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Comparing conventional and action video game training in visual perceptual learning.
Maggie S Yeh1, Tan Li2, Jinfeng Huang3
1Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Scientific Reports
|November 13, 2024
Summary
Action video game (AVG) training showed minimal transfer to low-level visual motion discrimination skills. This study found no significant improvements in motion or orientation discrimination after AVG training compared to control groups.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive psychology
- Visual neuroscience
- Human-computer interaction
Background:
- Action video game (AVG) playing is known to enhance visual cognition.
- Transfer of AVG training to low-level psychophysical tasks is unexpected and not well understood.
- Previous studies suggest AVG training can transfer to visual tasks, but evidence for low-level skills is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the transfer efficiency of AVG training to motion discrimination.
- To investigate whether AVG training improves performance on low-level visual tasks.
- To compare AVG training effects with direct training on motion discrimination.
Main Methods:
- Sixty-five participants trained for 20 hours on either an AVG or a motion discrimination task.
- Performance was tested on motion and orientation discrimination tasks before, midway, and after training.
- A control group (n=18) underwent testing without training to account for test-retest effects.
Main Results:
- Improvement in motion discrimination was similar between AVG and control groups, and less than the motion training group.
- No significant transfer of AVG training was observed for motion discrimination accuracy or reaction time.
- AVG training did not transfer to orientation discrimination, possibly due to participants performing near chance level.
Conclusions:
- Action video game training demonstrates limited transfer to low-level visual skills like motion discrimination.
- The findings refine our understanding of the mechanisms underlying visual skill transfer from AVGs.
- Further research is needed to explore the boundaries and specificity of AVG-induced visual plasticity.
