Non-gamers might describe them as unproductive and social recluse individuals who spend countless hours a day in front of their personal computers, favorite gaming consoles, or mobile devices. This is somewhat expected. Gamers tend to detach themselves from the real world to dive into an immersive environment where they can solve problems, complete quests, defeat their virtual adversaries, or compete with other gamers.
The Mental and Cognitive Benefits of Playing Video Games: How and Why Video Games Can Make You Smarter
Enhances Social Skills and Behaviors
A study by Nicholas Taylor, Jennifer Jenson, Suzanne de Castell, and Barry Dilouya found that gaming augments the social lives of gamers. They traveled to more than 20 public gaming events in Canada and the United States to observe the social behaviors of gamers and survey 375 gamers playing massive multiplayer online role-playing games like EVE Online and World of Warcraft.
The online and offline behaviors were also tracked. Results revealed that gaming was only one aspect of social behavior at gaming events. Lead author Taylor said, “We found that gamers were often exhibiting many social behaviors at once: watching games, talking, drinking, and chatting online. Gaming did not eliminate social interaction; it supplemented it.”
Results further revealed that the aforementioned was true regardless of which video game titles gamers were playing and whether or not the behavior of a particular player in the online game was altruistic. For example, in considering social interactions or communications in-game, a player could be ruthless to other players and still socialize normally offline.
There is also a reason to believe that gamers are not only socially aware but also equipped to function in various social situations. A U.S. survey by research and consultancy firm LifeCourse Associates showed that gamers have more positive attributes than their non-gamer counterparts. These gaming enthusiasts tend to be more sociable and educated than non-gamers.
Results showed that gamers consider family a top priority—82 percent versus 68 percent—while also placing a high importance on friends than non-gamers—57 percent versus 35 percent. Gamers and their parents are also more likely to have finished their college education—43 percent and 52 percent—than non-gamers and their parents—36 percent and 37 percent.
Moreover, in terms of social values and norms, gamers were likely more predisposed to making a positive impact on society that non-gamers—76 percent versus 55 percent. They prefer patronizing businesses that promote social causes—58 percent versus 36 percent—and they give more importance to ethical business practices—78 percent versus 65 percent.
Video Games and Cognitive Abilities
There are more benefits to video gaming according to other studies. An internal research conducted by the United States Department of Defense, for example, discovered that gamers are considerably smarter than non-gamers. It is worth mentioning that there is a commonly held belief that most individuals achieve their full brain capacity by the age of 20.
However, according to the specific research spearheaded by Rey Perez, program officer at the warfighter performance department of the Office of Naval Research, which centered on exploring the effects of video game-like training programs, comparing the thinking skill or cognitive abilities of gamers and non-gamers showed surprising but important results.
Gamers perform 10 to 20 percent higher in terms of perceptual and cognitive abilities compared to non-gamers. The research further revealed gamers have longer attention spans that non-gamers. These individuals also have larger field of vision than normal people. All of these results suggest that gamers tend to have better neural processing and different neural development.
The aforesaid benefits have made video games an important training tool in the U.S. Department of Defense. Perez said that video games increase the fluid intelligence of individuals regardless of their age. Note that fluid intelligence is the ability to change, meet new problems, and develop new tactics and counter-tactics without prior knowledge or experience.
Evidence indicating increased brain plasticity due to video gaming is undeniable. Perez still noted that the involved biological and neurological processes are not well understood. He hypothesized that the neural networks involved in video gaming become more pronounced, have increased blood flow, and become more synchronized with other neural networks.
Comparing Players versus Non-Players: Why Video Gamers Tend to Be Smarter than Non-Gamers?
Visual Performance and Decision-Making
Not all genres of video games produce the same social, mental, and cognitive advantages. The study of Vikranth R. Bejjanki et al. demonstrated for the first time that people who played fast-paced action game titles like Call of Duty and Unreal Tournament had greater visual performance and prediction capacity than those who play non-action games.
The study specifically compared the visual performance of 10 action gamers with 10 non-action gamers who both played for 50 hours over a nine-week period. It measured the ability of the two groups to distinguish one set of black and white lines from another set presented in rapid fashion. Results revealed action gamers outperformed non-action gamers.
Neural modeling explained why action gamers performed better. Results showed that the brains of these individuals were better at estimating what various patterns of lines would look like before they appeared and then match those expectations to what they saw. Fast-paced games can enhance the prediction skills of the brain due to exposure to better perceptual templates.
Researchers from Drake University also discovered that video gamers tend to see more than normal individuals or non-gamers. The team of L. Gregory Appelbaum, Matthew S. Cain, Elise F. Darling, and Stephen R. Mitroff specifically compared the visual sensitivity of gamers and non-gamers by subjecting them to a visual sensory memory task and anlyzing their performance.
Findings revealed that gamers outperformed non-gamers. These results confirmed earlier research that these individuals are quicker at responding to visual stimuli and can track more items than their non-gamer counterparts. First author Appelbaum explained that gamers see the world differently and they are able to extract more information from a visual scene.
The researchers examined further the possible reasons for the apparent superior ability of video gamers to make probabilistic interferences. Memory was out of the picture. The researchers believe that it is possible that these individuals see more immediately and are better equipped at making the most appropriate decisions from all available information.
Benefits on Learning Capabilities
Another small study from researchers at Brown University suggests that gaming not only improves the visual skills of gamers but also may improve the relevant learning ability associated for those skills. The study authored by Andrew V. Berard et al. involved pitting nine frequent gamers against a control group of nine people who rarely or occasionally play video games.
The two groups participated in a two-day trial of visual task learning. All participants were shown an on-screen texture of either visual or horizontal lines and had to quickly point out—in a fraction of a second—the one area where an anomalous texture appeared. This is a standard protocol called a texture discrimination task in visual processing research.
Earlier studies demonstrated that most people can be trained to improve their performance on these tasks if they are given enough time for the learning to consolidate in their heads to allow neural circuits to take shape. For example, if they move on to a second task too quickly, this could interfere with how their brains process whatever learning took place from the first task.
The research team of Berard et al. wanted to determine if gamers are better at overcoming the effect of this interference than non-gamers. This involve training the research participants on a a second similar task soon after training them on the first. Their findings ultimately suggest that frequent video gaming allows individuals to resist perceptual interference.
Specific results showed that gamers specifically improved their combination of speed and accuracy by about 15 percent on their second task and about 11 percent on their first task. Non-gamers produced the same average 15 percent improvement on their second task. However, when in comes to learning the first task, their average score was only about 5 percent.
Takeaway: The Benefits and Applications of Playing Video Games According to Research
Most studies carried out to investigate the effects of video gaming were focused on exploring and evaluating its negative impacts. These include the potential for triggering aggression and violence, depression and addiction, poor academic or work performance, other antisocial tendencies or behaviors, and health ailments like obesity, among others.
But research on the positive impacts or benefits of video games has become increasingly important for researchers in the fields of communication, psychology, neuroscience, and public administration, among others. Studies revealed that there is more to video gaming than merely passing the time. The report published by LifeCourse Associates reiterated that perceptions about the effects of video games are now taking a positive turn.
Educational games are being integrated in classroom and workplace environments. Gaming consoles are used in retirement homes to keep aging individuals mentally engaged. Government agencies related to law enforcement and national security have recognized the value of video gaming as a tool for developing the skillsets of uniformed officials and personnel.
FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES
- Appelbaum, L. G., Cain, M. S., Darling, E. F., and Mitroff, S. R. 2013. “Action Video Game Playing is Associated with Improved Visual Sensitivity, But Not Alterations in Visual Sensory Memory.” Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics. 75(6): 1161-1167. DOI: 3758/s13414-013-0472-7
- Bejjanki, V. R., Zhang, R., Li, R., Pouget, A., Green, C. S., Lu, Z.-L., and Bavelier, D. 2014. “Action Video Game Play Facilitates the Development of Better Perceptual Templates.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 111(47): 16961-16966. DOI: 1073/pnas.1417056111
- Berard, A. V., Cain, M. S., Watanabe, T., and Sasaki, Y. 2015. “Frequent Video Game Players Resist Perceptual Interference.” PLOS ONE. 10(3): e0120011. DOI: 1371/journal.pone.0120011
- LifeCourse Associates. 2014. The New Face of Gamers. LifeCourse Associates. Available via PDF
- Taylor, N., Jenson, J., de Castell, S., and Dilouya, B. 2014. “Public Displays of Play: Studying Online Games in Physical Settings.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. 19(4): 763-779. DOI: 1111/jcc4.12054