Research suggests that training relational operant patterns of behavior can lead to increases in
general cognitive ability and educational outcomes. Most studies to date have been under
powered and included proxy measures of educational attainment. We attempted to extend
previous findings with increased experimental control in younger children (aged 6.9-10.1 yrs.).
Participants (N = 49) were assigned to either a relational training or chess control group. Over
five months, teachers assigned class-time to complete either relational training or play chess.
Those who were assigned relational training gained 8.9 Non-Verbal IQ (NVIQ) points, while
those in the control condition recorded no gains (dppc2 = .99). Regression analyses revealed that
post-training NVIQ predicted reading test scores (conducted approximately one month later)
over and above baseline NVIQ in the experimental condition only, consistent with what we
might expect in a full test of far transfer towards educational outcomes.