Science & insight

Notes from the WelloWork research team.

A working space for methodology notes, literature reviews, and observations from pilot cohorts. We publish work-in-progress with caveats, not finished claims.

Research noteWork in progress
ConstructN-back transfer
StatusHypothesis
ConfidenceLow–Medium
Confidence35%
Last updatedPilot cohort 2 · Pending replication

What lives under Science & insight? Methodology notes, mini-literature reviews, and observations from early pilot cohorts. The goal is to show our working — including the places where the literature does not yet support the kind of claim a marketing page would want to make.

Methodology notes
How we designed each construct and why.
Mini literature reviews
What the research actually says — including the weak spots.
Pilot observations
Early cohort data and what it changed in our design.

What can readers expect here?

Short, dated notes on a specific construct or design decision. Each note will name its primary sources, identify where it's a working hypothesis versus an established finding, and link back to the methodology overview for context.

Working hypothesis vs. established finding
Within-employee normalisationWorking hypothesis
Note · 2026-Q2Pilot cohort 2

Per-employee z-scoring removes inter-individual noise that population-relative scoring inherits. The transfer cost is measurable but small in pilot data.

Primary sources cited
[1]Owen et al. (2010); Melby-Lervåg & Hulme (2013); Soveri et al. (2017).
Confidence level indicated
Confidence
Medium
Links back to methodologyLinked from methodology overview →

What will be published first?

A small set of notes already in draft. Each will land with the caveats baked in — including null results and design changes we made in response to early data.

N01
Within-employee normalisation
Scoring methodology
Coming first
N02
N-back transfer effects
Construct validity
Includes null results
N03
Minimum team-size thresholds
Aggregation design
Applied
N04
Session-cadence drop-off
Pilot observation
Design response included

What this is not

This is not a marketing blog and not a peer-reviewed publication. It's the in-between layer where we keep ourselves honest in public.

Marketing blogClaims without uncertainty
Science & Insight
Working notes · caveats visible · honest about gaps
Peer-reviewed journalFinished claims · full peer review

Anything that reaches publication standard will be linked from here.

Why field-based research changes what we measure

Standard cognitive batteries make people better at cognitive batteries. Our scenarios are built from how work actually happens — so what we measure transfers.

How cognitive games measure performanceLimitation

Participants improve at the game. Transfer to actual workplace complexity: limited. Dozens of meta-analyses confirm this.

How WelloWork measures performanceField-grounded

Designed from field observations of real workplace decisions. Measures behavioral patterns, not game skill.

How to follow updates

For now, the easiest way to follow updates is to subscribe via contact — we will not add anyone to any list without explicit opt-in, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

No finished claims
We publish before we're certain. We say so.
Sources named
Every note identifies primary literature.
Opt-in only
No list adds. Unsubscribe any time.

Want a methodology question answered?

If you'd like a specific question on the literature or our approach addressed in a note here, tell us via the contact form — we read everything.