What is “generalization” and has it been shown?
When scientists ask about generalization, they are asking whether the beneficial effects can be seen in measures that are not directly related to the task trained. For example, if I work on my golf swing, does my tennis game improve? Generalization is important because it shows that participants can reasonably expect to improve their cognition rather than just improve at a strategy that compensates for a cognitive deficiency. For example, using mnemonic strategies can help people remember lists but does not “generalize” to improvements in other memory tasks. Using “standard measures” is important because it shows that the generalization occurs with the kinds of measures that scientists know are useful and appropriate in the study of aging.
