TEMPORAL CHANGES IN VIDEO GAME PLAY AND SPATIAL VISUALIZATION SKILLS BY GENDER AMONG ENGINEERING STUDENTS

Abstract

Spatial thinking is considered to be a higher-level skill that is critical to success in engineering and in computer science. Further, there are significant gender differences in 3-D spatial skills among first-year engineering students, favoring males. Playing 3-D video games is viewed by many as one activity that may lead to highly developed spatial skills; video gaming is also viewed as a means for attracting students to the field of computer science. In this study, engineering students were administered a test of 3-D mental rotation during first-year orientation and also completed a background questionnaire designed to assess the amount of time spent playing typical 3-D video games during their childhood. Both instruments were administered in 2009 as well as in 2019. Through this research, it was found that men have higher spatial skill levels and spend more time playing 3-D video games compared to their female counterparts. Further, the amount of time spent playing 3-D video games increased significantly for males but not for females between 2009 and 2019. Playing 3-D video games was significantly correlated with spatial skill levels but appeared to be more important for females than for males in terms of developing these skills. Results from this study will inform video game developers as they create games of broad appeal in fulfillment of a dual role: attracting a diverse body of students to computer science programs while also developing the 3-D spatial skills necessary for success in those fields.