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Using games to understand the mind
Kelsey Allen1, Franziska Brändle2, Matthew Botvinick1
1DeepMind, London, UK.
Nature Human Behaviour
|June 21, 2024
Summary
Games offer an intuitive and fun way to study the mind, enhancing cognitive research. This perspective advocates for using games to increase the ecological validity and scale of psychological studies.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Psychology
- Human-Computer Interaction
Background:
- Games are universally popular due to their intuitive nature and inherent fun.
- These qualities make games valuable tools for cognitive research, offering unique insights.
- Traditional laboratory experiments have limitations in ecological validity and participant engagement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the advantages and disadvantages of using games in cognitive research.
- To provide recommendations for effectively utilizing games as experimental paradigms.
- To advocate for the broader adoption of game-based research in the study of the mind.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of game-based research versus traditional laboratory experiments.
- Discussion of how game intuitiveness aids in understanding inductive biases.
- Exploration of how game fun factor facilitates research on play and motivation.
Main Results:
- Games provide a unique vantage point for studying inductive biases in complex settings.
- Games enable research into 'play' and intrinsic motivation, attracting more participants.
- Game-based research can enhance the ecological validity, scale, and robustness of cognitive studies.
Conclusions:
- Games are powerful, intuitive, and fun tools for advancing cognitive science.
- Wider adoption of games in research can significantly improve study design and data collection.
- This approach promises to elevate the ecological validity and robustness of research on the mind.
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