Video Games are Improving Vision

If you’re like me, you’re probably not an avid video game player. The last time I played a video game I was probably in fifth grade and using a game cube. However, I might just pick the activity up again. National Geographic reports on a study done by a pair of researchers at the University of Rochester in New York. In the study, the researchers found that action video games train the brain to process visual information better. The research suggests that gamers are more attuned to their surroundings and playing video game could be useful in rehabilitating the visually impaired.

The study was done by Daphne Raveler and Shawn Green. Their process started with the flanker compatibility effect. The flanker compatibility effect measures the response time followed by a stimuli and is then labeled compatible or incompatible. They used this because if video game users have a greater attention span, they should be able to release their visual attention resources more slowly as the task gets harder. They called the first experiment a measure of attentional resources. During the flanker test, participants were asked whether or not a square or a diamond appeared in one of the six circles while there were other shapes around the six circles. Their findings concluded that they video game players had a better compatibility effect than the non gamers.

In another experiment, they used an enumeration task. The participants were asked how many squares are presented in a flashed display of the shapes. The results showed the video game players were able to identify more squares than non gamers (4.9 versus 3.3) and they were more accurate (78% versus 65%).

Screen Shot 2015-10-22 at 5.36.00 PM

(Picture: nvgp-non video game player, vgp- video game player.)

They tested a third experiment of testing attention over space. In this experiment, participants were asked to discover on which of the lines did a small target appear. Once again, gamers showed large enhancements compared to non gamers. This trend continued into a fourth experiment testing attention over time.

Another study was published in 1994 by Patricia Greenfield. In which two experiments studied the divided visual attention in college students. Experiment 1 established that video game experts were similar to novices in maintaining an attention span. Experiment 2 established that video game experience was a casual factor in improving strategies of divided attention. They concluded that both experiment shows that video game players (expert or novice) have better skills for monitoring two locations on a screen.

So, next time you’re playing a video game and your mom or dad tell you to put it away you can tell them that you’re actually improving your visual learning. How would’ve thought?

2 thoughts on “Video Games are Improving Vision

  1. zrl5024

    I believe it. Playing video games is a lot different than simply staring at a screen like scrolling the pages on a laptop or your phone. When playing video games there is constant stimulation and the awareness that goes into watching every inch of what is happening on the screen can carry over into your daily life. When I play a video game it’s usually a sports or shooting game, so I always have to be looking at where the action is. After so many times I feel it just becomes natural to be aware of what is going on around you. I would give credit to it helping me focus better when behind the wheel of my car, looking both ways before crossing the street repeatedly, or even noticing when a person is feeling down about something.

  2. das5959

    I liked this article! I also last played video games in high school and thought it was really cool to see a study showing a correlation between eyesight and video games. This site shows 10 hazards with playing video games. Particularly with the eyes, You could develop dry eyes (because you don’t blink). Another thing I’ve personally experienced was after camping for a week, I came back to play video games and realized my vision was different. When I looked at the TV, I saw a broad view, because I was used to watching mountains and scenery. But after only about 15 minutes of video game play, my vision was narrowed down to only what was in my crosshairs. Something to make you wonder what was going on there.

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