Comparing the cognitive performance of action video game players and age-matched controls following a cognitively fatiguing task: A stage 2 registered report
Mark J. Campbell, Sarah C. Cregan, John M. Joyce, Magdalena Kowal, Adam J. Toth
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Recent work demonstrates that those who regularly play action video games (AVGs) consistently outperform non-gamer (NG) controls on tests of various cognitive abilities. AVGs place high demands on several cognitive functions and are often engaged with for long periods of time (e.g., over 2 h), predisposing players to experiencing cognitive fatigue. The detrimental effects of cognitive fatigue have been widely studied in various contexts where accurate performance is crucial, including aviation, military, and sport. Even though AVG players may be prone to experiencing cognitive fatigue, this topic has received little research attention to date. In this study, we compared the effect of a cognitively fatiguing task on the subsequent cognitive performance of action video game players and NG control participants. Our results indicated AVGs showed superior spatial working memory and complex attention abilities while showing no difference from NGs on simple attention performance. Additionally, we found that our cognitive fatigue and control interventions did not differentially affect the cognitive performance of AVGs and NGs in this study. This pre-registered study provides evidence that AVGs show superior cognitive abilities in comparison to a non-gaming population, but do not appear more resilient to cognitive fatigue.
期刊介绍:
The British Journal of Psychology publishes original research on all aspects of general psychology including cognition; health and clinical psychology; developmental, social and occupational psychology. For information on specific requirements, please view Notes for Contributors. We attract a large number of international submissions each year which make major contributions across the range of psychology.