GAMING MAKES YOU SMARTER: BACKED BY RESEARCHESEARCH

According to many people, video games make you smarter. Considering intelligence is a broad concept, we do not know how video games affect intelligence. However, plenty of research has shown that video games can impact cognition in a tangible way. Here are some questions that we will explore in detail to answer, “Do video games make you smarter?”.”””

In competitive environments, video games improve decision-making and problem-solving skills, and improve memory and learning. They enhance the cognitive abilities that society values.

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Video games and attention

A study by Green and Bavelier suggests that action video games improve attentional control. Action games, according to this study, feature fast-paced gameplay and rapidly disappearing objects. They also enhance perception and attention.
Action games require players to pay attention to specific objects or entities. Distractions can appear in the form of other objects or entities. Thus, action games improve selective attention, or the ability to focus on a single stimulus.
Gamers are better at tracking independently moving objects than non-gamers. They show greater spatial awareness compared to non-gamers.
In a test used to screen for ADD, gamers scored higher than those who didn't play video games. Gamers also scored higher without sacrificing accuracy. Additionally, the test recognized their responses as anticipatory. This means they used prediction instead of reaction. According to the study, video game players are faster but not more impulsive than non-gamers.
In a study of 27 expert gamers and 30 amateurs, higher gray matter volumes were associated with action games.

How Video Games Affect Memory and Learning

Memory and attention are closely related. Due to the fact that games improve attention, they would also affect memory. Let's examine some research on the topic.

In a study conducted by McDermott et al., action video game players were compared to non-gamers' memory. They found that action video game players performed better than non-gamers on tasks involving retaining many memories. In addition, they showed greater precision with visual-spatial short-term memory tasks.
Ferguson, Cruz, and Rueda found that playing video games correlates positively with visual memory accuracy. According to the study, this was due to the fact that video games primed the player to be sensitive to visual cues.
Playing 3D video games improves hand-eye coordination and reaction times, according to researchers from the University of California.
A study by Gnambs et al. found that playing video games may have a slight impact on school performance, but they do not affect a child's intelligence.
Some preliminary research suggests that strategy games may enhance older adults' brain functions and even protect them from dementia and Alzheimer's.
According to Lorenza et al., games train the brain to be more flexible in updating and monitoring information. Gamers thus have a better memory capacity.

Video Games and Problem Solving

Many video games involve solving problems. The solutions depend on the type of game.

A longitudinal study conducted in 2013 found that playing strategy games was positively correlated with problem-solving abilities and school grades the following year. Therefore, adolescents who reported playing more strategy games tended to have better problem-solving abilities.

Approximately 500 12-year-olds were studied by Michigan State University researchers. The more kids played video games, the more creative they were when it came to tasks such as drawing pictures or writing stories. However, other than playing video games, the use of the internet, cellphones, and computers was unrelated to creativity. Further, the increase in creativity was not affected by whether the game was violent or not.

The University of Glasgow study found that video games improved critical thinking and reflective learning skills, as well as communication skills, resourcefulness, and flexibility. Graduates have these traits, and employers who are hiring people out of university are looking for them.

Games and spatial intelligence

To navigate complex environments in video games, especially 3D ones, gamers need excellent spatial skills. Here are some studies that examine the relationship between video games and spatial intelligence.

A 2007 study by Green and Bavalier found that playing video games significantly increased an inexperienced player's ability to rotate complex shapes in their minds. The study also found that subjects who played action games were better able to identify a single object despite distractions.

Video game players displayed faster response times for easy and difficult visual search tasks than non-gamers, according to another study.

The players of action video games were able to identify peripheral targets among many distracting objects more accurately than their non-action video game counterparts. The researchers presented them with a sequence of objects, each presented briefly. The researchers found that gamers could process this visual stream more efficiently than non-gamers. Additionally, video-game players tracked more objects than non-players.

According to Granek et al., extensive gaming alters the network in our brains that processes complex visual tasks. These circuits become more efficient.

How Video Games Impact Decision Making

Video games, especially action games, require quick, on-the-spot decisions. Players who are skilled at making quick decisions can handle pressure. These findings come from relevant research.

Participants aged 18 to 25 were divided into two groups. One group played Call of Duty 2 and Unreal Tournament for 50 hours and the other group played Sims 2 for 50 hours. In a task not related to video games, action game players made 25% faster decisions without sacrificing accuracy.

In one study, researchers looked for ways to improve traditional training methods that reduce bias and improve decision-making abilities. Researchers found that interactive video games improved general decision-making abilities both in the short and long term. In immediate tests, bias was reduced by 31%, and after three months, it is expected to be reduced by more than 23%

Video Games and IQ

What is IQ? How much does it matter?

Intelligence quotient is short for it. A researcher developed it to measure how well someone can use information and reasoning to answer a question or make a prediction. Short-term and long-term memory, as well as the ability to solve puzzles and recall information are measured by IQ tests. Researchers can check whether they are testing the same "kind" of intelligence. It does not encompass the mind's complexity, however. IQ is influenced by social and economic factors. Success is also affected by emotional intelligence (EQ).

IQ predicts many things, but it doesn't define intelligence. It is generally a good indicator of a person's success in life, since the more intelligent a person is, the more likely they are to solve problems, learn new things, and get ahead. But it can only predict how well people will do in specific situations, such as science, engineering, or the arts. It takes more than intelligence to succeed in life - it also takes persistence, ambition, opportunity, and luck.

Do Video Games Increase IQ?

Games select and filter for higher fluid IQs since they adequately, intellectually challenge us as children when school was not enough. Studies have shown that children crave challenge and mastery, which games provide for them, creating a feedback loop.

What Does the Research Say?

In a study conducted at the University of York, a correlation was found between high intelligence levels and skill at two popular video games (Dota 2 and League of Legends).

In the study, two groups were formed: one group demonstrated their League of Legends skills, and another group took a pen-and-paper intelligence test. In the second group, Dota 2 players were separated from gamers who played shooting games (Destiny and Battlefield 3).

MOBA players tended to have higher IQs compared to players of more traditional strategy games such as chess. In the second group, the researchers found that although MOBA players' performance and IQ remained consistent as they aged, shooter game players' performance declined with age.

Games can be good indicators of people's IQ, but that doesn't mean they boost it.

Does IQ Correlate with Addiction Risk?

People who are smarter are more likely to get addicted to video games because they may not be challenged enough in school or at work, and video games fill that need for them. Recognizing and overcoming gaming addiction begins with acknowledging who you are as a gamer. Gamesters are actually smarter than most people. Although intelligence is valued in society, being smart alone does not guarantee success.

It becomes an ego boost for gamers to use their high IQ to justify their inability to succeed. As a result, high intelligence is often used as an excuse for not working hard and aiming for success in life. As a result, intelligence leads to avoidance.

There are some factors that might affect video game training studies, affecting their accuracy. In a paper by Boot et al., the authors discuss game training studies that inform participants about the nature of the study. It's easy for participants to be biased when they know if they're in the experimental or control group.

Consider, for example, a study that looks at action games' impact on decision-making that recruits both gamers and non-gamers. This study makes it clear to its participants what it is and what its purpose is. They will also be told whether they are part of an experimental group or a control group.

The experimental group trains with an action game, while the control group trains with a strategy game. Both groups are tested after training. This assessment measures how well the groups make decisions. Since both groups know the purpose of the study, the experimental group believes it will do well on the test. They therefore try their hardest as a result of a self-fulfilling prophecy. As a result, the control group does not exert as much effort because they think they must keep up with the experimental group. This leads to them not trying hard and not performing well.

Experiments like these do not control for placebo effects well. Video game training studies are often conducted in this manner.

Conclusion

Intelligence is complex and not well understood. Therefore, it is hard to determine whether playing video games makes you smarter. Nevertheless, we can measure how video games affect our cognition. The effect of video games on cognition is also unclear. This is because they select for people who have excellent attention, memory, learning, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities. Despite all of that, it is safe to say that gamers tend to rank higher for these cognitive abilities than the rest of the population.

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