Citation

Strobach T, Frensch PA, Schubert T. Acta Psychol. 2012; 140(1): 13-24.

Affiliation

Unit of experimental and general psychology, Department Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany; Unit of general psychology, Department of Psychology, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.actpsy.2012.02.001

PMID

22426427

Abstract

We examined the relation of action video game practice and the optimization of executive control skills that are needed to coordinate two different tasks. As action video games are similar to real life situations and complex in nature, and include numerous concurrent actions, they may generate an ideal environment for practicing these skills (Green & Bavelier, 2008). For two types of experimental paradigms, dual-task and task switching respectively; we obtained performance advantages for experienced video gamers compared to non-gamers in situations in which two different tasks were processed simultaneously or sequentially. This advantage was absent in single-task situations. These findings indicate optimized executive control skills in video gamers. Similar findings in non-gamers after 15h of action video game practice when compared to non-gamers with practice on a puzzle game clarified the causal relation between video game practice and the optimization of executive control skills.

Language: en