ERIC Number: EJ979952
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Mar
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0012-1649
EISSN: N/A
Competitive versus Cooperative Exergame Play for African American Adolescents' Executive Function Skills: Short-Term Effects in a Long-Term Training Intervention
Staiano, Amanda E.; Abraham, Anisha A.; Calvert, Sandra L.
Developmental Psychology, v48 n2 p337-342 Mar 2012
Exergames are videogames that require gross motor activity, thereby combining gaming with physical activity. This study examined the role of competitive versus cooperative exergame play on short-term changes in executive function skills, following a 10-week exergame training intervention. Fifty-four low-income overweight and obese African American adolescents were randomly assigned to a competitive exergame condition, a cooperative exergame condition, or a no-play control group. Youths in the competitive exergame condition improved in executive function skills more than did those in the cooperative exergame condition and the no-play control group. Weight loss during the intervention was also significantly positively correlated with improved executive function skills. The findings link competitive exergame play to beneficial cognitive outcomes for at-risk ethnic minority adolescents.
Descriptors: Physical Activities, Intervention, Adolescents, Control Groups, Play, Video Games, Psychomotor Skills, Role, Competition, Executive Function, Low Income, Obesity, African Americans, Cooperation, Body Weight, Exercise, Correlation, At Risk Persons, Outcomes of Treatment
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A