ERIC Number: EJ750904
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006-Dec
Pages: 14
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0096-1523
EISSN: N/A
Effect of Action Video Games on the Spatial Distribution of Visuospatial Attention
Green, C. Shawn; Bavelier, Daphne
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, v32 n6 p1465-1478 Dec 2006
The authors investigated the effect of action gaming on the spatial distribution of attention. The authors used the flanker compatibility effect to separately assess center and peripheral attentional resources in gamers versus nongamers. Gamers exhibited an enhancement in attentional resources compared with nongamers, not only in the periphery but also in central vision. The authors then used a target localization task to unambiguously establish that gaming enhances the spatial distribution of visual attention over a wide field of view. Gamers were more accurate than nongamers at all eccentricities tested, and the advantage held even when a concurrent center task was added, ruling out a trade-off between central and peripheral attention. By establishing the causal role of gaming through training studies, the authors demonstrate that action gaming enhances visuospatial attention throughout the visual field.
Descriptors: Video Games, Attention, Cognitive Processes, Visual Perception, Visual Stimuli, Performance, Spatial Ability
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org/publications
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A