Examining the Roles of Reasoning and Working Memory in Predicting Casual Game Performance across Extended Gameplay

Michael B Kranz; Pauline L Baniqued; Michelle W Voss; Hyunkyu Lee; Arthur F Kramer

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00203

Back

Examining the Roles of Reasoning and Working Memory in Predicting Casual Game Performance across Extended Gameplay

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Examining the Roles of Reasoning and Working Memory in Predicting Casual Game Performance across Extended Gameplay

Michael B Kranz, Pauline L Baniqued, Michelle W Voss, Hyunkyu Lee and Arthur F Kramer

Frontiers in psychology, Vol.8, pp.203-203

03/07/2017

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00203

PMCID: PMC5339312

PMID: 28326042

Files and links (1)

url

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00203View

Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

The variety and availability of casual video games presents an exciting opportunity for applications such as cognitive training. Casual games have been associated with fluid abilities such as working memory (WM) and reasoning, but the importance of these cognitive constructs in predicting performance may change across extended gameplay and vary with game structure. The current investigation examined the relationship between cognitive abilities and casual game performance over time by analyzing first and final session performance over 4–5 weeks of game play. We focused on two groups of subjects who played different types of casual games previously shown to relate to WM and reasoning when played for a single session: (1) puzzle-based games played adaptively across sessions and (2) speeded switching games played non-adaptively across sessions. Reasoning uniquely predicted first session casual game scores for both groups and accounted for much of the relationship with WM. Furthermore, over time, WM became uniquely important for predicting casual game performance for the puzzle-based adaptive games but not for the speeded switching non-adaptive games. These results extend the burgeoning literature on cognitive abilities involved in video games by showing differential relationships of fluid abilities across different game types and extended play. More broadly, the current study illustrates the usefulness of using multiple cognitive measures in predicting performance, and provides potential directions for game-based cognitive training research.

casual games

fluid intelligence

working memory

Psychology

skill acquisition

reasoning

Details

Title: Subtitle: Examining the Roles of Reasoning and Working Memory in Predicting Casual Game Performance across Extended Gameplay
Creators: Michael B Kranz - Department of Psychology, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Pauline L Baniqued - Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California Berkeley
Michelle W Voss - Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa
Hyunkyu Lee - Posit Science, Brain Plasticity Institute
Arthur F Kramer - Department of Psychology, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Frontiers in psychology, Vol.8, pp.203-203
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00203
PMID: 28326042
PMCID: PMC5339312
NLM abbreviation: Front Psychol
ISSN: 1664-1078
eISSN: 1664-1078
Publisher: Frontiers Media S.A
Grant note: N000140710903 / Office of Naval Research
Language: English
Date published: 03/07/2017
Academic Unit: Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984002477002771

Metrics

56 Record Views

5 Times Cited - Web of Science