Abstract
Video game research has attempted to find tasks that enhance cognitive abilities. The purpose of this study was to determine if players from a recently popular video game genre called Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) have superior cognitive performance than those who do not. Three measurements of cognitive abilities including reaction time, visual attention, and spatial working memory were examined with a letter digit substitution task (LDST), Flanker task, and symmetry span task respectively. Additionally, MOBA player experience and skill level were compared with performance scores. Better performance was found for MOBA players on the LDST and symmetry span tasks. However, no significant differences were observed on the Flanker task. No significant correlations between MOBA experience and skill level with cognitive performance scores were observed. This suggests that video gaming has the potential to enhance a wide array of cognitive abilities.
Advisor
Gillund, Gary
Department
Neuroscience
Recommended Citation
Moon, Daniel, "Cognitive Enhancements with Interactive Media" (2015). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 6595.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/6595
Disciplines
Cognitive Psychology
Keywords
cognitive enhancements video games ldst flanker symmetry span
Publication Date
2015
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
External Link
danthemanonthemoon.com
© Copyright 2015 Daniel Moon