Reaction time and working memory in gamers and non-gamers

Abstract

The purpose of this pre-registered study was to examine whether asking gamers and non-gamers about their video game playing habits before or after they performed computerized cognitive-motor tasks affects their performance of those tasks. We recruited 187 participants from an online participants' recruitment platform. Out of those participants, 131 matched our criteria as gamers or non-gamers. They were then divided to two subgroups, and performed a choice-RT task, a Simon task, an alternate task-switching task, and a digit span memory task either before or after answering a video-game playing habits questionnaire. The results showed that gamers who completed a video-games questionnaire before performing the tasks had faster reaction times (RTs) in the Simon task compared with gamers who answered the questionnaire after performing the tasks. In contrast, non-gamers who answered the questionnaire before the task had slower RTs in the Simon task and the alternate task-switching task compared with non-gamers who answered the questionnaire after performing the tasks. The results suggest that answering a video-games questionnaire before the start of a study can lead to a response expectancy effect-positive for gamers and negative for non-gamers. This may bias findings of studies examining video games and the performance of cognitive-motor tasks.

Figure 1

Mean RTs for the choice-RT task (a), the Simon task (b), and the alternate task-switching task (c), for the four experimental groups (figure created using R software). NG-B Non-gamers, questionnaire at the beginning, NG-E Non-gamers, questionnaire at the end, G-B Gamers, questionnaire at the beginning, G-E Gamers, questionnaire at the end. Note that the y-axis limits differ between graphs. Errors bars represent standard error. Small light-gray circles represent individual participants.

Figure 2

The interaction between group (gamers vs. non-gamers) and the questionnaire delivery time (before vs. after the task) of the mean RT during the Simon task (error bars represent 95% confidence intervals) (figure created using Microsoft Excel).

Figure 3

The interaction between group (gamers vs. non-gamers) and the questionnaire delivery time (before vs. after the task) of the mean RT during the alternate task-switching task (error bars represent 95% confidence intervals) (figure created using Microsoft Excel).

Figure 4

An example of the choice-RT task (a), the Simon task (b), and the alternate task-switching task (c, d) (figure created using Microsoft PowerPoint).