Action video game playing impacts occupational screening for high-stakes professionals.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Human Factors Engineering
• Military Psychology

Background:

• Action video game playing is linked to enhanced cognitive and perceptual skills in lab settings.
• Limited research exists on the real-world workplace relevance of these cognitive enhancements.
• Military aviation selection tests involve psychomotor tasks crucial for performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between action video game experience and performance on a military aviation psychomotor selection test.
• To determine if this association differs based on occupational relevance.
• To explore the role of specific game genres (action vs. flight simulators) in task performance.

Main Methods:

• Examined performance of male US military personnel (Naval Flight Students and a control group) on a psychomotor task battery.
• Assessed action video game playing habits and experience.
• Correlated video game experience with initial performance and learning rate on the psychomotor task.

Main Results:

• Action video game playing was positively associated with performance and learning in Naval Flight Students.
• This association was not significant in the control group, where the task lacked occupational relevance.
• Playing flight simulator games showed no significant relationship with psychomotor task learning speed in either group.

Conclusions:

• Recreational action video game playing may enhance learning and performance in high-stakes professions like military aviation.
• The benefits of action video game experience appear to be context-dependent, requiring occupational relevance.
• Action video games might complement explicit occupational training for improved workplace outcomes.