The influence of video games on executive functions in college students

Computers in Human Behavior

Volumn 45, Issue , 2015, Pages 228-234

  Buelow, Melissa T ^a   Okdie, Bradley M ^a   Cooper, Ashley B ^a  

^a OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Cognition; Decision making; Executive functions; Problem solving; Video games

Indexed keywords

COGNITIVE SYSTEMS; DECISION MAKING; INTERACTIVE COMPUTER GRAPHICS; PROBLEM SOLVING; RISK MANAGEMENT; STUDENTS;

COGNITION; COGNITIVE ABILITY; DEPENDENT VARIABLES; EXECUTIVE FUNCTION; IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURES; POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EFFECT; UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS; VIDEO GAME;

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION;

EID: 84920472210     PISSN: 07475632     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2014.12.029     Document Type: Article

References (76)

1. Acevedo-Polakovich, I. D., Lorch, E. P., & Milich, R. (2007). Comparing television use and reading in children with ADHD and non-referred children across two age groups. Media Psychology, 9, 447-472. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15213260701291387.
2. Aklin, W. M., Lejuez, C. W., Zvolensky, M. J., Kahler, C. W., & Gwadz, M. (2005). Evaluation of behavioral measures of risk taking propensity with inner city adolescents. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 43, 215-228. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2003.12.007.
3. Anderson, P. (2002). Assessment and development of executive function (EF) during childhood. Child Neuropsychology, 8, 71-82.
4. Anderson, C. A. (2004). An update on the effects of playing violent video games. Journal of Adolescence, 27, 113-122. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2003.10.009.
5. Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2001). Effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, and prosocial behavior: A meta-analytic review of the scientific literature. Psychological Science, 12, 353-359. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.00366.
6. Bailey, K., West, R., & Anderson, C. A. (2010). A negative association between video game experience and proactive cognitive control. Psychophysiology, 47, 34-42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.2009.00925.x.
7. Bailey, K., West, R., & Kuffel, J. (2013). What would my avatar do? Gaming pathology, and risky decision making. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 609. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsychg.2013.00609.
8. Barlett, C. P., Anderson, C. A., & Swing, E. L. (2009). Video game effects-Confirmed, suspected, and speculative: A review of the evidence. Simulation & Gaming, 40, 377-403. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1046878108327539.
9. Basak, C., Boot, W. R., Voss, M. W., & Kramer, A. F. (2008). Can training in a real-time strategy video game attenuate cognitive decline in older adults? Psychology and Aging, 23, 765-777. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0013494.
10. Bechara, A. (2008). Iowa gambling task professional manual. Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc..
11. Bechara, A., Damasio, A. R., Damasio, H., & Anderson, S. W. (1994). Insensitivity to future consequences following damage to human prefrontal cortex. Cognition, 50, 7-15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0010-0277(94)90018-3.
12. Belchior, P., Marsiske, M., Sisco, S. M., Yam, A., Bavelier, D., & Mann, W. C. (2013). Video game training to improve selective visual attention in older adults. Computers in Human Behavior, 29, 1318-1324. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.01.034.
13. Blacker, K. J., & Curby, K. M. (2013). Enhanced visual short-term memory in action video game players. Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics, 75, 1128-1136. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13414-013-0487-0.
14. 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, 387-398. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2008.09.005.
15. Bornovalova, M. A., Cashman-Rolls, A., O'Donnell, J. M., Ettinger, K., Richards, J. B., & Lejuez, C. W. (2009). Risk taking differences on a behavioral task as a function of potential reward/loss magnitude and individual differences in impulsivity and sensation seeking. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior, 93, 258-262. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pbb.2008.10.023.
16. Brand, M., Grabenhorst, F., Starcke, K., Vandekerckhove, M. M. P., & Markowitsch, H. J. (2007). Role of the amygdala in decisions under ambiguity and decisions under risk: Evidence from patients with Urbach-Wiethe disease. Neuropsychologia, 45, 1305-1317. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.09.021.
17. Brand, M., Recknor, E. C., Grabenhorst, F., & Bechara, A. (2007). Decisions under ambiguity and decisions under risk: Correlations with executive functions and comparisons of two different gambling tasks with implicit and explicit rules. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 19, 86-99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13803390500507196.
18. Buelow, M. T., & Blaine, A. L. (in press). The assessment of risky decision making: A factor analysis of performance on the Iowa gambling task, balloon analogue risk task, and Columbia card task. Psychological Assessment.
19. Buelow, M. T., Okdie, B. M., & Blaine, A. L. (2013). Seeing the forest through the trees: Improving decision making on the Iowa gambling task by shifting focus from short- to long-term outcomes. Frontiers in Decision Neuroscience, 4, 773. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/f.psyg.2013.00773.
20. Buelow, M. T., & Suhr, J. A. (2009). Construct validity of the Iowa gambling task. Neuropsychology Review, 19, 102-114. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11065-009-9083-4.
21. Buelow, M. T., & Suhr, J. A. (2013). Personality characteristics and state mood influence individual deck selections on the Iowa gambling task. Personality and Individual Differences, 54, 593-597. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2012.11.019.
22. Chan, P. A., & Rabinowitz, T. (2006). A cross-sectional analysis of video games and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms in adolescents. Annals of General Psychiatry, 5(16), 5-16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1744-859X-5-16.
23. Christakis, D. A., Zimmerman, F. J., DiGiuseppe, D. L., & McCarty, C. A. (2004). Early television exposure and subsequent attentional problems in children. Pediatrics, 113, 708-713.
24. Collins, E., & Freeman, J. (2014). Video game use and cognitive performance: Does it vary with the presence of problematic video game use? CyberPsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 17, 153-159. http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2012.0629.
25. Colom, R., Quiroga, M. A., Solana, A. B., Burgaleta, M., Roman, F. J., & Karama, S. (2012). Structural changes after videogame practice related to a brain network associated with intelligence. Intelligence, 40, 479-489. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2012.05.004.
26. Colzato, L. S., van den Wildenberg, W. P. M., Zmigrod, S., & Hommel, B. (2013). Action video gaming and cognitive control: Playing first person shooter games is associated with improvement in working memory but not action inhibition. Psychological Research Psychologische Forschung, 77, 234-239. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00426-012-0415-2.
27. Cooper, A., & Buelow, M. T. (2014). Psychophysiological and affective correlates of video game play. The Journal of Undergraduate Research at Ohio State, 4, 1-9.
28. Damasio, A. R. (1994). Descartes' error: Emotion, reason, and the human brain. New York: Putnam.
29. De Lisi, R., & Wolford, J. L. (2002). Improving children's mental rotation accuracy with computer game playing. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 163, 272-282. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00221320209598683.
30. Della Sala, S., Gray, C., Spinnler, H., & Trivelli, C. (1998). Frontal lobe functioning in man: The riddle revisited. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 13, 663-682.
31. Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135-168. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750.
32. Donohue, S. E., Woldorff, M. G., & Mitroff, S. R. (2010). Video game players show more precise multisensory temporal processing abilities. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 72, 1120-1129. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/APP.72.4.1120.
33. Ewoldsen, D. R., Eno, C. A., Okdie, B. M., Velez, J. A., Guadagno, R. E., & DeCoster, J. (2012). Effect of playing violent video games cooperatively or competitively on subsequent cooperative behavior. CyberPsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 15, 1-4. http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2011.0308.
34. Fellows, L. K., & Farah, M. J. (2005). Different underlying impairments in decision-making following ventromedial and dorsolateral frontal lobe damage in humans. Cerebral Cortex, 15, 58-63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhh108.
35. Feng, J., Spence, I., & Pratt, J. (2007). Playing an action video game reduces gender differences in spatial cognition. Psychological Science, 18, 850-855. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280-2007.01990.x.
36. Ferguson, C. J. (2010). Blazing angels or resident evil? Can violent video games be a force for good? Review of General Psychology, 14, 68-81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0018941.
37. Fischer, P., Kubitzki, J., Guter, S., & Frey, D. (2007). Virtual driving and risk taking: Do racing games increase risk-taking cognitions, affect, and behaviors? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 13, 22-31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1076-898X.13.1.22.
38. Forgas, J. P. (1995). Mood and judgment: The affect infusion model. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 39-66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.117.1.39.
39. Forster, J., Friedman, R. S., & Liberman, N. (2004). Temporal construal effects on abstract and concrete thinking: Consequences for insight and creative cognition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87, 177-189.
40. Gollwitzer, P. M., & Kinney, R. F. (1989). Effects of deliberative and implemental mindsets on illusion of control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 531-542.
41. Green, C. S., & Bavelier, D. (2003). Action video game modified visual selective attention. Nature, 423, 534-537.
42. Green, C. S., & Bavelier, D. (2006). Enumeration versus multiple object tracking: The case of action video game players. Cognition, 101, 217-245. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2005.10.004.
43. Greenfield, P. M., Brannon, C., & Lohr, D. (1994). Two-dimensional representation of movement through three-dimensional space: The role of video game expertise. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 15, 87-103. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0193-3973(94)90007-8.
44. Heaton, R. K., Chelune, G. J., Talley, J. L., Kay, G. G., & Curtiss, G. (2005). Wisconsin card sorting test manual. Lutz, FL: PAR, Inc..
45. Hopko, D. R., Lejuez, C. W., Daughters, S. B., Aklin, W. M., Osborne, A., & Strong, D. R. (2006). Construct validity of the balloon analogue risk task (BART): Relationship with MDMA use by inner-city drug users in residential treatment. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 28, 95-101. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10862-006-7487-5.
46. Hunt, M. K., Hopko, D. R., Bare, R., Lejuez, C. W., & Robinson, E. V. (2005). Construct validity of the balloon analog risk task (BART): Associations with psychopathy and impulsivity. Assessment, 12, 416-428. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1073191105278740.
47. Irons, J. L., Remington, R. W., & McLean, J. P. (2011). Not so fast: Rethinking the effects of action video games on attentional capacity. Australian Journal of Psychology, 63, 224-231. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1742-9536.2011.00001.x.
48. Karle, J. W., Watter, S., & Shedden, J. M. (2010). Task switching in video game players: Benefits of selective attention but not resistance to proactive interference. Acta Psychologica, 134, 70-78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2009.12.007.
49. Kirsh, S. J., Olczak, P. V., & Mounts, J. R. (2005). Violent video games induce affect processing bias. Media Psychology, 7, 239-250. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/S1532785XMEP0703-1.
50. Ko, C.-H., Hsaio, S., Liu, G.-C., Yen, J.-Y., Yang, M.-J., & Yen, C.-F. (2010). The characteristics of decision making, potential to take risks, and personality of college students with internet addiction. Psychiatry Research, 175, 121-125. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2008.10.004.
51. Kronenberger, W. G., Mathews, V. P., Dunn, D. W., Wang, Y., Wood, E. A., & Li, T.-Q. (2005). Media violence exposure and executive functioning in aggressive and control adolescents. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 61, 725-737. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20022.
52. Kuhn, S., Gleich, T., Lorenz, R. C., Lindenberger, U., & Gallinat, J. (2014). Playing super Mario induces structural brain plasticity: Gray matter changes resulting from training with a commercial video game. Molecular Psychiatry, 19, 265-271. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/mp.2013.120.
53. Lejuez, C. W., Aklin, W. M., Jones, H. A., Strong, D. R., Richards, J. B., & Read, J. P. (2003). The balloon analogue risk task (BART) differentiates smokers and nonsmokers. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 11, 26-33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1064-1297.11.1.26.
54. Lejuez, C. W., Read, J. P., Kahler, C. W., Richards, J. B., Ramsey, S. E., & Brown, R. A. (2002). Evaluation of a behavioral measure of risk taking: The balloon analogue risk task (BART). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 8, 75-84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//1076-898X.8.2.75.
55. Lezak, M. D., Howieson, D. B., & Loring, D. W. (2004). Neuropsychological assessment (4th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
56. Maillot, P., Perrot, A., & Hartley, A. (2012). Effects of interactive physical-activity video-game training on physical and cognitive function in older adults. Psychology and Aging, 27, 589-600. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/aa0026268.
57. Manes, F., Sahakian, B., Clark, L., Rogers, R., Antoun, N., & Robbins, T. (2002). Decision-making processes following damage to the prefrontal cortex. Brain, 125, 624-639. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/brain/awf049.
58. Mathews, V. P., Kronenberger, W. G., Wang, Y., Lurito, J. T., Lowe, M. J., & Dunn, D. W. (2005). Media violence exposure and frontal lobe activation measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging in aggressive and nonaggressive adolescents. Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography, 29, 287-292.
59. McDermott, A. F., Bavelier, D., & Green, C. S. (2014). Memory abilities in action video game players. Computers in Human Behavior, 34, 69-78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.01.018.
60. Noel, X., Bechara, A., Dan, B., Hanak, C., & Verbanck, P. (2007). Response inhibition deficit is involved in poor decision making under risk in nonamnesic individuals with alcoholism. Neuropsychology, 21, 778-786. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0894-4105.21.6.778.
61. Okagaki, L., & Frensch, P. A. (1994). Effects of interactive entertainment technologies on development. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 15, 33-58. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0193-3973(94)90005-1.
62. Okdie, B. M., Ewoldsen, D. R., Muscanell, N. L., Guadagno, R. E., Eno, C. A., & Smith, L. R. (2014). Missed programs (there is no TiVo for this one): Why psychologists should study the media. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9, 180-195. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1745691614521243.
63. Passig, D., & Eden, S. (2001). Virtual reality as a tool for improving spatial rotation among deaf and hard-of-hearing children. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 4, 681-686. http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/109493101753376623.
64. Seguin, J. R., Arseneault, L., & Tremblay, R. E. (2007). The contribution of "cool" and "hot" components of decision-making in adolescence: Implications for developmental psychopathology. Cognitive Development, 22, 530-543. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2007.08.006.
65. Smith, E. R., & Branscombe, N. R. (1988). Category accessibility as implicit memory. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 24, 490-504.
66. Smoski, M. J., Lynch, T. R., Rosenthal, M. Z., Cheavens, J. S., Chapman, A. L., & Krishnan, R. R. (2008). Decision-making and risk aversion among depressive adults. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 39, 567-576. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2008.01.004.
67. Stern, Y., Blumen, H. M., Rich, L. W., Richards, A., Herzberg, G., & Gopher, D. (2011). Space fortress game training and executive control in older adults: A pilot intervention. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 18, 653-677. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13825585.2011.613450.
68. Suhr, J. A., & Tsanadis, J. (2007). Affect and personality correlates of the Iowa gambling task. Personality and Individual Differences, 43, 27-36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2006.11.004.
69. Swing, E. L., Gentile, D. A., Anderson, C. A., & Walsh, D. A. (2010). Television and video game exposure and the development of attention problems. Pediatrics, 126, 214-221. http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2009-1508.
70. Swogger, M. T., Walsh, Z., Lejuez, C. W., & Kosson, D. S. (2010). Psychopathy and risk taking among jailed inmates. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 37, 439-452. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0093854810361617.
71. Upton, D. J., Bishara, A. J., Ahn, W.-Y., & Stout, J. C. (2011). Propensity for risk taking and trait impulsivity in the Iowa gambling task. Personality and Individual Differences, 50(4), 492-495. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.11.013.
72. Vallett, D. B., Lamb, R. I., & Annetta, L. A. (2013). The gorilla in the room: The impacts of video-game play on visual attention. Computers in Human Behavior, 29, 2183-2187. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.05.001.
73. Van den Bussche, E., Van den Noortgate, W., & Reynolds, B. (2009). Mechanisms of masked priming: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 135, 452-477.
74. Velez, J. A., Mahood, C., Ewoldsen, D., & Moyer-Guse, E. (2014). Ingroup versus outgroup conflict in the context of violent video game play: The effect of cooperation on increased helping and decreased aggression. Communication Research, 41, 607-626. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0093650212456202.
75. Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063-1070. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1063.
76. Wilms, I. I., Petersen, A., & Vangkilde, S. (2013). Intensive video gaming improves encoding speed to visual short-term memory in young male adults. Acta Psychologica, 142, 108-118. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2012.11.003.