Action video game play facilitates “learning to learn”

Action video game play facilitates “learning to learn”

Action video game play facilitates “learning to learn”

By Ru-Yuan Zhang, Adrien Chopin, Kengo Shibata, Zhong-Lin Lu, Susanne M. Jaeggi,Martin Buschkuehl, C. Shawn Green & Daphne Bavelier

Abstract

“Previous work has demonstrated that action video game training produces enhancements in awide range of cognitive abilities. Here we evaluate a possible mechanism by which suchbreadth of enhancement could be attained: that action game training enhances learning ratesin new tasks (i.e., “learning to learn”). In an initial controlled intervention study, we show that individuals who were trained on action video games subsequently exhibited faster learning inthe two cognitive domains that we tested, perception and working memory, as compared toindividuals who trained on non-action games. We further confirmed the causal effect ofaction video game play on learning ability in a pre-registered follow-up study that included alarger number of participants, blinding, and measurements of participant expectations. Together, this work highlights enhanced learning speed for novel tasks as a mechanismthrough which action video game interventions may broadly improve task performance in thecognitive domain.”

Reference

Zhang, R., Chopin, A., Shibata, K., Lu, Z., Jaeggi, S., Buschkuehl, M., . . . Bavelier, D. (2021, October 14). Action video game play facilitates "learning to learn". Retrieved February 25, 2022, from https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-021-02652-7

Keyword

Video games, game training, learning, perception, cognitive abilities, research