Video game playing has consequences on motor and perception skills of gamers. The consequences ultimately alter their visual attention abilities in terms of attention with regard to space, objects, or time compared to non-gamers.
The article, “Action video game modifies visual selective attention” by Green and Bavelier demonstrates that perceptual learning results to improvement in given performance. Specifically, the article considers the consequences of action video game playing on visual attention skills.
Using a set of four experiments, the authors sought to test the hypothesis that video game playing enhances the visual attention abilities of players. Additionally, in their fifth experiment, non-gamers trained on action video game showed a significant improvement in visual attention abilities (Green, & Bavelier, 2003, p. 534). The first experiment involved a flanker compatibility effects tests that encompassed the use of enumeration tasks.
In the experiments, Video game players (VGPs) were able to identify more items than the non-video game players (NVGPs) did. This indicates that VGPs have a higher capacity to attend to more items at once compared to NVGPs.
Additionally, in experiment two, the compatibility effects among VGPs was high compared to NVGPs even at high levels of task difficulty, which is an indication of greater visual attention skills among VGPs (p< 0.01) (Green, & Bavelier, 2003, p. 536).
From these results, the authors conclude that habitual video game playing increases visual attention within the scope of video game playing. The VGPs also showed a consistent overall distracter effect at all levels of task difficulty, which indicate the high attention capacity among VGPs compared to NVGPs.
The third experiment involved comparing the spatial attention abilities in VGPs with NVGPs with regard to three different locations. Overall, the VGPs performed better in the three different locations compared to the NVGPs. This implies that the VGPs have a higher ability to locate items even in cases of many distracters (Green, & Bavelier, 2003, p. 536).
The results indicate a high spatial attention, even at a high number of distracters, for VGPs. Furthermore, the authors, in their fourth experiment, examined the VGPs’ attention over time compared to NVGPs. Overall, in all tasks such attention blink tests, the VGPs performed better than the NVGPs.
The fifth experiment involved comparing pre and post training performance with regard to visual acuity or field of view, attention-blink and enumeration tasks for all subjects (Green, & Bavelier, 2003, p. 537).
Overall, improved performance was seen for all subjects after training. From these findings, the authors conclude that video game playing, which allows players to juggle multiple tasks, results to improvement in attention resources.
In contrast, a related article, ‘Effect of Action Video Games on Spatial Distribution of Visuospatial Attention’, by Green and Bavelier specifically examines the effects of video game playing on spatial attention.
The authors attempt to separate central attention from peripheral attention resources using a flanker compatibility effect in VGPs and NVGPs (Green, & Bavelier, 2006, p. 1466). The first experiment involved a perpetual load paradigm in order to establish the spatial attention resources for both VGPs and NVGPs.
The authors established that distracting items affect VGPs at a higher perpetual load compared to NVGP. This indicates that the VGPs have greater attention resources than NVGPs. The second experiment involved UFOV (Useful Field of View) task paradigm using three different target eccentricities to measure the distribution of visual attention.
The target localization in VGPs was high than NVGPs implying an enhanced spatial attention for both central and peripheral locations among VGPs (Green, & Bavelier, 2006, p. 1465). The third experiment involved a training study, whereby VGPs were found to have improved performance on UFOV tasks and improvements in eye-hand coordination after training.
Thus, video game playing improves visual-motor coordination. From the results of the three experiments, the authors conclude that action video playing results to improvement in visual-spatial attention for VGPs and trained NVGPs (Green, & Bavelier, 2006, p. 1476).
Significance of the Studies
Visual attention involves a combination of mechanisms that allow the selective use of relevant information while at the simultaneously suppressing irrelevant information. This allows an individual to perceive many objects or visual information.
The studies indicate that habitual video game players outperform non-video game players with regard to spatial attention and attention over time and involving many objects (Green, & Bavelier, 2006, p. 1471). Additionally, the articles have established similar trends following training of NVGPs’ groups using training studies. This implies that training gives non-gamers experience, which results to improvement in attention.
Furthermore, the articles establish that different sets of video games produce contrasting effects on attention. In particular, action-video game playing that involves multiple visual-motor tasks, is fast-paced and involves tasks that divide attention has the greatest effects on attention.
Central to action video game-related increased performance in attention is the improvements in coordination of visual-motor activity (Green, & Bavelier, 2003, p. 432). The implications of enhancement in attention have many real-world applications especially in specialty areas that need high attention.
In particular, training of the work force to achieve high productivity, improvements in education performance and clinical rehabilitation of patients are some of the applications of attention enhancing video game playing.
Social and Cultural Implications of Video game playing
Given that the benefits of video game playing are many, the gaming industry is developing game products for educational purposes. The products create a gaming environment that foster reading and attentive skills among high school students (Jonassen, & Land, 2000, p. 127).
Additionally, gaming simulations developed in action video games are useful educational materials for training new soldier recruits such as the American Army. Action video games for this purpose have specially incorporated elements creating a virtual war environment to enhance visual-motor coordination.
Video game playing serves as motivational tools for employees at the workplace especially younger employees. Most companies have deployed video games in the workplace to boost performance, reduce absenteeism rates and increase morale among employees.
The video games enhance attention, which is essential for successful completion of any assigned task. Video games have also been used to enhance cultural competence (Jonassen, & Land, 2000, p. 132). This involves instilling strong language skills, cross-cultural skills such as cultural awareness and sensitivity.
3-D simulations of social and cultural interactions are used to advance the cross-cultural skills among the youth. The simulations rely on artificial intelligence that allows learners to learn or try foreign real-life cultural practices in the expected social and cultural contexts. Additionally, this helps in developing strong business relationships involving partnerships from many cultures globally.
Video gaming is also an essential business-training tool to enable business executive to learn valuable leadership skills as well as strategic decision-making skills through simulations (Jonassen, & Land, 2000, p. 129).
Additionally, the video games give real-life economic indicators for decision making by business executives. In medical areas, video gaming, besides being a source of entertainment, has therapeutic effects for patients, especially hospitalized children.
Although visual attention has been adopted in creating gaming environment in training and health settings, I believe that research on visual attention should involve a 3D gaming environment. Previous research involves experiments that use purely 2D objects.
The 3D video games incorporate complex 3D objects and characters that interact in a 3D space that is remarkably different from the experiments employed in the previous research. I recommend that 3D experiments be used to future visual attention research and relate the results with the game environment.
Reference List
Green, S., & Bavelier, D. (2003). Action video game modifies visual selective attention. Nature, 423, 534-537.
Green, S., & Bavelier, D. (2006). Effect of Action Video Games on the Spatial Distribution of Visuaospatial Attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 32(6), 1465-1478.
Jonassen, D., & Land, S. (2000). The theoretical foundations of learning environment. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.