Abstract
The current study examined the effects of brief video game exposure on cognitive control using event-related potentials (ERPs). Cognitive control was assessed by ERP components associated with the ability to detect (N2) and resolve (SP) conflict when the conflict was either expected or unexpected. After playing either an action or strategy video game, participants completed a counting Stroop task while ERPs were recorded. The proportion of congruent to incongruent trials was manipulated across blocks to create conditions where conflict was expected or unexpected. While visual inspection of the behavioral and neural data revealed interesting patterns by video game, none of those effects were statistically significant. This is consistent with some previous work and inconsistent with other published data, suggesting that there is still much to learn about the relationship between cognitive control and video game experience.
Highlights
Video gaming has become a prevalent aspect of the United States’ culture [1]
Accuracy was lower in the Mostly congruent (Mc) Block (M = 0.94, SE = 0.01 pared to the Mostly incongruent (Mi) Block (M = 0.97, SE = 0.00), F(1, 33) = 17.55, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.12
The small effect sizes for between group differences in the three main outcomes appear to indicate that 20 min of exposure to either of the video games used in this study has little impact on conflict detection or resolution in the CStroop task
Summary
Video gaming has become a prevalent aspect of the United States’ culture [1]. According to a report by the Entertainment Software Association [1], during the year of 2018, 65%of American adults played video games, 70% of American families had at least one child who played video games, and 21% of gamers were under the age of 18. Approximately 48% of video game sales are of action/shooter games [1]. For these reasons, it is critical to understand the potential effects that video gaming may have on our cognitive capabilities, as these media are being rapidly consumed. Resolving conflict is the process of finding a solution or correcting an error; it is associated with sustained activity in the parietal cortex and lateral prefrontal cortex [3]. These aspects of cognitive control were elicited and measured in this study via the counting-Stroop (CStroop) and event-related potentials (ERPs) after participants had played an FPS or strategy video game for 20 min
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