Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, 98121 Messina, Italy.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Dec 22;19(1):78. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19010078.
The aim of the present study is to compare the short- and long-term effects of video-gaming by using the same measurements. More precisely, habitual and occasional video-gamers were compared so as to analyze the long-term effects. An ABABABA design was used to analyze the short-term effects. The first A refers to baseline measurements: Visual RT, Auditory RT, Aim trainer RT, Go/No-Go RT and N-Back RT. The first B refers to 30 min of gaming, the second A refers to the measurements used in the baseline, the second B refers to 60 min of a video game, the third A refers to the same measurements used in the baseline, the third B refers to a 30-min rest, and finally, the fourth A refers to the measurements used in the baseline. Seventy participants, twenty-nine habitual video-gamers and forty-one occasional video-gamers, participated in the study. The results showed a temporary improvement of cognitive functions (Visual RT, Auditory RT, Aim trainer RT, Go/No-Go RT and N-Back RT) in the short term and a strong enhancement of cognitive functions in the long term. The results are discussed in light of Flow Theory and the automatization process. Contribution of the study: The contribution of this research is to highlight that despite there being a transient enhancement of executive and cognitive functions through the use of mobile video games in the short-term period, with a decrease of performance after a 30-min rest, there is a strong increase of cognitive performance in the long-term period. Flow Theory and the automatization process together can explain this apparent inconsistency between the positive increase of long-term performance and the transient increase of short-term performance. One limitation of the present research is that it is not possible to distinguish whether the long-term enhancements can be attributed either to continued practice in the use of video games compared to non-gamers, or to the possibility that gamers are already predisposed to video game playing. Future research should address this issue.
本研究旨在通过使用相同的测量方法比较视频游戏的短期和长期影响。更确切地说，比较了习惯性和偶尔性的视频游戏玩家，以分析长期影响。使用 ABABABA 设计来分析短期影响。第一个 A 指的是基线测量：视觉 RT、听觉 RT、瞄准训练器 RT、Go/No-Go RT 和 N-Back RT。第一个 B 指的是 30 分钟的游戏时间，第二个 A 指的是基线中使用的测量，第二个 B 指的是 60 分钟的视频游戏，第三个 A 指的是基线中使用的相同测量，第三个 B 指的是 30 分钟的休息，最后，第四个 A 指的是基线中使用的测量。70 名参与者，29 名习惯性视频游戏玩家和 41 名偶尔性视频游戏玩家参加了这项研究。结果显示，认知功能（视觉 RT、听觉 RT、瞄准训练器 RT、Go/No-Go RT 和 N-Back RT）在短期内得到了暂时的提高，而在长期内则得到了显著的提高。研究结果结合流畅理论和自动化过程进行了讨论。研究的贡献：本研究的贡献在于强调，尽管通过在短期使用移动视频游戏可以暂时提高执行和认知功能，但在 30 分钟的休息后，表现会下降，但在长期内，认知表现会有显著提高。流畅理论和自动化过程可以共同解释这种短期表现的短暂提高和长期表现的明显不一致。本研究的一个局限性在于，无法区分长期提高是否可以归因于与非游戏玩家相比继续练习使用视频游戏，或者是因为游戏玩家本身就倾向于玩视频游戏。未来的研究应该解决这个问题。
