In:
PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science (PLoS), Vol. 18, No. 3 ( 2023-3-27), p. e0283654-
Abstract:
The worldwide popularity of playing practices has led to a growing research interest in games’ impact on behavior and cognition. Many studies have already reported the benefits of both video games and board games for cognitive functions. However, these studies have mainly defined the term players according to a minimum play time or in connection to a specific game genre. No study has confronted the cognitive implications of video games and board games in the same statistical model. Thus, it remains unclear whether the cognitive benefits of play are due to play time or game type. To address this issue, in this study, we conducted an online experiment in which 496 participants completed six cognitive tests and a playing practice questionnaire. We examined the between the participants’ overall video game and board game play times and cognitive abilities. The results demonstrated significant relations between overall play time and all cognitive functions. Importantly, video games significantly predicted mental flexibility, planning, visual working memory, visuospatial processing, fluid intelligence, and verbal working memory performance, while board games were not found to predict any cognitive performance. These findings suggest that video games affect cognitive functions in specific ways compared to board games. We encourage further investigation to consider players’ individual differences through their play time and the specific features of the games they play.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1932-6203
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0283654
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0283654.g001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0283654.g002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0283654.t001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0283654.t002
Language:
English
Publisher:
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Publication Date:
2023
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2267670-3
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