Video games as tools to achieve insight into cognitive processes.

Walter R Boot

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00003

Abstract

Video games as tools to achieve insight into cognitive processes.

Highlights

Though traditionally designed for entertainment purposes, video games are increasingly being used by psychologists to aid in our understanding of skill acquisition, cognitive capacity and plasticity, development and aging, and individual differences
Modern video games feature realistic graphics, compelling stories, are adaptive, have changing demands, and allow the player to approach in-game problems in many different ways. They are designed to be motivating and challenging, but not so challenging as to arouse a high level of frustration. While many of these changes make the study of modern video games more appealing and interesting, the increased complexity and diversity of these games make performance within them more difficult to understand, and this introduces challenges when using video games as tools to achieve insight into cognitive processes
Many of the articles included in this Research Topic revolve around the theme of transfer of training from video games to other measures of perception and cognition, inspired by the seminal work of Shawn Green, Daphne Bavelier, and others (Bavelier et al, 2012)

Summary

Introduction

Though traditionally designed for entertainment purposes, video games are increasingly being used by psychologists to aid in our understanding of skill acquisition, cognitive capacity and plasticity, development and aging, and individual differences. Modern video games feature realistic graphics, compelling stories, are adaptive, have changing demands, and allow the player to approach in-game problems in many different ways. While many of these changes make the study of modern video games more appealing and interesting, the increased complexity and diversity of these games make performance within them more difficult to understand, and this introduces challenges when using video games as tools to achieve insight into cognitive processes.

Results

Conclusion