# How to increase your IQ: evidence and dual n-back

Canonical: https://romeoapps.app/en/dual-n-back/how-to-increase-iq/
Author: Roméo Gambino · Published: 2026-09-08 · Updated: 2026-09-08 · App: Dual N-Back (https://romeoapps.app/en/dual-n-back/)

Can you increase your IQ? Understand education, practice effects and the limits of brain training, then learn how to practise dual n-back on iPhone.

## Can you really increase your IQ?

An IQ score can change, but improving a score, learning a skill and increasing general intelligence are different outcomes. There is no reliable promise of a particular IQ gain from an app. A useful starting point is to choose what you want to improve: reasoning about unfamiliar problems, learning a subject or practising working-memory tasks.


## What an IQ score measures

IQ is a standardised score from cognitive tests, interpreted against a reference population. Depending on the test, tasks assess abilities such as reasoning, verbal knowledge and working memory. A single score does not describe every skill or your value as a person. A result from an online quiz is not interchangeable with a professionally administered, validated assessment.


## Education: evidence does not mean a personal guarantee

Ritchie and Tucker-Drob’s 2018 meta-analysis found evidence that additional education improves performance on intelligence tests. This concerns sustained education, not a few minutes in an app. It does not establish a guaranteed gain for an individual or show that every course has the same effect. For a practical goal, choose a subject, solve new problems and check what you can explain without help.

[How to remember what you study: recall and spaced review](https://romeoapps.app/en/dual-n-back/remember-what-you-study/)

## Why repeating an IQ test can raise the score

The meta-analysis by Scharfen, Peters and Holling (2018) documents retest effects in cognitive ability tests. Becoming familiar with the format can contribute to better results. Repeating the same quiz before and after training therefore cannot, by itself, prove an increase in general intelligence. Keep the test version, interval and testing conditions in mind when interpreting changes.


## Does dual n-back increase IQ?

Dual n-back requires tracking visual positions and sounds, comparing each with the one N steps earlier. Soveri and colleagues’ 2017 meta-analysis found stronger transfer to other n-back tasks than to different cognitive tasks. This supports caution about broad IQ claims. Research on a training method also does not validate every commercial app using it. Practise for the task itself; treat wider benefits as uncertain.

[Does dual n-back training work? What the evidence actually says](https://romeoapps.app/en/dual-n-back/does-dual-n-back-work/)

## A concrete way to begin

Read the rules, start at a level you understand and distinguish a position match from a sound match. At N=2, compare the current signal with the signal two turns earlier, not the previous turn. Choose a short session that fits your schedule and stop if you lose track of the rule. This is a practical starting suggestion, not a scientifically established dose for increasing IQ.

[How to play dual n-back: a clear first session](https://romeoapps.app/en/dual-n-back/how-to-play-dual-n-back/)

## Measure the skill you actually practised

Record the mode, N level, session length and results shown by the app. Compare sessions with similar settings rather than a personal best at one level with an average at another. Improved n-back performance is evidence of progress on n-back; it is not an IQ measurement. If your goal is studying, also assess that goal directly with unfamiliar questions on the subject.

[N-back levels explained: N=1, N=2, N=3 and beyond](https://romeoapps.app/en/dual-n-back/n-back-levels-explained/)

## Practise dual n-back on iPhone

If this exercise interests you, use the beginner guide and explore the Dual N-Back iPhone app through the App Store link on this page. Read the app’s current features and purchase conditions before downloading. This guide is published by the app’s developer and cites independent research; it does not report a clinical trial of the app. Choose a useful practice habit without attaching a promised IQ score to it.


## Further reading

- Ritchie & Tucker-Drob (2018), How Much Does Education Improve Intelligence? A Meta-Analysis — https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797618774253
- Scharfen, Peters & Holling (2018), Retest effects in cognitive ability tests: A meta-analysis — https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289617303276
- Soveri et al. (2017), Working memory training revisited: A multi-level meta-analysis of n-back training studies — https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13423-016-1217-0
- Pearson, WAIS-5 — cognitive domains, norms and professional assessment — https://www.pearsonassessments.com/en-us/Store/Professional-Assessments/Cognition-%26-Neuro/Wechsler-Adult-Intelligence-Scale-%7C-Fifth-Edition/p/P100071002?productId=A103000434001