A study of playing video games, paying attention, and learning: how can we mold attentional development and impact learning?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29070/7g88jv89Keywords:
Video Game, Learning, Training, Attention, Child DevelopmentAbstract
The impact of gaming on cognitive development and attentional abilities are the primary foci of this study, which also examines the relationship between gaming and learning outcomes. The potential of video games to improve attentional control, cognitive flexibility, and learning—all of which could lead to novel approaches to treating developmental disorders—is discussed here. It would appear that video games, which were originally created for entertainment purposes, improve behaviour in areas as diverse as perception, attention, mental rotation, and task switching. A better signal-to-noise ratio and, by extension, better decisions, may be made possible by this unexpectedly extensive transfer, which is facilitated by improved attentional regulation. Computerised training or self-regulation approaches are two examples of targeted interventions that have the potential to improve attentional control. The incredible amount of time that people all over the globe spend with this medium makes the idea of incorporating such training into video game play all the more enticing. It has the potential to improve the utilisation of positive effect games, which in turn could increase patient compliance and student motivation. This work can be further developed and its impact on developmental diseases can be addressed by utilising computational models from developmental robotics or machine learning, which offer a rich theoretical foundation.
References
Alsaad, F., Binkhamis, L., Alsalman, A., Alabdulqader, N., Alamer, M., Abualait, T., ... & Al Ghamdi, K. S. (2022). Impact of action video gaming behavior on attention, anxiety, and sleep among university students. Psychology research and behavior management, 151-160.
Bavelier D, Green CS, Pouget A, Schrater P. Brain plasticity through the life span: learning to learn and action video games [Internet]. Annu Rev Neurosci 2012; 35:391–416.
Binet A. Les id{e´}es modernes sur les enfants [Modern concepts concerning children]. Paris: Flammarion; 1909.
Blumberg, F. C. (2000). The effects of children's goals for learning on video game performance. Journal of applied developmental psychology, 21(6), 641-653.
Boot, W. R., Kramer, A. F., Simons, D. J., Fabiani, M., & Gratton, G. (2008). The effects of video game playing on attention, memory, and executive control. Acta psychologica, 129(3), 387-398.
Brem S, Bach S, Kucian K, et al. Brain sensitivity to print emerges when children learn letter-speech sound correspondences [Internet]. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2010; 107:7939–7944.
Burke CA. Mindfulness-based approaches with children and adolescents: a preliminary review of current research in an emergent field [Internet]. J Child Fam Stud 2009; 19:133–144.
Castel AD, Pratt J, Drummond E. The effects of action video game experience on the time course of inhibition of return and the efficiency of visual search [Internet]. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2005; 119:217–230.
Chen W, Zhang X-L, Shi J-N. Development of visual sustained attention from middle childhood to young adulthood. In: 2012 8th International Conference on Natural Computation. IEEE; 2012. pp. 502–505. [Internet].
Cohen JE, Green CS, Bavelier D. Training visual attention with video games: not all games are created equal. In: Computer games and team and individual learning. 2007.
Corbetta M, Shulman GL. Control of goal-directed and stimulus-driven attention in the brain [Internet]. Nat Rev Neurosci 2002; 3:201–215.
De Castell, S., & Jenson, J. (2004). Paying attention to attention: New economies for learning. Educational Theory, 54(4), 381-397.
Diamond A, Barnett WS, Thomas J, Munro S. Preschool program improves cognitive control [Internet]. Science 2007; 318:1387–1388.
Dye MWG, Bavelier D. Differential development of visual attention skills in school-age children [Internet]. Vision Res 2010; 50:452–459.
Dye MWG, Green CS, Bavelier D. Increasing speed of processing with action video games [Internet]. Curr Dir Psychol Sci 2009; 18:321–326
Dye MWG, Green CS, Bavelier D. The development of attention skills in action video game players [Internet]. Neuropsychologia 2009; 47:1780– 1789
Franceschini S, Gori S, Ruffino M, et al. Action video games make dyslexic children read better [Internet]. Curr Biol 2013; 23:462–466.
Gentile DA, Choo H, Liau A, et al. Pathological video game use among youths: a two-year longitudinal study [Internet]. Pediatrics 2011; 127:e319–e329.
Granic, I., Lobel, A., & Engels, R. C. (2014). The benefits of playing video games. American psychologist, 69(1), 66.
Green CS, Bavelier D. Learning, attentional control, and action video games [Internet]. Curr Biol 2012; 22:R197–R206.
Hillman CH, Erickson KI, Kramer AF. Be smart, exercise your heart: exercise effects on brain and cognition [Internet]. Nat Rev Neurosci 2008; 9:58–65
Hofstetter S, Tavor I, Tzur Moryosef S, Assaf Y. Short-term learning induces white matter plasticity in the fornix [Internet]. J Neurosci 2013; 33:12844– 12850
Hubert-Wallander B, Green CS, Sugarman M, Bavelier D. Changes in search rate but not in the dynamics of exogenous attention in action videogame players [Internet]. Atten Percept Psychophys 2011; 73:2399–2412.
Klimecki OM, Leiberg S, Lamm C, Singer T. Functional neural plasticity and associated changes in positive affect after compassion training. Cereb Cortex 2013; 23:1552–1561.
Klingberg T, Fernell E, Olesen PJ, et al. Computerized training of working memory in children with ADHD – a randomized, controlled trial [Internet]. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2005; 44:177–186.
Klingberg T. Training and plasticity of working memory [Internet]. Trends Cogn Sci 2010; 14:317–324.
Lofthouse N, Arnold LE, Hersch S, et al. A review of neurofeedback treatment for pediatric ADHD [Internet]. J Atten Disord 2012; 16:351–372.
Mackey AP, Hill SS, Stone SI, Bunge SA. Differential effects of reasoning and speed training in children [Internet]. Dev Sci 2011; 14:582–590.
Mandryk RL, Dielschneider S, Kalyn MR, et al. Games as neurofeedback AQ9 training for children with FASD. In: Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children – IDC ’13. ACM Press; 2013. pp. 165–172. [Internet].
Neville HJ, Stevens C, Pakulak E, et al. Family-based training program improves brain function, cognition, and behavior in lower socioeconomic status preschoolers [Internet]. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013; 110:12138– 12143.
Oei AC, Patterson MD. Enhancing cognition with video games: a multiple game training study [Internet]. PLoS One 2013; 8:e58546
Ortiz-Ortiz, Y. O. (2018). The Effect of Video Games on Cognition and Behavior: A Meta-analysis and Pilot Study (Doctoral dissertation, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras (Puerto Rico)).
Owen AM, Hampshire A, Grahn JA, et al. Putting brain training to the test [Internet]. Nature 2010; 465:775–778.
Plude DJ, Enns JT. The development of selective attention: a life-span overview. Acta Psychol 1994; 86:227–272.
Posner MI, Rothbart MK, Tang Y. Developing self-regulation in early childhood [Internet]. Trends Neurosci Educ 2013; 2:107–110.
Raine LB, Lee HK, Saliba BJ, et al. The influence of childhood aerobic fitness on learning and memory [Internet]. PLoS One 2013; 8:e72666.
Rueda MR, Checa P, Co´mbita LM. Enhanced efficiency of the executive attention network after training in preschool children: immediate changes and effects after two months [Internet]. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2012; 2 (Suppl. 1):S192–S204.
Rueda MR, Rothbart MK, McCandliss BD, et al. Training, maturation, and genetic influences on the development of executive attention [Internet]. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2005; 102:14931–14936.
Rueda MR. Development of Attention. In: Oxford handbook of cognitive. AQ4 neuroscience, volume 1: core topics. Chapter 15. 2013.
Sanders LD, Stevens C, Coch D, Neville HJ. Selective auditory attention in 3-to 5-year-old children: an event-related potential study. Neuropsychologia 2006; 44:2126–2138.
Schwartz DL, Arena D. Measuring what matters most: choice-based assessments for the digital age. MIT Press; 2013.
Seitz A, Watanabe T. A unified model for perceptual learning [Internet]. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9:329–334.
Shapiro KL, Garrad-Cole F. Age-related deficits and involvement of frontal cortical areas as revealed by the attentional blink task. J Vis 2003; 3:72
Sifri, D. (2022). The effects of video games on developing children and adolescents: A systematic review examined through the biopsychosocial lens (Doctoral dissertation, Pepperdine University).
Siyahhan S, Barab SA, Downton MP. Using activity theory to understand intergenerational play: the case of family quest [Internet]. Int J Comput Collab Learn 2010; 5:415–432
Staiano AE, Calvert SL. Exergames for physical education courses: physical, social, and cognitive benefits [Internet]. Child Dev Perspect 2011; 5:93–98.
Swing EL, Gentile DA, Anderson CA, Walsh DA. Television and video game exposure and the development of attention problems [Internet]. Pediatrics 2010; 126:214–221.
Swing EL, Gentile DA, Anderson CA, Walsh DA. Television and video game exposure and the development of attention problems [Internet]. Pediatrics 2010; 126:214–221.
Thorell LB, Lindqvist S, Bergman Nutley S, et al. Training and transfer effects of executive functions in preschool children [Internet]. Dev Sci 2009; 12:106–113
To L, Thompson B, Blum JR, et al. A game platform for treatment of amblyopia. Neural Syst Rehabil Eng IEEE Trans 2011; 19:280–289.
Trick LM, Jaspers-Fayer F, Sethi N. Multiple-object tracking in children: the ‘Catch the Spies’ task. Cogn Dev 2005; 20:373–387.
Trick LM, Jaspers-Fayer F, Sethi N. Multiple-object tracking in children: the ‘Catch the Spies’ task. Cogn Dev 2005; 20:373–387.
Waszak F, Li S-C, Hommel B. The development of attentional networks: cross-sectional findings from a life span sample [Internet]. Dev Psychol 2010; 46:337–349.