Evidence for the advantages of assessing action video game proficiency in addition to gaming experience
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Investigations into whether playing action video games (AVGs) benefit other tasks, such as driving, have traditionally focused on gaming experience (i.e., hours played). A potential problem with this approach is that AVG experience only partially indexes the cognitive skills developed via gaming, which are presumably the source of other task benefits. Thus, a focus on experience, instead of gaming proficiency (i.e., skill level), may account for inconsistencies in existing literature. We investigated whether AVG experience or proficiency best predicts performance in simulated driving. We hypothesised that proficiency would better predict driving performance (speed control, lane maintenance, spare cognitive capacity) than experience. One-hundred-and-sixteen participants drove in a simulator and played an AVG (Quake III Arena). Proficiency predicted all aspects of driving performance, while experience only predicted lane maintenance. These findings highlight the benefits of measuring AVG proficiency, with implications for the video games literature, driving safety and the transfer of skill-based learning.
Source: Scientific Reports
Authors: James Howard, Vanessa K. Bowden, Serena Wee, Troy A. W. Visser
Institution: The University of Western Australia
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,590
Funder: Australian Government
OpenAlex ID: W4405847712