A large scale test of the gaming-enhancement hypothesis

PeerJ

article

Andrew K. Przybylski¹  John C. Wang² 

[1] Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford;Nanyang Technological University

关键词: Electronic games;    Cognitive ability;    Human–computer interaction;    Individual differences;    Adolescents;    Gaming-enhancement hypothesis;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.2710

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

A growing research literature suggests that regular electronic game play and game-based training programs may confer practically significant benefits to cognitive functioning. Most evidence supporting this idea, the gaming-enhancement hypothesis, has been collected in small-scale studies of university students and older adults. This research investigated the hypothesis in a general way with a large sample of 1,847 school-aged children. Our aim was to examine the relations between young people’s gaming experiences and an objective test of reasoning performance. Using a Bayesian hypothesis testing approach, evidence for the gaming-enhancement and null hypotheses were compared. Results provided no substantive evidence supporting the idea that having preference for or regularly playing commercially available games was positively associated with reasoning ability. Evidence ranged from equivocal to very strong in support for the null hypothesis over what was predicted. The discussion focuses on the value of Bayesian hypothesis testing for investigating electronic gaming effects, the importance of open science practices, and pre-registered designs to improve the quality of future work.

【 授权许可】

CC BY