Comparison of mental rotation ability, attentional capacity and cognitive flexibility in action video gamers and non-gamers

Abstract

Nowadays, video games have become the most popular form of entertainment. For this reason, it is crucial to investigate the positive and negative consequences of gaming. The action genre is the most played amongst gamers and is interesting for cognitive psychology research because gaming requires many perceptual and cognitive abilities. The present study examined the association between playing action video games and the ability to mentally rotate objects, track multiple objects, and switch between tasks. Using a sample of emerging and young adults (18–37 years old), we compared non-gamers (N = 81) and action video gamers (N = 82). Results showed that playing action video games was related to better mental rotation ability and higher attentional capacity. Although gamers switched between tasks faster than non-gamers, the groups did not differ in switching costs, which are an important indicator of cognitive flexibility. The results suggest that playing action video games is positively associated with information processing speed, attention, and visuospatial abilities, and suggest a possible use of such games to improve these abilities.

Keywords

• action video games
• cognition
• mental rotation
• cognitive flexibility
• attention