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Technology consumption and cognitive control: Contrasting action video game experience with media multitasking
Attention, Perception & Psychophysics
|October 18, 2015
Summary
Heavy media multitasking impairs attention globally, not just with distractors. Action video game benefits are limited, especially for heavy media multitaskers, showing complex technology effects on cognition.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive psychology
- Human-computer interaction
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Technology use, specifically media multitasking and action video gaming, has differential impacts on cognitive functions.
- Previous research suggests media multitasking impairs attention, while action video games enhance it.
- The combined effects of these distinct technology usage patterns on attention remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the distinct and combined effects of media multitasking and action video gaming on attentional control.
- To determine if action video gaming can mitigate the negative cognitive impacts of media multitasking.
- To explore the non-monotonic relationship between media multitasking levels and cognitive performance.
Main Methods:
- Four cognitive tasks (AX-continuous performance, N-back, task-switching, filter tasks) assessed various aspects of attention.
- Participants were categorized based on their levels of media multitasking (light, intermediate, heavy) and action video game playing habits.
- Performance metrics across tasks were analyzed in relation to media multitasking levels and action video game engagement.
Main Results:
- Heavy media multitaskers demonstrated poorer performance across tasks compared to light media multitaskers, with deficits being global rather than specific to distractors.
- Intermediate media multitaskers sometimes outperformed both light and heavy multitaskers, indicating a non-monotonic effect.
- Action video game players generally outperformed non-players, but this advantage was only observed in participants with intermediate media multitasking levels.
Conclusions:
- Media multitasking has complex, potentially counterintuitive effects on attentional control, with heavy use leading to global performance deficits.
- The attentional benefits of action video gaming may not extend to heavy media multitaskers, suggesting limited protective effects.
- Understanding the nuanced interplay between different technology usage patterns is crucial for accurately assessing their impact on cognition.
