Latest: /// Morning Discussion

Video Gamin' and Multitaskin'

Dec 12, 2005 4:15pm CST tags: Wack News
Oregon State University assistant professor of psychology Mei-Ching Lien has been studying people's ability to easily change topics or trains of thought on the fly while performing other tasks and believes that doing so is a difficult task for the human brain. For example, people talking on cell phones while driving are likely to experience "inattention and slow reaction times" especially when the conversation is involved, because the two tasks both require a level of complexity on the part of the driver. Lien did have one point to make about an activity that might mitigate this sort of problem:
In her lab studies, she has yet to test any volunteers who are immune to delays in multi-tasking, though she says some students do much better than others. "I have to say that the best ones are those who play a lot of video games," she pointed out. "Those are lab studies, however, and not driving tests."

Though she did not do any tests specifically testing a link between video game prowess and the ability to concentrate while driving and using a cell phone, her observation is one that crops up rather frequently in tests measuring mental sharpness if not necessarily suggesting anything about raw intelligence. So if you're worried about your brain rotting (or possibly melting) due to a gaming habit, know that you might just be a bit quicker on the uptake as well. Just don't forget to go outside sometimes too.

        

Related Stories

  • Morning Discussion

    1351 Comments | Nov 23, 2009 8:00am CST

    Of all the games I missed while in subpar PC purgatory, Far Cry 2 was the one I most wanted to play--due in no small part to the constant enthusing of...

  • Weekend Discussion: Tickle Fight!

    10533 Comments | Nov 21, 2009 11:00am CST

    With the weekend now underway, please remember to be careful out there. You never know when it could happen. All it takes is a few seconds and you've ...

  • Evening Reading: Weekend Confirmed

    2370 Comments | Nov 20, 2009 8:35pm CST

    With my hands-on impressions of ModNation Racer posted now there's a whole other conversation we got into during my visit up there that I want to brin...

  • Morning Discussion

    6650 Comments | Nov 20, 2009 8:00am CST

    I've been holding off on buying Dragon Age: Origins because I cannot afford to be sucked into a huge, long and engrossing video game right now. Especi...

  • Evening Reading: Learned in Canada

    2563 Comments | Nov 19, 2009 8:41pm CST

    Running down and still have some thoughts on ModNation Racers to get ready for in the morning. So it's a brief ER tonight. All I have to regale you wi...

  • Morning Discussion

    6332 Comments | Nov 19, 2009 8:00am CST

    Tonight I'll be making a return visit to The Endless Forest, as Tale of Tales have released a new version with a swanky new magical pond. I stop by a ...

  • Evening Reading: Faylure Averted

    2729 Comments | Nov 18, 2009 8:00pm CST

    I was rather worried today wouldn't bring anything on par with yesterday's Mass: We Pray trailer, but it seems my concerns were misplaced. Good show, ...

  • Morning Discussion

    6481 Comments | Nov 18, 2009 7:15am CST

    My apologies for being slightly late with this chatty thread. You see, I had to complete the final campaign of Left 4 Dead 2. I now promise that for t...

  • Evening Reading - Tuesday 2 Day

    2735 Comments | Nov 17, 2009 9:09pm CST

    Garnett is busy barely containing his excitement over Mass Effect 2 up in Canada, and Chris and Alice are enjoying some hard earned time to do whateve...

  • Morning Discussion

    6907 Comments | Nov 17, 2009 8:00am CST

    "Crazy neck!" cried Rochelle when she first saw a Spitter. Magnificent. I woke up early today to play Left 4 Dead 2 and am happy to report it is in...