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Page 21
Volume 3
Psychology 2019
July 31-August 01, 2019
Journal of Clinical Psychology and Cognitive Science
July 31-August 01, 2019 | Amsterdam, Netherlands
PSYCHOLOGY AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE
22
nd
World Congress on
Effect of systematic two-year chess intervention on the IQ of school children
Veena Easvaradoss
1
, Ebenezer Joseph
2
and
H Muthurajan
3
1
Women’s Christian College, India
2
University of Madras, India
3
CSI Computech India Pvt. Ltd., India
R
esearch on the effect of chess training on cognitive abilities has generally pointed to increases in IQ and cognitive
functioning among children. However, some studies have not substantiated this finding. The present study, funded by the
Cognitive Science Research Initiative, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, analyzed the effect of
2-year systematic chess training on the IQ of schoolchildren. A pre-test–post-test with control group design was used. The
sample was randomly selected from children studying in four city schools (grades 3–9), which included both the genders.
The experimental group (N=80) underwent weekly chess training for 2 years, while the control group (N=77) was involved in
extracurricular activities offered in school such as cricket, football, and hockey. Both the groups were involved in these activities
after school hours. Intelligence was measured by Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV INDIA). This test yields
five composite scores—Full Scale IQ, Working Memory Index, Processing Speed Index, Verbal Comprehension Index, and
Perceptual Reasoning Index. Assessment was carried out prior to the chess training, after 1 year of training, and after 2 years of
training by psychologists. The training methodology comprised Winning Moves Chess Learning Program with the demonstration
board, on-the-board playing and training, chess exercise through workbooks, and working with chess software, which was
carried out by trained chess coaches. Preliminary analysis at the end of 1 year revealed significant increases in all indices except
verbal comprehension. Results of ANCOVA (Analysis of Covariance) carried out at the completion of 2 years will be presented
in the paper.
Biography
Veena Easvaradoss is associate professor and Head of the Psychology Department, Women’s Christian College, Chennai, India. She is
a professional clinical psychologist whose research interests include evaluation of the effectiveness of clinical, counseling and educational
interventions in normal and clinical groups, test construction to measure psychosocial functions and positive psychology and mental health.
She is the co-investigator of the Government of India-funded Department of Science and Technology project.
veenadoss@gmail.comClin Psychol Cog Sci, Volume 3