up? 131
What Does a Training Effect Really Mean? 133
Conclusions and Future Directions 136

I I I . D EV E L O P M E N TA L P E R SP E C T I V E

8. Review of the Evidence on, and Fundamental Questions

About, Efforts to Improve Executive Functions, Including
Working Memory 143
Adele Diamond and Daphne S. Ling
Introduction 145
 Contents ix

Executive Functions (EFs) 153

Why It Is Important to Improve EFs 157
Principles of Experimental Design and Principles for Interpreting
Results Often Violated in Training or Intervention Studies 161
Studies Included in the Systematic Review 166
Principles That Govern EF Training, Whatever the Form 168
How Different Approaches to Improving EFs Measure Up 186
Across ALL Approaches to Improving EFs, Which Are the Most
Promising Thus Far? 357
Across ALL Approaches, Which Have Been Least Successful
Thus Far in Improving EFs? 363
Limitations of the Present Systematic Review and a Call to Others
to Analyze the Extant Literature in Ways Other Than We Have 365
A Call to Researchers to Consider Additional Analyses of Their Data 369
A Call to Researchers to Study Factors Affecting How Long
Benefits Last 371
What About Training People in Strategies to Minimize the Need
for EFs, so That People Do Not Have to Expend So Much Effort
Trying to Exercise EFs? 374
What About Looking at the EF Benefits of Being Outside in Nature? 374
Our Predictions About How to Most Effectively Improve EFs 375
Final Thoughts 385
9. Fundamental Questions Surrounding Efforts to Improve
Cognitive Function Through Video Game Training 432
Adam Eichenbaum, Daphne Bavelier, and C. Shawn Green
The Curse of Learning Specificity 432
Video Game Experience Affecting Cognitive Function 433
Methodological Issues 437
Theoretical Issues 445
Conclusions 447
10. Logical and Methodological Considerations in Cognitive
Training Research 455
Benjamin Katz and Priti Shah
Introduction 455
Working Memory and Executive Functions 455
Rethinking Transfer 460
Evidence of Transfer After Training 466
Historical Examples and Instrumental Enrichment 469
Moderating Factors of Cognitive Training 471
Conclusion 475
11. Music Training: Contributions to Executive Function 487
Brooke M. Okada and L. Robert Slevc
Introduction 487
x Contents

Music Training and Cognitive Flexibility 490

Music Training and Inhibitory Control 490
Music Training and Working Memory Updating 491
Randomized Controlled Trials: Music Training and EF 492
Conclusion 501
12. The Effectiveness of Training in Task Switching: New Insights
and Open Issues From a Life-​Span View 508
Jutta Kray and Sandra Dörrenbächer
Life-​Span Changes in Task Switching 508
Flexibility and Plasticity of Task-​Switching Performance
Across the Life Span 510
Age Differences in the Effectiveness of Task-​Switching Training
Interventions: Training, Transfer, and Maintenance Effects 514
The Role of Interindividual Differences on Training and
Transfer of Task Switching 523
Summary and Conclusions 527
Open Issues for Designing Cognitive Intervention Across
the Life Span 528
Epilogue: Don’t Buy the Snake Oil 539
Michael R. Dougherty and Randall W. Engle
Are the Effects of WM Training Dependent on the Type of Control
Condition Used in the Study Design? 540
Does Random Assignment to Condition Matter? 540
Are Training Effects Dependent on the Overlap Between Training
and Transfer Task Operations or Stimuli? 541
What Might a Convincing Study Look Like? 541
But What About the Brain? 542
Summary 542

Index 545
 Acknowledgments

We are indebted to the range of scholars who contributed their time and ex-
pertise to write the chapters for this collected volume, and who also provided
ample work to peer-​review each other’s submissions. We thank them for these
efforts and for slogging through our rounds of gentle edits and comments. A spe-
cial thanks to Karly Schwarz and Claire Crossman, graduate assistants in the
Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences at the University of Maryland, for
their tireless endeavors to pull this entire project together in all the ways that
matter. It is not an overstatement to say that, without them, this book would not
have been completed.
 Contributors

Jacky Au Barbara Carretti

School of Education Department of General Psychology
University of California, Irvine University of Padova
Irvine, CA, USA Padova, Italy

Claudia C. von Bastian Cesare Cornoldi

Department of Psychology Department of General Psychology
University of Sheffield University of Padova
Sheffield, UK Padova, Italy

Daphne Bavelier Adele Diamond

Brain and Learning Lab Department of Psychiatry
Psychology and Education University of British Columbia
Sciences Vancouver, BC, Canada
University of Geneva
Sandra Dörrenbächer
Geneva, Switzerland
Department of Psychology
Rossana De Beni Saarland University
Department of General Psychology Saarbrücken, Germany
University of Padova Michael R. Dougherty
Padova, Italy Professor of Psychology
Erika Borella Department of Psychology
Department of General Psychology University of Maryland
University of Padova College Park, MD, USA
Padova, Italy Adam Eichenbaum
Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute
Michael F. Bunting
University of California, Berkeley
Senior Research Scientist and
Berkeley, CA, USA
Director of Research Development
Applied Research Laboratory Randall W. Engle
for Intelligence and Security Professor of Psychology
(ARLIS) School of Psychology
University of Maryland Georgia Institute of Technology
College Park, MD, USA Atlanta, GA, USA

Martin Buschkuehl Anders M. Fjell

Director Education Research Department of Psychology
MIND Research Institute University of Oslo
Irvine, CA, USA Oslo, Norway
xiv Contributors

C. Shawn Green Ulman Lindenberger

Department of Psychology
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Madison, WI, USA
Sabrina Guye
University Research Priority Program
“Dynamics of Healthy Aging”
University of Zurich
Zurich, Switzerland
Max Planck Institute for Human
Development
Center for Lifespan Psychology
Berlin, Germany
Daphne S. Ling
Department of Psychiatry
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC, Canada

Henk J. Haarmann Martin Lövdén

Applied Research Lab for Intelligence Department of Neurobiology, Care
and Security Sciences and Society (NVS), H1
University of Maryland Karolinska Institutet
College Park, MD, USA Stockholm, Sweden

Kenny Hicks Jared M. Novick

School of Psychology Associate Professor
Georgia Institute of Technology Department of Hearing and Speech
Atlanta, GA Sciences
Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive
Susanne M. Jaeggi Science
School of Education University of Maryland
University of California, Irvine College Park, MD, USA
Irvine, CA
Lars Nyberg
Benjamin Katz Department of Integrative Medical
Assistant Professor Biology
Human Development and Family Umeå University
Science Umeå, Sweden
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA Brooke M. Okada
Graduate Researcher
Jutta Kray Department of Psychology
Department of Psychology University of Maryland, College Park
Saarland University College Park, MD, USA
Saarbrücken, Germany
Florian Schmiedek
Stefanie E. Kuchinsky Department of Education and Human
Applied Research Lab for Intelligence Development
and Security German Institute for International
University of Maryland Educational Research (DIPF)
College Park, MD, USA Frankfurt am Main, Germany
 Contributors xv

Priti Shah L. Robert Slevc

Department of Psychology Associate Professor
University of Michigan Department of Psychology
Ann Arbor, MI Program in Neuroscience and
Cognitive Science
Carla De Simoni University of Maryland
Department of Psychology, College Park, MD, USA
University of Zurich
Zurich, Switzerland Kristine B. Walhovd
Department of Psychology
University of Oslo
Oslo, Norway
 Prologue

“Brain training” exploded into the marketplace earlier this century with the
publication of a few scientific studies that caught the attention of the media and,
inevitably, excited the public at large. The findings offered hope to populations
that no pill could provide: Could we offset the effects of dementia through con-
sistent mental challenge? Could we close the achievement gap for at-​risk chil-
dren? Unsurprisingly, the global buzz promoted the advent of websites and
video games that issued regimens for training intelligence. The promise of brain
training (also known as cognitive or working memory training) was that persis-
tent engagement of core cognitive functions like fluid reasoning, inhibition, or
attention control could increase cognitive functioning in general, and that the
effect endures over time.
However, a problem with many brain-​training applications on the market
then, and today, is the lack of scientific consensus in the field about whether they
actually work. Certainly, the natural course of things is that new tests of pop-
ular ideas give way to data that offer different results and, thus, put a spotlight
on different ways of interpreting original findings. This is good for science, as
alternative viewpoints (theories, ideas, etc.) push a field forward through a con-
spiracy of evidence that attempts to converge on the truth. Sometimes it means
reconsidering our initial excitement through the lens of nuance and reminding
ourselves—​scientists and civilians alike—​that knowledge can only advance
through steady interrogation of traditional hypotheses. While brain training re-
mains popular, some of the initial excitement has faded under the glare of scien-
tific scrutiny about the true efficacy of the programs and the unavoidable press
that comes along with it.
Here, we bring a range of viewpoints into a single volume that represents the
ideas (and empirical discoveries) of leading researchers in the arena of cogni-
tive training. Critically, perspectives from both proponents and detractors are
included in an accessible format so that students of psychology (of both the pro-
fessional and armchair varieties) can assess the current state of the science. The
chapters are highly interdisciplinary and cover a range of related issues, which
are organized thematically around three “cluster” topics in working memory
training: cognitive perspectives, cognitive neuroscience perspectives, and devel-
opmental perspectives across the lifespan. Each cluster is introduced by a “chal-
lenge” chapter in which the authors pose certain fundamental questions that are
intended to identify key issues, spark debate, and yield an array of viewpoints
xviii Prologue

within the clusters. The subsequent chapters within a cluster are organized
around the authors’ responses to the challenge questions and the defense of
their responses. They offer best practices in the field regarding effective training
methods, tools, designs, and uses for applied, theoretical, and computational
goals, and what has been learned—​and what remains to be learned—​about the
advantages and potential caveats of cognitive training.
The goal of this book is to offer an objective and balanced appraisal of the
science of cognitive training by framing the book’s theme within a broader con-
text of cognitive psychology in terms of past, present, and the contours of fu-
ture theoretical and empirical endeavors in the domain of cognitive and working
memory training.

A Brief History of the Scientific Study of Human Abilities

Human intelligence—​the mental traits and abilities that are uniquely human and
the province of Homo sapiens alone—​has permitted people to accomplish feats
unmatched by any other creature on Earth. Societies are products of human in-
telligence, which enables our knowledge and understanding of the world, both
the physical and the spiritual. Intelligence has taken humans to the moon, sent
robots to Mars, and developed tools for looking across the cosmos and listening
for decipherable sounds from space. Through their intelligence, humans possess
the cognitive abilities to learn, understand, remember, and teach. Humans can
think concretely or abstractly, and they can apply logic and reason, and solve
novel problems. They can recognize patterns, plan, make decisions, and draw
conclusions. Humans can use language to communicate thoughts, feelings,
intentions, and deceptions in infinitely creative and productive ways.
For much of the history of the scientific study of intelligence, two related
questions have driven the conversation: What are the dominant abilities involved
in intelligent behavior, and what is the organization of the mechanisms that sup-
port it? Spearman (1904, 1927, 1946; Spearman & Wynn-​Jones, 1950) insisted
that, instead of an infinite number of unrelated mental abilities, a single common
factor runs through all intellectual operations, generating commonly observed
correlations among tests. Spearman’s original contention was that performance
associations across mental tests can be accounted for by the combination of two
factors. One of these factors, g, is common to all the tests and is domain-​free. The
other factor, designated the s factor, is specific, and it captures what remains in
the intercorrelations among the tests (except what is attributable to test errors).
Spearman regarded g as a cognitive-​general factor and argued that it is present to
varying degrees in every intellectual operation.
 Prologue xix

Spearman’s theory was informed by his observations of performance on

mental ability tests. He observed that people who do well in one area also tend to
do well in other areas. This lent credence to his notion that general intelligence
influences performance on all cognitive tasks. A commonly invoked metaphor
for understanding general intelligence is to compare it to athleticism. One prob-
ably would not expect a professional basketball player to be equally impressive on
the softball or soccer fields; however, because of her all-​around athleticism, she is
likely to excel at those sports compared to your average couch potato. Yet, many
things in the world are related but may reflect lurking influences of confounding
variables. Take, for instance, the oft-​cited correlation between a rise in ice cream
sales and homicide rates. It is considerably unlikely that one has a causal effect on
the other, as many factors (e.g., hot weather, more milling about) independently
contribute to both. Thus, the same reasoning ought to be applied to cognitive
training: rather than focusing on the products of interventions (does it work or
not? does performance increase from pretest to posttest?), the effects of brain
training (or lack thereof) may be better understood through the mechanisms
that drive the process.
Important questions remain about how to measure and define intelligence
and understand all the factors that comprise this squishy term; but contempo-
rary study asks how to improve it nonetheless in hopes of preventing cogni-
tive abilities from declining with age. Intelligence may not be static. Cognitive
skills, memory, reasoning, motor skills, and the speed of thinking can and do
increase or decrease over time and are subject to experience-​induced plasticity
for a multitude of reasons. Genetics and environmental conditions are contrib-
uting factors, both to the growth of intelligence and the delaying of its deterio-
ration. Nutrition, pharmacological and psychological factors, and behavior can
have positive or negative impacts. Understanding the relationship among these
factors and how they affect cognitive performance is a true scientific challenge,
let alone the challenge of isolating what is cause, and what is effect.
The majority of readily noticeable changes in intelligence occur at either the
onset of development, during the critical period, or during old age. But is intelli-
gence, or at least complex cognitive behavior, immutable between these two poles
on the developmental spectrum? The predominant view for much of the twen-
tieth century was that it was: intellectual capacity was shaped during childhood
and fixed during adulthood until old age brought an inevitable decline. Recent
research on the malleability of intelligence has begun to challenge this view, indi-
cating that certain types of mental workouts, also known as “brain training,” can
actually improve core mental abilities and protect against such declines. As the
metaphor goes, as exercising a muscle increases physical strength, exercising
the mind can increase mental fitness in terms of how much information can be
xx Prologue

temporarily maintained and processed, including the ability to focus attention

on a current task at hand.
There is little doubt that “brain training” is a hot and hotly contested topic
in the interdisciplinary fields of psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and human
development. This edited volume asks questions about the nature of intellect and
cognitive abilities and explores evidence that these attributes are amenable to
change from training, and what mechanisms that contribute to complex cogni-
tion may or may not be malleable via intervention (i.e., is there more promise in a
process-​specific approach to training, rather than an all-​encompassing one sub-
sumed under the broad heading of “intelligence”?). Importantly, one focus of the
book is on the notion of transfer—​namely, the extent to which cognitive training
generalizes to learning and performance measures that were decidedly not part
of the training regimen, but still tap into specific process that were part of the
regimen despite ostensible differences in task characteristics. This edited volume
is inspired by the outcome of a 2011 workshop on this topic and features a series
of chapters by 12 leading scholars in the cognitive and neural sciences. Generally,
the issues addressed are:

• What is the scientific evidence that cognitive training influences and

benefits performance on a range of everyday tasks, including intelligence,
memory, attention, vision, learning, creativity, and language processing—​
in both healthy and special populations (e.g., young children, aging adults,
those diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder)?
• What best practices exist in the field regarding effective training methods,
tools, designs, and uses for applied, theoretical, and computational goals?
• What has been learned—​and what remains to be learned—​about the
advantages and caveats of cognitive training? What should, and should we
not, buy into?

We have assembled an interdisciplinary group of distinguished authors—​all

experts in the field—​who have been testing the efficacy of cognitive and working-​
memory training using a combination of behavioral, neuroimaging, meta-​
analytic, and computational modeling methods. As will become clear, there is a
range of views on the extent to which cognitive training remains promising. As
such, this edited volume will be a defining resource on the practicality, utility,
and validity of the field of cognitive training research in general and working
memory training in particular.
This book is the first of its kind and is therefore expected to appeal broadly
to academics in the cognitive and neural sciences, to students of psychology,
to clinical practitioners interested in cognitive remediation, and to govern-
ment stakeholders whose principal concern is to increase the learning and
 Prologue xxi

performance capabilities of their workforce. We therefore anticipate that this

book will play a key role in the field by integrating a host of research efforts on
cognitive training and cognitive plasticity into a single, comprehensive volume
accessible to a wide audience. In the end, we also hope that it will spring new re-
search that addresses still-​open questions through collaborators on both sides—​
namely, the enthusiasts and critics of current data—​who set aside dogma, their
scientific differences, and agree upon a study design in pursuit of scientific rigor
and knowledge, which can only advance through constant questioning of con-
ventional models, ideas, and approaches.
Michael F. Bunting and Jared M. Novick

References

Spearman, C. (1904). “General intelligence,” objectively determined and measured.

American Journal of Psychology, 15, 201–​293.
Spearman, C. (1927). The abilities of man. New York, NY: Macmillan.
Spearman, C. (1946). Theory of general factor. British Journal of Psychology, 36,
117–​131.
Spearman, C., & Wynn-​Jones, L. L. (1950). Human ability: A continuation of “the abil-
ities of man.” London, England: Macmillan.
 SECTION I
C O GN IT IV E PE R SPE CT I V E
 1
Cognitive Perspectives of Working
Memory Training
Current Challenges in Working Memory Training
Kenny Hicks and Randall W. Engle

Introduction

Working memory training is an emergent field aimed at improving general cog-

nitive abilities through targeted brain exercises. The prospect of improving cog-
nitive abilities like attention control, comprehension, and reasoning has piqued
the interest of the scientific community and the general public alike. If cognitive
abilities like working memory capacity can be improved, it is assumed that this
improvement will result in benefits to a broad range of real-world abilities asso-
ciated with working memory capacity, including reading comprehension, math
performance, and attention control (Holmes et al., 2010; Jaeggi, Buschkeuhl,
Jonides, & Perrig, 2008; Klingberg, 2005; Klingberg, Forssberg, & Westerberg,
2002). However, to date, there is no clear answer to the question of whether cog-
nition will improve through interventions designed to enhance working memory
capacity. One reason is an absence of discussion among researchers of various
training paradigms, which has resulted in a lack of consensus on the basic un-
derlying principles of the research, including differences in the operational def-
inition of working memory training, inconsistent ways to measure increases in
working memory, and little integration of findings into a larger literature on cog-
nitive training or, more broadly, working memory capacity.
This line of research is theoretically important, but it is also unique because of
its potential for real-world impact. Working memory training has far-reaching
implications for many diverse stakeholders, including not only academics but
also any group interested in cognitive improvements. Those concerned with
such diverse topics as improving selection, job training, and cognitive remedi-
ation are interested in the efficacy of working memory training and its poten-
tial for future applications. Products that extoll the benefits of “brain training”
and other targeted exercises aimed at increasing cognitive abilities have perme-
ated the public sphere. Such widespread attention has led to an influx of working
4 Cognitive Perspective

memory training literature in psychology and other disciplines, but our enthu-
siasm must be tempered by the evidence.
Preliminary studies on working memory training are not often referred to as
pilot studies in media headlines or by the commercial programs that use them
for advertisement (Holmes, Gathercole, & Dunning, 2009; Holmes et al., 2010).
Simply put, although coverage of preliminary studies may be well intentioned,
the results can be easily oversold. It is our hope that the reader will gain per-
spective on the outcomes of training, evaluate the strength of the current evi-
dence, develop an understanding of the current debate on the most controversial
findings, and understand how these findings might transfer to the real world.
Researchers of working memory training claim that cognitive training
interventions result in transfer to a domain-general ability (Klingberg, 2005)
above and beyond task-specific abilities, such as strategy use (e.g., chunking
items into groups). Although perspectives on what constitutes successful transfer
are varied, it is generally conceptualized as near and far transfer.
Near transfer refers to gains in tasks that tap the same construct that the inter-
vention seeks to improve. In terms of working memory training, near transfer
would be achieved by demonstrating improved performance on novel working
memory tasks. Evidence of far transfer occurs when subjects demonstrate supe-
rior performance on tasks that require working memory but reflect a fundamen-
tally different construct (e.g., fluid intelligence). The logic here is that working
memory is a key component of other higher-order cognitive abilities, such as
fluid intelligence, and that improving working memory should lead to an in-
crease in any ability dependent on the working memory construct. Ideally, after
working memory training, improvements would be observed in tasks designed
to assess both near and far transfer. However, to claim that working memory
training increases fluid intelligence, the results should also provide evidence that
working memory was improved. That is to say, at a minimum, researchers should
demonstrate near transfer before claiming to show evidence of far transfer.
To better understand the complexity of transfer, we can look to the 1992 case
study of Rajan Mahadevan. Mahadevan had an exceptional memory for num-
bers: he could recall a record of more than 30,000 digits of pi. Investigators found
that, rather than possessing an innate ability for memorization, he used a mne-
monic strategy, namely grouping numbers into blocks of ten. Further evidence
that Mahadevan used a memory strategy for numbers came when scientists
found that his memory for spatial objects was merely average (Biederman,
Cooper, Fox, & Mahadevan, 1992). What is important is that Mahadevan’s su-
perior memory performance for digits did not transfer to other domains of
memory (Ericsson, Delaney, Weaver, & Mahadevan, 2004).
The goal of working memory training is to demonstrate broad transfer to tasks
that involve the same components of working memory that were targeted during
 Current Challenges in Working Memory Training 5

training. Therefore, improvements should be observed on a broad range of tasks

that tap the ability being trained. This is measured by observing the difference
between pre- and posttest performance on cognitive tasks that subjects have not
practiced.

Investigating Transfer

Given our lab’s substantial contributions to the theoretical aspects of working

memory capacity and its relationship to fluid intelligence (Engle & Kane, 2004;
Engle, Tuholski, Laughlin, & Conway, 1999; Kane et al., 2004; Shipstead, Redick,
& Engle, 2012b), we were intrigued by the prospect of improving cognition and
the potential theoretical and real-world implications. In particular, we were
motivated to further our understanding of the mechanisms that drive the cogni-
tive improvements.
The task of selecting which training regimen to investigate was difficult be-
cause no unified approach to the study of working memory training exists.
Due to the highly influential claim that training on the dual N-back task led to
improvements on matrix reasoning, one of the best indicators of fluid intelli-
gence (Jaeggi et al., 2008), our first study implemented the dual N-back para-
digm. While offering an exciting prospect for the field, Jaeggi and colleagues’
article included methodological shortcomings, such as measuring fluid intelli-
gence with a single test instead of multiple indicators. Further, the 2008 article
actually represents the combination of four studies that differed significantly,
including different measures of fluid intelligence across studies, differing
deadlines for completing the test of fluid intelligence, and the use of no-contact
control groups (see Redick et al., 2012, for a more in-depth discussion of the
studies). In an attempt to replicate Jaeggi and colleagues’ 2008 findings, we
conducted a follow-up study that addressed the previous study’s shortcomings
by including a dual N-back training group, an active control group that
performed an adaptive visual search task, as well as a no-contact control group.
Practice on a visual search task was chosen as the active control condition be-
cause previous research found no relationship between working memory ca-
pacity and visual search performance across a number of studies that varied the
difficulty of the search task (Kane, Poole, Tuholski, & Engle, 2006). The training
study also included measures designed to simulate real-world performance
(e.g., the ability to manage air traffic and perform complex multitasks). Despite
adequate statistical power and the inclusion of multiple indicators of both fluid
intelligence and multitasking, the results of the training study failed to demon-
strate any behavioral improvements after dual N-back training (Redick et al.,
2012).
6 Cognitive Perspective

After our failure to replicate far transfer to fluid intelligence after dual N-back
training, our research became focused on investigating near transfer. Therefore,
our next study explored the effects of training on measures of short-term memory
and the complex span (Chein & Morrison, 2010; Unsworth, Heitz, Schrock, &
Engle, 2005; Unsworth, Redick, Heitz, Broadway, & Engle, 2009). Subjects were
randomly assigned to a short-term memory training condition, a complex span
training condition, or an active control group that practiced a visual search task.
All three were adaptive tasks (i.e., increased in difficulty with success). To in-
vestigate far transfer, we administered multiple measures of fluid intelligence at
pre- and posttest, including Raven’s Progressive Matrices, the Letter Sets task,
and the Number Series task. We also included other measures related to working
memory capacity, such as free recall. None of our training groups showed
improvements in fluid reasoning (e.g., far transfer). We found partial evidence
for moderate transfer (tasks representing moderate transfer that were different
from the training paradigm but still relied heavily on many of the same memory
processes involved in the training tasks). For instance, improvements in the sec-
ondary memory portion of immediate free recall were observed, while evidence
for the Keep Track Task was less interpretable (Harrison et al., 2013). Overall,
this study represented our second failure to demonstrate domain-general
improvements to cognitive abilities after extensive working memory training.

Criticisms of Working Memory Training

Shipstead and colleagues (2010) published the first systematic review analyzing
the methods and results used in the working memory training literature. Prior
to 2010, the claims that working memory training led to vast improvements in
intelligence and attention control had gone largely unchallenged. The Shipstead
article was fittingly titled “Does Working Memory Training Generalize?” If
working memory capacity can predict performance across a range of important
cognitive outcomes, does working memory training lead to improvements across
a wide range of cognitive tasks? Although the question posed is simple, it has re-
ceived surprisingly little attention. The conclusion of Shipstead and colleagues
was that most working memory training studies failed to control for threats to
internal validity, failed to include adequate control groups for comparison, and
consistently relied on a single test to represent constructs of interest—practices
that continue in the working memory training literature today.
In the publication, “Cogmed Training: Let’s Be Realistic About Intervention
Research” by Gathercole and colleagues (2012), the researchers argued that many
of the criticisms raised about working memory training are impractical. They
justified their perspective with two arguments. First, the authors maintained that
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hurled upon the house of Judd. Standing for a moment in silence
and glowering upon them all in turn, the boy swung about with a
defiant gesture, stalked through the open door and out of the house.
Josiah Judd, whose heart was already sinking under the
responsibility of the crown jewels of a kingdom, experienced a
sickening collapse in the presence of the Oriental thunderbolt that
had just exploded on his peaceful New England hearthstone. His jaw
fell, he ceased rocking, and turned his eyes in painful inquiry upon
his guests.
There was an awkward silence. The General and the Prince had
risen to their feet as if in apology to the hostess, but she had
accepted the outburst with unruffled calmness. Her kind, restful,
homely face showed no annoyance. Rising quietly from the table she
followed the stormy guest and found him around in front of the
house, sitting upon the granite doorstep, his chin in his hands,
frowning fiercely upon the quaint old flower-garden before him. He
got up as she approached and stood a few feet away, regarding her
with a hostile scowl. Seating herself upon the step she said, with a
pleasant smile:
“Of course you are tired, sonny, we all understand that, and you are
unhappy to-day, but it won’t be for long.”
These assuring words failed of their purpose, and he eyed her
sidewise, and with suspicion. He was too old a bird to be fooled so
easily. A few sprigs were torn from the box border within his reach as
if the conversation bored him.
“I had a boy once,” continued Mrs. Judd. “I understand boys, and
know just how you feel. We shall be good friends, I’m sure.”
After a pause devoted to serious reflection, he inquired:
“Did your boy like you?”
“Oh, yes.”
He came nearer and stood in front of her. Then, slowly and with the
precision with which he always delivered himself when speaking
English, he said:
“My mother was different from you, and her clothes were more
beautiful, but if one boy liked you another might. I might. Would you
like to see my mother’s portrait?”
Mrs. Judd said she would like very much to see it, and he began
fumbling about and seemed to be tickling himself near the buckle of
his belt. But, as it proved, he was ascertaining the whereabouts of a
locket, which he finally fished up by means of a gold chain about his
neck. The chain was of such a length that the locket, instead of
reposing near the heart of the wearer, hung a little below the centre
of the stomach. When it finally emerged above his collar, he placed
the warm miniature in her hand, saying:
“That is my mother.”
It was a dark face, surmounted by a jewelled head-dress of a style
that Mrs. Judd had never seen, even in pictures. After looking more
carefully at the miniature and then up into the eyes that were
watching hers, she found the same square forehead and sensitive
mouth, and the same dark melancholy, heavily fringed eyes, by far
the most beautiful she had ever seen. The picture in her hand was a
truthful portrait of himself. As she looked from the portrait into the
face before her she felt it was perhaps fortunate this mother was
ignorant of the changes that already had turned the current of his
life. With a brown hand on each of her knees he was looking into her
eyes with the anxious gaze of a hungry soul, seeking for sympathy,
and too proud to ask it. But Mrs. Judd understood. She laid a hand
upon his shoulder with an expression upon her honest face that
rendered words unnecessary. He blinked and swallowed in a mighty
effort to suppress what he evidently considered an undignified and
compromising sentiment. But in vain. Sinking upon his knees he
buried his face in her lap and gave way to the most vehement,
uncontrollable grief. The small frame shook with sobs, while her
apron grew wet with tears. He took his sorrow with the same
passionate recklessness that characterized his anger at the dinner-
table. Mrs. Judd rested her hand upon the short black hair and tried
to summon words of solace for a grief that seemed to threaten the
integrity of his earthly body. She could only stroke his head and tell
him not to be unhappy; that all would end well; that he should soon
return home.
In the midst of these efforts the voice of Mr. Judd came around the
corner calling out that the wagon was here. The boy jumped to his
feet as if he had received a shock. Drawing the sleeve of his jacket
across his tear-stained face, he summoned an expression of severity
and indifference that under other circumstances would have forced a
smile from his newly acquired friend. The soldier was himself again;
the warrior was on parade. As they walked together around the
house to the dining-room, he beside her with a resolute step and
chin in the air, she wondered what manner of training could have
taught him at the age of seven to suppress all boyish emotions, and
put on at will the dignity of a Roman Senator.
The General and the Prince were awaiting them. With many
compliments they thanked the host and hostess for their hospitality,
and regretted the necessity that took them away in such unfortunate
haste; it was a flying trip and their absence must not be lengthened
by an hour, as these were troublous times in their part of India. As
they moved toward the wagon Mrs. Judd held her husband back,
believing there might be a parting at which strangers would not be
welcome. But the parting, like all else, was dignified and
ceremonious. She could not see the boy’s face, for he stood with his
back toward her, but as far as she could judge he also was calm and
self-possessed. She noticed, however, that the General had to
swallow, with a sudden gulp, a large portion of what appeared to be
a carefully constructed sentence.
They drove in silence down the long avenue beneath the maples,
and the driver, perhaps to put them at their ease, said something
about getting along faster in this light wagon than with the stage, but
both his passengers seemed in a silent mood and made no answer.
As they turned into the main road the General, who was on the side
nearest the house, looked back. At the farther end of the avenue
stood the boy in the same position, still watching them. The old
soldier brought his hand to his hat and down again in a military
salute that was evidently familiar to the little person at the farther end
of the driveway, for it was promptly acknowledged, and although a
farewell to the last ties between himself and his country, was
returned with head erect, as from one veteran to another.
 II
TWENTY years have passed.
The corner mansion of the Van Koovers is ablaze with light. Long
rows of carriages surmounted by sleepy coachmen extend along
Madison Avenue and into the neighboring street. The temporary
awning from the front door to the curbstone serves only to shield the
coming and departing guest from the gaze of heaven, for the moon
and stars are shining brightly, as if they also would like to enter. But
when the front door opens, which is frequent, it emits a blast of
music, taunting and defiant, reminding the outside universe of its
plebeian origin.
Inside there is a scene of festivity and splendor, of dazzling gayety,
of youth and mirth and decorous joy. The opulence of the Van
Koovers is of sanctifying solidity, and when they give a ball they do it
in a style to be remembered. The house itself, with its sumptuous
furniture, its magnificent ceilings and stately dimensions is
sufficiently impressive in every-day attire, but to-night it reminds you
of the Arabian Tales. The family portraits, the gracious dignity of the
host and hostess, the bearing of the servants, all speak of pedigree
and hereditary honors.
Roses and violets, in lavish profusion, fill every corner, are festooned
around doors and windows, even along the walls and up the stairs,
their perfume mingling with the music. And the music, dreamy yet
voluminous, sways hither and thither a sea of maidens with snowy
necks and shimmering jewels, floating gracefully about in the arms of
anxious youths. These youths, although unspeakably happy, wear
upon their faces, as is usual upon such occasions, an expression of
corroding care.
As a waltz came to an end, a tall, light-haired girl with crimson roses
in her dress, dropped into a seat. She fanned herself rapidly as if to
drive away a most becoming color that had taken possession of her
cheeks. Her breath came quickly, the string of pearls upon her neck
rising and falling as if sharing in the general joy. With her long throat,
her well-poised head, and a certain dignity of unconscious pride she
might be described as old-fashioned from her resemblance to a
favorite type in the portraits of a century ago. Perhaps her prettiest
feature was the low, wide forehead about which the hair seemed to
advance and recede in exceptionally graceful lines. Her charm to
those who know her but superficially was in her voice and manner, in
the frankness of her eyes, and, above all perhaps, in that all-
conquering charm, a total absence of self-consciousness. But
whatever the reason, no girl in the room received more attention.
Her partner, a sculptor with a bald head and a reputation, took the
chair beside her. As her eyes wandered carelessly about the room
she inquired, in an indifferent tone: “Who is that swarthy youth
talking with Julia Bancroft?”
“I don’t know. He looks like a foreigner.” Then he added, with more
interest, “But isn’t he a beauty!”
“Yes, his features are good.”
“He is an Oriental of some sort, and doesn’t quite harmonize with a
claw-hammer coat. He should wear an emerald-green nightcap with
a ruby in the centre, about the size of a hen’s egg, a yellow dressing-
gown and white satin trousers, all copiously sprinkled with
diamonds.”
She smiled. “Yes, and he might be interesting if he were not quite so
handsome; but here he comes!”
The youth in question, as he came down the room and passed them,
seemed to be having a jolly time with his companion and he failed to
notice the two people who were discussing him. It was a boyish face
notwithstanding the regular features and square jaw, and at the
present moment it wore a smile that betrayed the most intense
amusement. When he was well out of hearing, the sculptor
exclaimed: “He is the most artistic thing I ever saw! The lines of his
eyes and nose are superb! And what a chin! I should like to own
him!”
“You couldn’t eat him.”
“No, but I could put him on exhibition at five dollars a ticket. Every
girl in New York would be there; you among them.”
Miss Cabot appeared to consider. “I am not so sure. He probably is
much less interesting than he looks. Handsome males over three
years of age are the deadliest bores in life; sculptors of course
excepted.”
“It does seem to be a kind of prosperity the human male is unable to
support without impairment.” Then addressing a blasé young man
lounging wearily by:
“Horace, do you know who that is talking with Miss Bancroft?”
Horace, a round-shouldered blond whose high collar seemed to
force his chin, not upward, but outward horizontally, fingered the
ends of a frail mustache and asked:
“You mean that pigeon-toed fellow with the dark face?”
Miss Cabot could not help laughing. “There’s a summing up of your
beauty,” she exclaimed, turning to the sculptor.
He smiled as he answered: “It is evident you are an admirer. But do
you know who he is?”
“Yes, I know him.”
“Well, what is it? A Hindu prince, a Persian poet, or a simple corsair
of the Adriatic?”
“He is a Connecticut farmer.”
“Never!”
“And his name is Judd—Amos Judd.”
“Oh, dear!” sighed Miss Cabot. “What a come down! We hoped he
was something more unusual than that.”
“Well, he is more unusual than that. He is a paralyzer of the female
heart. I knew him in college. At dances and parties we were
generally sure to find him tucked away on the stairs or out on a
porch with the prettiest girl of the ball, and he looked so much like an
Oriental prince we used to call him the Bellehugger of Spoonmore.”
“Disgusting!”
“But that is a trifling and unimportant detail of his character, Miss
Cabot, and conveys a cold impression of Mr. Judd’s experiences.
Don Giovanni was a puritanical prig in comparison. Then at college
he had the bad taste to murder a classmate.”
Miss Cabot looked up in horror.
“But then he had his virtues. He could drink more without showing it
than any fellow in college, and he was the richest man in his class.”
“Oh, come now, Horace,” said the sculptor, “you are evidently a good
friend of his, but your desire to do him a good turn may be carrying
you beyond the limits of—how shall I say it?”
“You mean that I am lying.”
“Well, that is the rough idea.”
Horace smiled. “No, I am not lying. It is all true,” and he passed
wearily on.
It was not many minutes before Molly Cabot was again moving over
the floor, this time with the son of the house. Stephen Van Koover
was one of those unfortunates whose mental outfit qualified him for
something better than the career of clothes and conversation to
which he was doomed by the family wealth.
“This recalls old times. Isn’t it three or four years since we have
danced together?” he asked. “Or is it three or four hundred?”
“Thank you! I am glad you realize what you have missed.”
“You do dance like an angel, Miss Molly, and it’s a sin to squander
such talent on me. I wish you would try it with Judd; my sisters say
his dancing is a revelation.”
“Judd, the murderer?”
“Who told you that?”
“Horace Bennett.”
“I might have guessed it. Truth and Horace were never chums. Judd
bears the same relation to Horace as sunshine to a damp cellar.”
As the music ceased they strolled to a little divan at the end of the
room.
“He did kill a man, a classmate, but he had the sympathies of his
entire class. It was partly an accident, anyway.”
“I am glad for his sake, as there seems to be a prejudice against
murder.”
“This was a little of both. We were having a supper, about twenty of
us, just before class-day. After the supper, when we were all a trifle
hilarious, Slade came up behind Judd and poured some wine down
his neck. Judd faced about; then Slade made a mock apology, and
added an insulting speech. He was a master in that sort of thing, and
while doing it he emptied his wineglass into Judd’s face. Now Judd is
overweighted with a peculiar kind of Oriental pride, and also with an
unfortunate temper; not a bad temper, but a sudden, unreliable,
cyclonic affair, that carries the owner with it, generally faster than is
necessary, and sometimes a great deal farther. Now Slade knew all
this, and as he was an all-around athlete and the heavier man, there
was no doubt in our minds that he meant Judd should strike out, and
then he would have some fun with him.
“Well, Judd grew as black as a thundercloud, but he kept his temper.
His hand shook as he wiped his face with his handkerchief and
quietly turned his back upon him. Then it was that the other man
made the crowning error of his life. He was just enough of a bully to
misunderstand Judd’s decent behavior, and his contempt was so
great for one who could accept such an indignity that he kicked him.
Judd wheeled about, seized him by the throat and banged his head
against the wall with a force and fury that sobered every fellow in the
room. Close beside them was an open window reaching to the floor,
with a low iron railing outside. Judd, half lifting him from the floor,
sent him flying through this window, and over the balcony.”
“Gracious! Was he dead from the blows on his head?”
“No, but a blow awaited him outside that would have finished an ox.
This window was about thirteen feet from the ground, and below it
stood a granite hitching post. When Slade came down like a diver
from a boat and struck head foremost against the top of this post
something was sure to suffer, and the granite post is there to-day,
with no signs of injury.”
“How can you speak of it in such a tone!”
“Well, I am afraid none of us had a deep affection for the victim. And
then Judd was so refreshingly honest! He said he was glad Slade
was dead; that the world would be better if all such men were out of
it, and refused to go to the funeral or to wear the usual class
mourning.”
“Which was in disgustingly bad taste!”
“Possibly, but uncommonly honest. And then it is hardly fair to judge
him by our standards. He is built of foreign material, and he had
received something that it was simply not in his nature to forgive.”
Their voices were drowned in the music that again filled the room.
The dance over, they sauntered out into the large hall, where
Flemish and Italian tapestries formed an opulent harmony with Van
Koover portraits. In the air of this apartment one breathed the
ancestral repose that speaks of princely origin. It was not intended,
however, that this atmosphere should recall the founder of the house
who, but four generations ago, was peddling knick-knacks along the
Bowery.
As Miss Cabot was uncomfortably warm and suggested a cooler air
he led her to the farther end of the long hall, beyond the stairs, and
halted at the entrance of a conservatory.
“Delicious!” and she inhaled a long breath of the fresh, moist air.
“Wait for me just a moment, and I will bring you the glass of water,”
and he vanished.
An inviting obscurity pervaded this conservatory, which, like the rest
of the Van Koover mansion, was spacious and impressive. At the
farther end, the gloom was picturesquely broken by rays of
moonlight slanting through the lofty windows. The only living
occupants seemed to be one or two pairs of invisible lovers, whose
voices were faintly audible above the splashing of the little fountain
in the centre. This busy fountain formed a discreet accompaniment
to the flirtations in the surrounding shrubbery. Stepping to the side of
the basin, she stood for a moment looking down into its diminutive
depths. The falling water and the distant music formed a soothing
melody, and a welcome restfulness stole gently upon her senses as
she inhaled, with the fragrance of the tropics, the peace and poetry
of a summer night. She stood for a moment yielding to a gentle
enchantment; it seemed a different world, apart from the great city in
which she lived, a world of flowers, and perfumes, of fountains and
perpetual music; of moonlight and of whispering lovers.
At last, as if waking from a dream, the girl raised her head and
looked toward the windows beyond, where a flood of moonlight
illumined deep masses of exotic foliage, repeating them in fantastic
shadows on the marble floor. Walking slowly from the fountain, she
lingered between the overhanging palms, then stepped into the
moonbeams, a radiant figure with her bare neck and arms and
glistening jewels in this full white light, against the gloom of the
conservatory. The diamonds in the crescent above her forehead
flashed as if quivering into life as she stopped and looked up at the
planet.
A figure close beside her, that had formed part of the surrounding
shadow, started back with a suddenness that caused her, also, to
retreat a step and press a hand to her heart. It was more from
nervousness than fear, as she was simply startled. She at once
recovered herself, ashamed at being taken off her guard, but a
glance at the man beside her, whose face was now also in the light,
filled her with a fresh surprise. It was the Oriental beauty; the
murderer, Judd, and the intensity of his expression almost frightened
her. His eyes were fixed upon her own in speechless wonder, and as
they moved to the crescent in her hair, then back again to her face,
they showed both terror and astonishment. Yet it seemed a look of
recognition, for he bent eagerly forward, as if to make sure he were
not mistaken.
It was all in an instant. Then, with a step backward and an inclination
of the head, he stammered:
“I beg your pardon. I—I was startled. Pray forgive me.”
He gave an arm to his companion, a pretty girl in pink who, standing
behind him, had missed the details of the little scene, and they
walked away among the plants and out of the conservatory.
Later in the evening, as Miss Cabot stood near the door of the ball-
room, the girl with whom she was speaking introduced a friend, and
she found herself again in the presence of the Connecticut farmer,
the young man of the moonlight. But this time he wore a very
different expression from that of the conservatory. There was a
pleasant smile on the dark and somewhat boyish face as he
apologized for the scene among the plants. “I am sorry if it annoyed
you, but I was startled by an unexpected resemblance.”
She looked into his eyes as he spoke, and understood why the
sculptor should have been enthusiastic over such a face. It was of an
unfamiliar type, and bore a curious resemblance to those she had
attributed as a child to the heroes of her imagination. The eyes were
long, dark, and seemed capable of any quantity of expression, either
good or bad. Miss Cabot was uncertain as to whether they pleased
her. At present they looked somewhat anxiously into her own with a
touch of misgiving. Nevertheless, she felt that he was telling her only
a portion of the truth.
 “I beg your pardon, I—I was startled”
“If it is my misfortune to startle unsuspecting guests when I come
upon them without notice, it is for me to apologize. No,” then
continuing hastily, as he began a protestation: “You needn’t explain!
Do not trouble yourself to tell me that only the most disturbing types
of beauty cause you just that kind of a shock.”
“But why not, if it is the truth? Besides, as you stepped out into the
moonlight you were a blinding apparition, all in white, against the
darkness behind. I have no doubt the moon herself was a little
startled.”
“You certainly were less happy in concealing your agitation than the
—other victim.”
Although his manner was deferential and gave indications of a
positive but discreetly repressed admiration, she felt ill at ease with
him. It was impossible to forget his repulsive title, and turning partly
away she looked over the room, and answered:
“Since you are completely recovered and my apology is accepted, I
suppose there is nothing more to be done.”
As the words were uttered the opening strains of a waltz came
floating across the hall, and he begged that she give him a dance in
token of absolution. It was easier to grant it than to refuse, and in
another moment they were gliding over the floor. As they moved
away she experienced a new sensation. This partner, while adapting
himself to her own movements, carried her with a gentle force that
relieved her of all volition. While, in effect, borne up and along by the
music, she was governed by a pressure that was hardly perceptible;
yet, at a critical instant, when a reckless dancer came plunging
toward them, she felt herself swung lightly from his path, to relapse
at once into a tranquil security and float peacefully away. This
floating with the music was so easy, so very drowsy and relaxing,
that her consciousness almost drifted with the rhythm of the waltz.
Once, as her eyes were uplifted to the gorgeous frieze, the white-
winged Cupids that a moment before were lolling idly against the
blue and gold background seemed now to be keeping time with the
music, swaying and dancing in their irresponsible nakedness.
Miss Cabot was surprised when the music ceased and at once
regretted having danced such a length of time with a stranger of
unsavory reputation. As they left the ball-room and entered the
ancestral hall she was flushed and out of breath, endeavoring with
one hand to replace a lock of hair that had fallen about her neck.
“It’s a shame,” he muttered.
“What? That we danced so long?”
“Oh, no! That it should ever end!”
They looked about for a resting-place, but all were occupied. Girls in
pink, in white, in pale blue, in delicate yellow, in every color that was
becoming to their individual beauty, or to its absence, were clustered
about the great hall, filling every seat. Around them, like bees in a
flower-garden, hovered men in black.
“There is our chance,” he said, pointing to the stairs. Upon the first
landing, but three steps from the floor, there was a semicircular
recess along whose wall ran a cushioned seat. At the entrance, upon
a pedestal of Sienna marble, sat a Cupid with a finger upon his lips;
a bit of ancient sculpture from a Roman temple. Behind him, within,
an inviting gloom suggested repose and silence. As they stepped
upon the tiger-skin that nearly covered the landing, Miss Cabot was
accosted by a man whose thoughtful face brightened up at the
meeting. When he glanced at her companion there was a similar
welcome, and they called each other John and Amos, and appeared
to be on intimate terms. After a short conversation he left them and
descended into the hall. She was puzzled at the friendship of these
two men, and wondered what there could possibly be in common
between a promising clergyman of exceptional purity of character
and this dissolute, hot-headed Judd. As they seated themselves in
the alcove, she said, in a tone of surprise:
“So you and John Harding are friends!”
He smiled. “Yes; and I lament your astonishment.”
She blushed at her stupid betrayal of the thought, while he made no
effort to conceal his amusement.
“It may be an unkind thing to say of him, but we have been good
friends for several years.”
Laying her fan in her lap, she devoted both hands to the wandering
lock. “Is that what drove him to the church?”
“No. For that I am not responsible, thank Heaven!”
“Why thank Heaven? Is there any harm in being a clergyman?”
“It depends on the man. In this case it certainly seems a waste of
good material.”
Now, it happened that Molly Cabot’s religious convictions were
deeply rooted, and she felt a thrill of indignation at this slur upon a
sacred calling. Of course, it was not surprising that a spoiled youth
with a murderous temper should prove an atheist and a scoffer, but
she was irritated, and instinctively took the field as the champion of a
righteous cause.
“Then you consider it a waste of good material for an honest man to
serve the church?”
Her energy surprised him, but he answered, pleasantly: “I do not say
that. No one is too good for any honest work. I only say that a man of
John Harding’s originality and courage puts himself in a false
position by so doing.”
“I do not see how,” and her eyes were fixed upon his own in open
hostility. He still smiled serenely and met her glance with provoking
calmness.
“Well, at present he is young and full of enthusiasm, believing
everything, and more besides; but he is only twenty-seven now and
will do a heap of thinking before he is forty. The pathetic part of it is
that he binds himself to a creed, and the man who can think for
thirteen years on any subject without modifying his faith ought to be
in a museum.”
“Not if it is the true faith.”
“If it is the true faith, there is danger in thinking, as he may think
away from it; so why waste a brain like Harding’s?”
In spite of a certain deference and gentleness of tone with which he
uttered these positive sentiments there was evident enjoyment in the
shock they created. While he was speaking she noticed in the centre
of his forehead a faint scar about the size of a thimble end. It
seemed an evanescent mark, only visible when he turned his face at
certain angles with the light, and suggested the thought that if all
young men of such opinions were marked in a similar manner it
might serve as a wholesome warning to unbelievers.
She looked down at her fan a moment, then answered, very quietly:
“So all clergymen over forty are either hypocrites or fools. It must be
very satisfying to entertain a thorough contempt for so large a
profession.”
“Oh, don’t say contempt. Rather an excess of sympathy for the
unfortunate.”
At that moment Horace Bennett, in ascending the stairs, stopped for
an instant upon the landing and stood facing them. His eyes rested
upon herself and Mr. Judd, then she saw him glance at the marble
Cupid who, with his finger to his lips, seemed acting as a sentinel for
whatever lovers were within. Then he pulled the ends of his
miserable little mustache, and with a half-suppressed smile muttered
something to his companion, and they passed up the stairs. The hot
blood flew to her cheeks as she recalled what he had said earlier in
the evening of this man beside her: “We were sure to find him tucked
away on the stairs or out on the porch with a girl. So we called him
the Bellehugger of Spoonmore.”
Never in her life had she felt so degraded, so cheapened in her own
esteem. Hot, cold, with burning cheeks, and tears of mortification in
her eyes she rose from her seat, pressing a handkerchief against her
lips, and stepped swiftly out upon the landing and down into the hall.
Mr. Judd followed and inquired anxiously if she were ill; could he do
anything? His solicitude, which was genuine, caused her to realize
how extraordinary her behavior must appear to him. The close air in
the alcove, she answered coldly, must have affected her. It was only
a little dizziness.
To her great relief a young man came hurrying up, and exclaimed:
“I have been looking everywhere for you, Miss Cabot! The cotillion is
on!”
A formal nod to Mr. Judd, and she moved away with an unuttered
prayer that their paths in future might be far apart. Her wish was
granted, at least for that night, for she saw him no more at the Van
Koovers’.
When she reached home and entered her own chamber, the
moonlight was streaming into the room, and before turning up the
lights she had the curiosity to stand near the window with a hand-
glass and study her own reflection. Only the usual face was there,
and as usual, the nose was too short, the chin too long, and all the
other defects were present; but even in the moonlight they seemed
hardly sufficient to frighten a strong young man.
 III
A FIRST interview with the Hon. J. W. Cabot, senior member of the
firm of Cabot, Hollingsworth & Perry, generally resulted in a belief
that this distinguished lawyer was a severe, unsympathetic man
whose dignity, under ordinary pressure, was not likely to abate. An
abundant crop of short gray hair covered a square, well-shaped
head; a head that seemed hard and strong. His forehead, his jaw,
and his shoulders were also square, and they also seemed hard and
strong.
His manner was cold, his voice firm and even, and he was never
ruffled. The cool gray eyes rested calmly upon you as if screening,
out of consideration for your own fallacious knowledge, the
profundity of wisdom that reposed behind them. His memory seemed
infallible. The extent and accuracy of his legal knowledge was a
perpetual surprise, even to his partners. For simplifying complex
entanglements his clearness and rapidity amounted to a genius. His
fees were colossal. In short, he seemed just the man who would
never write such a note as this:
TOWHEAD:
I Shall bring an old friend to dinner to-night.
Don’t give us rubber olives or shad of last year’s vintage.
He is not a bric-à-brac shop.
Jimsey.
This document was sent to his daughter, who since her mother’s
death, three years ago, had managed the household. When a child
of five she overheard a friend address him frequently as Jim,
whereupon she adjusted a final syllable to render it less formal, and
ever after continued to use it.
It was an afternoon in March that this note arrived, nearly four
months after the ball at the Van Koovers’, and when, an hour or two
later, her father presented his old friend, Mr. Samuel Fettiplace, she
was struck by his enormous frame and by the extraordinary color of
his face. This color, a blazing, resplendent red, not only occupied his
nose and cheeks, but extended, in quieter tones, over his forehead
and neck, even to the bald spot upon the top of his head. It had
every appearance of being that expensive decoration that can only
be procured by a prolonged and conscientious indulgence in the
choicest Burgundies.
His large, round, light-blue eyes were all the bluer from their crimson
setting. A more honest pair she had never seen. These, with his
silver hair and benevolent forehead, gave the impression of a
pleasantly intemperate bishop. Molly Cabot well knew that her father,
and especially her mother, could never have achieved a warm and
lasting friendship for one whose habits were honestly represented by
such compromising colors.
With old-fashioned courtesy he gave her his arm into the dining-
room, and as they seated themselves at table he said: “You look like
your mother, Miss Molly, and I am glad of it; the same forehead and
eyes, and the same kind expression. I was afraid when I saw you
last you were going to look like your father. He isn’t so bad looking,
considering the life he has led, but it would be a calamitous thing for
a well-meaning girl to resemble any lawyer.”
She laughed: “But papa is not as bad as he looks, you know.”
“Yes, he is; I have known him longer than you have. But there seem
to be honors in dishonor. During these years that I have been trotting
about the globe he has been climbing higher and higher, until now
his legs are dangling from the topmost round. Why, I understand that
none but the solidest billionaires and the fattest monopolies presume
to retain him.”
“I am afraid someone took you for a hay-seed, Sam, and has been
stuffing you.”