Abstract
BackgroundVideo games and virtual environments continue to be the subject of research in health sciences for their capacity to augment practice through user engagement. Creating game mechanics that increase user engagement may have indirect benefits on learning (ie, engaged learners are likely to practice more) and may also have direct benefits on learning (ie, for a fixed amount of practice, engaged learners show superior retention of information or skills).ObjectiveTo manipulate engagement through the aesthetic features of a motion-controlled video game and measure engagement’s influence on learning.MethodsA group of 40 right-handed participants played the game under two different conditions (game condition or sterile condition). The mechanics of the game and the amount of practice were constant. During practice, event-related potentials (ERPs) to task-irrelevant probe tones were recorded during practice as an index of participants’ attentional reserve. Participants returned for retention and transfer testing one week later.ResultsAlthough both groups improved in the task, there was no difference in the amount of learning between the game and sterile groups, countering previous research. A new finding was a statistically significant relationship between self-reported engagement and the amplitude of the early-P3a (eP3a) component of the ERP waveform, such that participants who reported higher levels of engagement showed a smaller eP3a (beta=−.08, P=.02).ConclusionsThis finding provides physiological data showing that engagement elicits increased information processing (reducing attentional reserve), which yields new insight into engagement and its underlying neurophysiological properties. Future studies may objectively index engagement by quantifying ERPs (specifically the eP3a) to task-irrelevant probes.
Highlights
Motion-controlled video game systems such as Microsoft Kinect, Playstation Move, and Nintendo Wii have seen a surfeit of research in recent years because these kinds of virtual environments provide the opportunity for motivating interactions and full-bodied movements and providing additional feedback beyond the body’s intrinsic sensory systems [1,2,3]
There is some evidence that performing a complex motor skill in a stimulating game environment increases engagement and learning [10], the present study found no differences in engagement or learning between the game and sterile groups
While further research is needed to better understand the potential effects of engagement on learning, the current findings suggest we can predict individual differences in engagement with the event-related potential component, eP3a
Summary
Motion-controlled video game systems such as Microsoft Kinect, Playstation Move, and Nintendo Wii have seen a surfeit of research in recent years because these kinds of virtual environments provide the opportunity for motivating interactions and full-bodied movements and providing additional feedback beyond the body’s intrinsic sensory systems [1,2,3]. One of the major areas of interest in this research is the potential for certain game mechanics to reliably increase participant engagement [4,5]. Video games and virtual environments continue to be the subject of research in health sciences for their capacity to augment practice through user engagement. Event-related potentials (ERPs) to task-irrelevant probe tones were recorded during practice as an index of participants’ attentional reserve. Results: both groups improved in the task, there was no difference in the amount of learning between the game and sterile groups, countering previous research. Conclusions: This finding provides physiological data showing that engagement elicits increased information processing (reducing attentional reserve), which yields new insight into engagement and its underlying neurophysiological properties. Future studies may objectively index engagement by quantifying ERPs ( the eP3a) to task-irrelevant probes
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