We’ve all heard that watching too much television or playing too many video games can be detrimental to our vision, but what effect can it have on our cognitive development? There are people of all ages and both genders that enjoy staying up until the wee hours of the morning playing Call of Duty, Halo, Tetris, the Sims and other video games. Is there a difference in the cognitive levels among the different gamers? Do video games even have an effect on cognitive development?

To determine the effect video games have on cognitive development, an intervention study was conducted over a twelve week period. The participants were selected based on the amount of video games they played on average per week. The male and female participants, aged 6 to 40, that played video games for less than one hour per week were selected for this study. The participants were given initial cognitive tests, including spatial attention, multitasking abilities, and rapid decision-making skills. Following the tests, researchers randomly assigned the participants into two groups. One group played video games in the action genre, such as Call of Duty, while the other group played games in the strategy genre, such as Tetris. The researchers then asked the participants to play their groups’ video games for 8-50 hours per week over that twelve week period. After the twelve week period was over, the participants’ cognitive abilities were tested once again. The results were amazing. The group of people playing action-based video games had a more significant increase in their cognitive skills than the group playing strategy-based video games. (Université de Genève, 2017)

So what does that mean for the non-gaming population? Should we start staying up until four or five in the morning playing video games to increase or enhance our cognitive development? Not exactly. The best methods to improve our cognitive level include being physically active, experiencing new things, challenging ourselves, and making sure we receive an adequate amount of sleep every night. (Bergland, 2014)

Bergland, Christopher. (2014, March 12). Eight habits that improve cognitive function. Retrieved January 28, 2018 from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201403/eight-habits-improve-cognitive-function

Université de Genève. (2017, December 12). Action games expand the brain’s cognitive abilities, study suggests. ScienceDaily. Retrieved January 28, 2018 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171212102158.htm