Abstract
Background: Although several excellent reviews and meta-analyses have investigated the effect of video game trainings as tools to enhance well-being, most of them specifically focused on the effects of digital games on brain plasticity or cognitive decline in children and seniors. On the contrary, only one meta-analysis results to be focused on the adult population, and it is restricted to examining the effects of training with a particular genre of games (action video games) on cognitive skills of healthy adults.Objectives: This systematic review was aimed to identify research evidences about the impact on cognitive [i.e., processing and reaction times (RTs), memory, task-switching/multitasking, and mental spatial rotation] and emotional skills of video games training in the healthy adult population.Methods: A multi-component analysis of variables related to the study, the video games, and the outcomes of the training was made on the basis of important previous works. Databases used in the search were PsycINFO, Web of Science (Web of Knowledge), PubMed, and Scopus. The search string was: [(“Video Games” OR “Computer Games” OR “Interactive Gaming”)] AND [(“Cognition”) OR (“Cognitive”) OR (“Emotion”) OR (“Emotion Regulation”)] AND [“Training”].Results: Thirty-five studies met the inclusion criteria and were further classified into the different analysis' variables. The majority of the retrieved studies used commercial video games, and action games in particular, which resulted to be the most commonly used, closely followed by puzzle games. Effect sizes for training with video games on cognitive skills in general ranged from 0.06 to 3.43: from 0.141 to 3.43 for processing and RTs, 0.06 to 1.82 for memory, 0.54 to 1.91 for task switching/multitasking, and 0.3 to 3.2 for mental spatial rotation; regarding video games for the training of emotional skills, effect sizes ranged from 0.201 to 3.01.Conclusion: Overall, findings give evidences of benefits of video games training on cognitive and emotional skills in relation to the healthy adult population, especially on young adults. Efficacy has been demonstrated not only for non-commercial video games or commercial brain-training programs, but for commercial video games as well.
Highlights
Over the last 40 years, video games have increasingly had a transformational impact on how people play and enjoy themselves, as well as on many more aspects of their lives (Yeh et al, 2001; Zyda, 2005; Boyle et al, 2012)
Video Games Category Considering the entirety of the studies, 42 commercial video games and 7 non-commercial video games have been tested as training tools for cognitive or emotional skills
As for video games used for cognitive enhancement a total of 38 commercial video games and 6 non-commercial video games have been adopted; concerning emotional enhancement, instead, 4 commercial games and 1 non-commercial game have been used as training tools in the studies included in this review
Summary
Over the last 40 years, video games have increasingly had a transformational impact on how people play and enjoy themselves, as well as on many more aspects of their lives (Yeh et al, 2001; Zyda, 2005; Boyle et al, 2012). While much of the early research on computer games focused on the negative impacts of playing digital games, on the impact of playing violent entertainment games on aggression (e.g., Ferguson, 2007), and addiction (e.g., Gentile, 2009), gradually, scientific studies have recognized the potential positive impact of video games on people’s health (e.g., Anderson et al, 2010; Jones et al, 2014). The field of computer gaming has increasingly developed toward serious purposes, and both commercial and non-commercial video games (i.e., developed ad hoc by researchers for the training of specific individuals’ skills) have been tested by several studies. Several excellent reviews and meta-analyses have investigated the effect of video game trainings as tools to enhance well-being, most of them focused on the effects of digital games on brain plasticity or cognitive decline in children and seniors. Only one meta-analysis results to be focused on the adult population, and it is restricted to examining the effects of training with a particular genre of games (action video games) on cognitive skills of healthy adults
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