Game over for Tetris as a platform for cognitive skill training

Abstract

Despite popular enthusiasm for using computer games as a way to train educationally relevant cognitive skills, a review of the research reveals a frequent lack of transferable learning outcomes resulting from computer game play (Mayer, 2014). One explanation could be that computer game environments are fast and forward-moving, whereas learning that leads to transfer is reflective, effortful, and requires integrating new information with prior knowledge. What can be added to computer games to facilitate learning that transfers outside of the game context? This study investigated how to train transferable spatial skills with Tetris. In Study 1 (value added study), participants who played Tetris along with explicit instruction in Tetris cognitive strategies across 4 sessions did not show greater gains in 6 cognitive skills, including spatial and perceptual skills, than participants who only played Tetris across 4 sessions. In Study 2 (cognitive consequences study), participants who played Tetris in Study 1 did not show greater gains in 6 cognitive skills than participants who did not play Tetris. This research demonstrates the failure of Tetris to train cognitive skills even with evidence-based training enhancements, and highlights the idea that fast-paced computer game playing can foster highly specific skills that do not transfer.