Action Video Game Training for Healthy Adults: A Meta-Analytic Study

Ping Wang,Xi-Nian Zuo,Han-Hui Liu,Xing-Ting Zhu,Hui-Jie Li,Tian Meng

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00907

Abstract

Action video game (AVG) has attracted increasing attention from both the public and from researchers. More and more studies found video game training improved a variety of cognitive functions. However, it remains controversial whether healthy adults can benefit from AVG training, and whether young and older adults benefit similarly from AVG training. In the present study, we aimed to quantitatively assess the AVG training effect on the cognitive ability of adults and to compare the training effects on young and older adults by conducting a meta-analysis on previous findings. We systematically searched video game training studies published between January 1986 and July 2015. Twenty studies were included in the present meta-analysis, for a total of 313 participants included in the training group and 323 participants in the control group. The results demonstrate that healthy adults achieve moderate benefit from AVG training in overall cognitive ability and moderate to small benefit in specific cognitive domains. In contrast, young adults gain more benefits from AVG training than older adults in both overall cognition and specific cognitive domains. Age, education, and some methodological factors, such as the session duration, session number, total training duration, and control group type, modulated the training effects. These meta-analytic findings provide evidence that AVG training may serve as an efficient way to improve the cognitive performance of healthy adults. We also discussed several directions for future AVG training studies.

Highlights

The video game industry has developed for more than 40 years since the release of the first arcade machine and household gaming console
20 studies were included in the current metaanalysis, for a total of 313 participants included in the training group and 323 participants in the control group
The current analyses suggested that healthy adults achieved moderate benefits from Action video game (AVG) training in processing speed/attention, which was in line with previous findings

Summary

Introduction

The video game industry has developed for more than 40 years since the release of the first arcade machine and household gaming console. Green and Bavelier (2003, 2006a,b, 2007) conducted a series of AVG training studies on young adults and reported that AVG training brought positive impacts on various aspects of cognition functions, such as visual divided attention, visuospatial processing, working memory, and processing speed. Oei and Patterson (2013) used the AVG game Modern Combat to train 16 young adults for 4 weeks (20 h), they found that the participants improved their cognitive control and multiple object tracking ability. McDermott (2013) found that older adults increased their attention control ability in multiple areas after 50 h of AVG training and this effect last for 3–4 months. Other studies showed that prolonged experience of playing AVG produced positive cognitive effects on older adults (Stern et al, 2011; Maillot et al, 2012)

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