PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Put down that Xbox remote: FSU researcher suggests video games may not boost cognition

Put down that Xbox remote: FSU researcher suggests video games may not boost cognition
2011-09-16
(Press-News.org) Wouldn't it be nice if all those hours kids spent glued to their PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 or Nintendo DS video games actually resulted in something tangible? Better grades, perhaps? Improved concentration? Superior driving skills?

Over the past decade, many studies and news media reports have suggested that action video games such as Medal of Honor or Unreal Tournament improve a variety of perceptual and cognitive abilities. But in a paper published this week in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, Walter Boot, an assistant professor in Florida State University's Department of Psychology, critically reevaluates those claims.

Together with FSU psychology doctoral student Daniel Blakely and University of Illinois collaborator Daniel Simons, Boot lays out what he believes is a persuasive argument that much of the work done over the past decade demonstrating the benefits of video game play is fundamentally flawed.

"Despite the hype, in reality, there is little solid evidence that games enhance cognition at all," he said.

The authors make the case that a number of influential studies supporting the superior skills of action gamers suffer from a host of methodological flaws. Many of those studies compared the cognitive skills of frequent gamers to non-gamers and found gamers to be superior. However, Boot and his coauthors point out that this doesn't necessarily mean that their game experience caused better perceptual and cognitive abilities. It could be that individuals who have the abilities required to be successful gamers are simply drawn to gaming.

Researchers looking for cognitive differences between expert and novice gamers often recruit research participants by circulating ads on college campuses seeking "expert" video game players. That wording alone, Boot argues, "lets participants know how researchers expect them to perform on challenging, often game-like computer tests of cognition."

Media reports on the superior skills of gamers heighten gamers' awareness of these expectations. Even studies in which non-gamers are trained to play action video games have their own problems, often in the form of weak control groups, according to Boot and his coauthors.

Boot, who grew up playing video games, said at first he was excited about research that claimed playing action video games could enhance basic measures of attention. He and his fellow researchers conducted their own video-game training study to determine what other abilities might improve following video game play, but they were unable to replicate the training benefits found in earlier studies.

"The idea that video games could enhance cognition was exciting because it represented one of the few cases in which cognitive training enhanced abilities that weren't directly practiced," Boot said. "But we found no benefits of video game training." Not only did some of his studies fail to replicate those earlier findings, but "no study has yet met the 'gold standard' methods necessary in intervention studies of this sort."

In fact, certain methodological problems appeared again and again in the studies that Boot and Blakely and reviewed. Even more important than identifying flaws of previous studies, Blakely said, their new paper outlines a series of best practices for researchers who want definitive answers on the potential benefits of video game play.

Boot and Blakely haven't entirely written off video games as a way to boost perceptual and cognitive abilities; in fact, they're still open to the possibility. But before they start recommending video game interventions as a means to improve perception and cognition for kids, adults and senior citizens, they say more evidence is necessary.

"If people are playing games to improve their cognition, they may be wasting their time," Boot said. "Play games because you enjoy them, not because they could boost your brain power."



INFORMATION:


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Put down that Xbox remote: FSU researcher suggests video games may not boost cognition

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Are Kids on Medicaid Adequately Served by Medical Specialists?

2011-09-16
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that children covered by Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) were less likely to be seen by specialists than their wealthier peers. Researchers prepared two scripts for participants to use when they called 546 specialist clinics in Cook County, Illinois, home to Chicago and its surrounding suburbs. In one script, the callers, posing as mothers of sick children, reported symptoms of depression. In the other script, the callers described symptoms of type one diabetes. Although neither ...

Wisconsin Offers Debtors a Unique Form of Debt Relief: Chapter 128

2011-09-16
People facing mounting debt have a few options for managing their debt, including debt consolidation and filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Under Wisconsin law, debtors that reside in Wisconsin have an additional option: Chapter 128 debt amortization. Chapter 128 is not bankruptcy; but it is similar to Chapter 13 bankruptcy in many ways. Chapter 128 allows debtors to consolidate their debts and pay them off over a three-year repayment period. Through Chapter 128, debtors are able to consolidate debts like medical bills, credit card bills, and missed rent ...

Arctic ground squirrels muscle up to hunker down

2011-09-16
When Arctic ground squirrels are getting ready to hibernate they don't just get fat – they pack on muscle at a rate that would make a bodybuilder jealous. And they do it without suffering the harmful effects that high levels of testosterone and other anabolic steroids usually cause. University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) researchers have started to untangle how the squirrels manage it, and their results could someday have implications for human health. Arctic ground squirrels, it turns out, ramp up their anabolic steroid levels and keep them high not just during the ...

Smartphone battery life could dramatically improve with new invention

2011-09-16
ANN ARBOR, Mich.---A new "subconscious mode" for smartphones and other WiFi-enabled mobile devices could extend battery life by as much as 54 percent for users on the busiest networks. University of Michigan computer science and engineering professor Kang Shin and doctoral student Xinyu Zhang will present their new power management approach Sept. 21 at the ACM International Conference on Mobile Computing and Networking in Las Vegas. The approach is still in the proof-of-concept stage and is not yet commercially available. Even when smartphones are in power-saving ...

No Fault Divorces in Georgia

2011-09-16
No fault divorces are becoming increasingly common in Georgia. Traditionally, a party seeking a divorce would have to establish some type of fault recognized by statute in order for a court to grant a divorce. Fault may also be considered in the distribution of property as well as in child custody awards. Under Georgia law, there are 12 fault-based grounds upon which spouses may seek a divorce, including: - Marriage based on relationships prohibited by law - Mental incapacity at the time of the marriage - Impotency at the time of the marriage - Force, duress or fraud ...

Science and science education critical for Haiti's future, says international team convened by AAAS

2011-09-16
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti-- Haiti and the global community should work together to build a robust science sector that can help the nation recover from last year's deadly earthquake, support future development, and improve the lives of Haiti's people, says a new AAAS report by Haitian and international scientists and educators. The report, Science for Haiti, offers a set of strategic goals for increasing science capacity and urges collaboration between Haitian scientists, the international science community, donor and aid organizations, and other partners to achieve them. ...

Moffitt researchers find possible key to preventing chemotherapy resistance in ovarian cancer

2011-09-16
TAMPA, Fla. (Sept. 15, 2011) – For patients with ovarian cancer and their physicians, resistance to chemotherapy is a serious concern. However, researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have identified a molecular pathway that may play a key role in the evolution of chemotherapy resistance. They are hopeful that the discovery may lead to therapies that are tailored to individual patients with ovarian cancer; reversing resistance to chemotherapy and improving survival from the disease. "Few clinical or biologic events affect survival for patients with ovarian cancer more than ...

Chapter 128 Is An Alternative to Bankruptcy for Wisconsin Residents

2011-09-16
Many people struggling financially in the difficult U.S. economy are wondering if filing for bankruptcy is the right option to correct their financial situations. Those hesitant to take such a step for fear of what it could do to their future financial security may want to explore bankruptcy alternatives. One option gaining popularity is petitioning for Chapter 128 protection. In Milwaukee County alone, the number of Chapter 128 petitions doubled from 2008 to 2009 and tripled from 2009 to 2010, according to state court records. How Chapter 128 Works A debtor filing ...

Researchers discover a switch that controls stem cell pluripotency

2011-09-16
Toronto—Scientists have found a control switch that regulates stem cell "pluripotency," the capacity of stem cells to develop into any type of cell in the human body. The discovery reveals that pluripotency is regulated by a single event in a process called alternative splicing. Alternative splicing allows one gene to generate many different genetic messages and protein products. The researchers found that in genetic messages of a gene called FOXP1, the switch was active in embryonic stem cells but silent in "adult" cells—those that had become the specialized cells that ...

Study suggests methylation and gene sequence co-evolve in human-chimp evolutionary divergence

2011-09-16
Contact: Peter Tarr tarr@cshl.edu 516-367-8455 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Robert Perkins perkinsr@usc.edu 213-740-9226 University of Southern California Study suggests methylation and gene sequence co-evolve in human-chimp evolutionary divergence High-resolution comparison of methylation ‘bookmarks’ across species and individuals Cold Spring Harbor, NY -- Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) and the University of Southern California (USC) today published the first quantitative evidence supporting the notion that the genome-wide "bookmarking" ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Exercise as an anti-ageing intervention to avoid detrimental impact of mental fatigue

UMass Amherst Nursing Professor Emerita honored as ‘Living Legend’

New guidelines aim to improve cystic fibrosis screening

Picky eaters by day, buffet by night: Butterfly, moth diets sync to plant aromas

Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Leanne Redman honored with the E. V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Nutrition

CCNY physicists uncover electronic interactions mediated via spin waves

Researchers’ 3D-printing formula may transform future of foam

Nurture more important than nature for robotic hand

Drug-delivering aptamers target leukemia stem cells for one-two knockout punch

New study finds that over 95% of sponsored influencer posts on Twitter were not disclosed

New sea grant report helps great lakes fish farmers navigate aquaculture regulations

Strain “trick” improves perovskite solar cells’ efficiency

How GPS helps older drivers stay on the roads

Estrogen and progesterone stimulate the body to make opioids

Dancing with the cells – how acoustically levitating a diamond led to a breakthrough in biotech automation

Machine learning helps construct an evolutionary timeline of bacteria

Cellular regulator of mRNA vaccine revealed... offering new therapeutic options

Animal behavioral diversity at risk in the face of declining biodiversity

Finding their way: GPS ignites independence in older adult drivers

Antibiotic resistance among key bacterial species plateaus over time

‘Some insects are declining but what’s happening to the other 99%?’

Powerful new software platform could reshape biomedical research by making data analysis more accessible

Revealing capillaries and cells in living organs with ultrasound

American College of Physicians awards $260,000 in grants to address equity challenges in obesity care

Researchers from MARE ULisboa discover that the European catfish, an invasive species in Portugal, has a prolonged breeding season, enhancing its invasive potential

Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, FAACR, honored with the 2025 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research

Solar cells made of moon dust could power future space exploration

Deporting immigrants may further shrink the health care workforce

Border region emergency medical services in migrant emergency care

Resident physician intentions regarding unionization

[Press-News.org] Put down that Xbox remote: FSU researcher suggests video games may not boost cognition