Gaming: bad or good for your memory?
Couldn't be gaming a fast, easy way to improve your memory?
Violent video games, such as First Person Shooter games, are often accused in the media of making people more aggressive. However, the question is: do these games have also positive effects for our mental processes?
To read more about this research, see: Colzato, L.S., van den Wildenberg, W., Zmigrod, S. and Hommel, B. (2013). Action video gaming and cognitive control: Playing first person shooter games is associated with improvement in working memory but not action inhibition. Psychological Research, 77, 234-239.
Update: this videoblog was featured on ScienceDaily and Gamer.nl.
2 Comments
Nice research! I've always been convinced that games have a very real and underestimated impact on one's cognitive development.
Having had a game-heavy youth and sincerely believing in the value of good video games, I'd love to see more research in this area. For example the specific effects on thought/learning for different genres of games, and a more thorough analysis on the developmental effects of gaming in children.
Also, I think that if we get a better idea on how video games stimulate us, we could greatly aid the gaming industry in making better games, that do not rely on addictiveness (The app generation really is suffering from that), but on sheer quality and intellectual engagement. This reason isn't really economical, but more social: The sensitive brains of our youth are bound to be exposed to games everywhere, it would benefit us greatly if the quality of these games would increase.
In any case, would love to see more research into this domain of gaming and cognition!
ScienceDaily writes about this videoblog in: 'Video Games: Bad or Good for Your Memory?'
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130418094751.htm
The video is also featured on the Dutch gamer website Gamer.nl:
http://www.gamer.nl/nieuws/422820/werkgeheugen-van-shooter-spelers-flexibeler