It turns out that people who often play action games have higher 'attention' and 'cognitive ability,' and the era in which elites are trained through games may be coming
While video games tend to be demonized, with the World Health Organization (WHO) officially
Comparing the cognitive performance of action video game players and age‐matched controls following a cognitively fatiguing task: A stage 2 registered report - Campbell - British Journal of Psychology - Wiley Online Library
https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjop.12692
Playing video games may improve attention and | EurekAlert!
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1034799
Improved Attention and Memory: Scientists Uncover New Cognitive Benefits of Video Games
https://scitechdaily.com/improved-attention-and-memory-scientists-uncover-new-cognitive-benefits-of-video-games/
To conduct their study, a research team from the University of Limerick in Ireland first recruited participants from local universities and the gaming community, recruiting 88 young people aged 18 to 35 with no neurological or colour blindness disorders.
Based on participants' self-reported gaming habits, they divided participants into two groups: 44 'action video game players (AVGPs)' who played action games 7 hours or more per week, and 44 'non-gamers (NGs)' who played games less than 1 hour per week. In this study, action games were defined as first-person shooters (FPS), third-person shooters (TPS), and multiplayer online battle arenas (MOBAs).
Each participant then completed three cognitive tasks: a simple reaction time test, a test that primarily assessed working memory, and a test that assessed visuospatial memory, or the ability to remember visual locations.
Analysis of the test results showed that the AVGP group, who played games regularly, completed tests of working memory and visuospatial memory 12.7% faster than the NG group in terms of simple reaction time, but 17.4% faster than the NG group in terms of more advanced cognitive function.
Previous studies have shown that people who play games a lot tend to have faster simple reaction times, but this study did not find much difference. The research team analyzed the reason for this: 'Research on traditional sports has shown that athletes outperform non-athletes in this type of task. Therefore, it is possible that non-gamers playing sports more frequently than gamers may be bridging the gap between those who play games a lot and those who do not.'
On the other hand, the gamers' superior performance on more advanced tasks such as complex attention, information processing, and visuospatial memory is 'consistent with the fact that action games demand these abilities,' the team noted.
For example, to win an FPS match, players must use their motor and visual skills to perform precise maneuvers, flexibly allocate attentional resources to assess the situation, use decision-making skills to quickly avoid enemy attacks, and understand the in-game environment using a map stored in working memory.
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'Regular video game play is often seen as unhealthy and frequently stigmatised, but our research suggests that gamers may enjoy more cognitive benefits around attention and memory than the general population,' said Adam Toth from the University of Limerick, one of the study's authors, in a statement.
'Video games may soon be advocated for training elites in skills such as surgery or air traffic control, where cognitive skills are paramount,' added fellow author Mark Campbell.
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