Video games are often attributed to an increase in violence in those who play them, yet there is significant evidence that video games in fact increase visual and spatial abilities in the brain. A very recent study, due to publish in January 2015, compared the effects of a video game, Portal 2, with Lumosity, a company whose program of the same name claims to train the brain to become more capable in problem solving, spatial skill, and persistence. 77 undergraduates were separated into two groups, one that played Portal 2 for eight hours, and the other that played Lumositys games for eight hours. Both groups were given various tests before and after their sessions of their respective games. Despite its reputation and research that backs Lumositys games, Portal 2 showed a statistically significant advantage in its increase of the three aspects of cognitive function tested: problem solving, spatial skill, and persistence. Between pre-test and post-test scores of the two experimental groups, only the Portal 2 group increased, whereas the Lumosity group showed negligible evidence for any increase in cognition. There is, in conclusion, evidence that visual/puzzle games such as Portal 2 are capable of increasing cognition more so than Lumosity. However, the study did not test for long term effects, as the pre-test and post-test were administered within 1-2 weeks of each other. Valerie J. Shute, Matthew Ventura, Fengfeng Ke, The power of play: The effects of Portal 2 and Lumosity on cognitive and noncognitive skills, Computers & Education, Volume 80, January 2015, Pages 58-67, ISSN 0360-1315, dx.doi.org/10.1016/jpedu.2014.08.013.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 01:20:18 +0000
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