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DOOM'd to switch: superior cognitive flexibility in players of first person shooter games

Year: 2010

Type: article

Abstract: The interest in the influence of videogame experience on our daily life is constantly growing. "First Person Shooter" (FPS) games require players to develop a flexible mindset to rapidly react to fast moving visual and auditory stimuli, and to switch back and forth between different subtasks. This study investigated whether and to which degree experience with such videogames generalizes to other cognitive-control tasks. Video-game players (VGPs) and individuals with little to no videogame experience (NVGPs) performed on a task switching paradigm that provides a relatively well-established diagnostic measure of cognitive flexibility. As predicted, VGPs showed smaller switching costs (i.e., greater cognitive flexibility) than NVGPs. Our findings support the idea that playing FPS games promotes cognitive flexibility.

Source: Frontiers in Psychology

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2010.00008

Authors: Lorenza S. Colzato, Pieter J A van Leeuwen, Wery P M van den Wildenberg, Bernhard Hommel

Institutions: Leiden University, University of Amsterdam

Language: English

Topic: Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,801

OpenAlex ID: W2008126170

FWCI: 6.289

Cites: 20

Cited by: 241

Related to: 10