In a recent study on the potential effects video games have on the human mind, researchers have discovered that individuals who play first-person shooters, such as the recently released Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare or other action-oriented video games, demonstrate a greater capacity for learning than those who play other types of games (such as those in the popular Sims franchise).
The aforementioned study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. One of the people involved in the project was Daphne Bavalier, a brain/cognitive sciences research professor at the University of Rochester, who stated the following:
“Prior research by our group and others has shown that action gamers excel at many tasks. In this new study, we show they excel because they are better learners.”
Read more details and learn how the study was performed below.
Study Finds That Call of Duty, Action Gamers Learn Better
As a general overview in regards to how the study in question was carried out, researchers compared the visual performance of 10 people who played action-oriented video games such as Call of Duty to 10 other people who played non-action-oriented games like The Sims, whilst keeping track of their respective ability to distinguish sets of rapidly presented black and white lines from each other.
According to Bavalier, the initial differences between the two groups were minimal. However, in time, those who played Call of Duty and other action games were better able to estimate what various patterns of lines would look like, showing evidence of an accelerated learning curve.
Bavalier stated, in regards to their findings, the following:
“In order to sharpen its prediction skills, our brains constantly build models, or ‘templates,’ of the world. The better the template, the better the performance. And now we know playing action video game actually fosters better templates.”
If you’re interested in reading a much more in-depth analysis of Bavalier and company’s findings, you can do so here.
What are your thoughts on the findings this new study has discovered? If you’re an avid player of Call of Duty or other action-oriented video games, do you really feel that playing them has improved your capacity to learn? Why or why not?
Let us know in the comments section below! As always, stay tuned to GamerHeadlines.com for the latest in video game and technology news!