Comments on: Do Action Video Games Make Players Better Decision Makers? http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/09/14/do-action-video-games-make-players-better-decision-makers/ Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:34:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: Keith B http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/09/14/do-action-video-games-make-players-better-decision-makers/#comment-22115 Keith B Tue, 21 Sep 2010 13:19:17 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/?p=20032#comment-22115 Beth, there are already great games out there for you. I recommend you put Civilization IV or Civilization V in front of someone, or a Zelda game, or Mario. When you say "the ones that teach murder and mayhem as a normal behavior," I wonder whether you want to apply the same criterion to other media: to film, to literature, to music? Would Tales from the Crypt make the cut? How about Jersey Shore? Or Lady Chatterly's Lover? Beth, there are already great games out there for you. I recommend you put Civilization IV or Civilization V in front of someone, or a Zelda game, or Mario. When you say “the ones that teach murder and mayhem as a normal behavior,” I wonder whether you want to apply the same criterion to other media: to film, to literature, to music? Would Tales from the Crypt make the cut? How about Jersey Shore? Or Lady Chatterly’s Lover?

]]> By: Beth Terry http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/09/14/do-action-video-games-make-players-better-decision-makers/#comment-22114 Beth Terry Mon, 20 Sep 2010 22:24:46 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/?p=20032#comment-22114 One of the things I've observed is the ability of gamers to have a longer vision about what will happen if they make X move as opposed to Y move. They seem to have developed some neural pathways that deal with Consequences of choices far more quickly than non-gamers. I don't have the scientific proof, but I have been observing this in Generation X and Y for some time. Thus I'm happy to see research being done on this. It will be exciting to see all the results as research continues. As "Yeah, Well..." points out, practice makes better quarterbacks. But it's practice in a specific way that non-gamers don't often have. Just as my puppies play to learn, these gamers are playing to learn skills that are vital for survival in an info-tech world. Now -- if we can just get rid of the creepy video games - the ones that teach murder and mayhem as a normal behavior that's rewarded... I look forward to schools jumping on this bandwagon and creating better video games as intense learning tools (hopefully far more sophisticated than the earlier attempts.) One of the things I’ve observed is the ability of gamers to have a longer vision about what will happen if they make X move as opposed to Y move. They seem to have developed some neural pathways that deal with Consequences of choices far more quickly than non-gamers. I don’t have the scientific proof, but I have been observing this in Generation X and Y for some time. Thus I’m happy to see research being done on this. It will be exciting to see all the results as research continues. As “Yeah, Well…” points out, practice makes better quarterbacks. But it’s practice in a specific way that non-gamers don’t often have. Just as my puppies play to learn, these gamers are playing to learn skills that are vital for survival in an info-tech world.

Now — if we can just get rid of the creepy video games – the ones that teach murder and mayhem as a normal behavior that’s rewarded… I look forward to schools jumping on this bandwagon and creating better video games as intense learning tools (hopefully far more sophisticated than the earlier attempts.)

]]> By: Yeah, well... http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/09/14/do-action-video-games-make-players-better-decision-makers/#comment-22113 Yeah, well... Mon, 20 Sep 2010 19:05:38 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/?p=20032#comment-22113 This just in, quarterbacks proven to make better passing decisions then those who don't quarterback. Practice works. This just in, quarterbacks proven to make better passing decisions then those who don’t quarterback. Practice works.

]]> By: disagree http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/09/14/do-action-video-games-make-players-better-decision-makers/#comment-22112 disagree Tue, 14 Sep 2010 22:43:16 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/?p=20032#comment-22112 google a story on a guy who played action and racing video games more than the casual gamer, because he was driving on the highway and made a split second decision regarding a semi truck that jack knifed, causing the top half of his car to be torn off by the trailer, if he hadn't made the 100th of a second decision to duck his head he wouldn't be alive. just like the military uses action games to train soldiers on making split second decisions regarding picking out targets and not shooting civilians, regardless, your brain has muscle memory when you practice at something for hours at a time. go play modern warfare 2 and tell me it doesn't require skill, or that people who play those types of games are only good at making split second decisions in the game, and not at making decisions in reality. google a story on a guy who played action and racing video games more than the casual gamer, because he was driving on the highway and made a split second decision regarding a semi truck that jack knifed, causing the top half of his car to be torn off by the trailer, if he hadn’t made the 100th of a second decision to duck his head he wouldn’t be alive. just like the military uses action games to train soldiers on making split second decisions regarding picking out targets and not shooting civilians, regardless, your brain has muscle memory when you practice at something for hours at a time. go play modern warfare 2 and tell me it doesn’t require skill, or that people who play those types of games are only good at making split second decisions in the game, and not at making decisions in reality.

]]> By: Non-Believer http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/09/14/do-action-video-games-make-players-better-decision-makers/#comment-22111 Non-Believer Tue, 14 Sep 2010 17:46:13 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/?p=20032#comment-22111 This appears to study fairly similar decisions as the game. Not decision making generally. Basically the repeated practice of making predictive decisions about which way the enemy in the game will turn improves that ability to predict which way a dot will move. They are in fact the same skill. Does that translate into making better decisions that are not related to predicting direction and acting quickly on that decision? I don't think they have shown that. This appears to study fairly similar decisions as the game. Not decision making generally. Basically the repeated practice of making predictive decisions about which way the enemy in the game will turn improves that ability to predict which way a dot will move. They are in fact the same skill.
Does that translate into making better decisions that are not related to predicting direction and acting quickly on that decision? I don’t think they have shown that.

]]> By: Livia Blackburne http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/09/14/do-action-video-games-make-players-better-decision-makers/#comment-22110 Livia Blackburne Tue, 14 Sep 2010 16:16:06 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/?p=20032#comment-22110 It's probably also worth noting that what is referred to as decision making here is a very low level decision. I haven't seen this paper yet, but it seems like the task is almost perceptual. So it's not like these video gamers are better at critical thinking or weighing difficult choices. They're better at looking at a bunch of dots and deciding which direction they're moving. Not surprising since they do a lot of motion processing in the video game. It’s probably also worth noting that what is referred to as decision making here is a very low level decision. I haven’t seen this paper yet, but it seems like the task is almost perceptual. So it’s not like these video gamers are better at critical thinking or weighing difficult choices. They’re better at looking at a bunch of dots and deciding which direction they’re moving. Not surprising since they do a lot of motion processing in the video game.

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