Video Games as a Means to Reduce Age-related Cognitive Decline: Attitudes, Compliance, and Effectiveness
Recent research has demonstrated broad benefits of video game play to perceptual and cognitive abilities. These broad improvements suggest that video game-based cognitive interventions may be ideal to combat the many perceptual and cognitive declines associated with advancing age. Furthermore, gam...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2013-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00031/full |
| _version_ | 1828367923395166208 |
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| author | Walter R. Boot Michael eChampion Daniel Patrick Blakely Timothy eWright Dustin eSouders Neil eCharness |
| author_facet | Walter R. Boot Michael eChampion Daniel Patrick Blakely Timothy eWright Dustin eSouders Neil eCharness |
| author_sort | Walter R. Boot |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Recent research has demonstrated broad benefits of video game play to perceptual and cognitive abilities. These broad improvements suggest that video game-based cognitive interventions may be ideal to combat the many perceptual and cognitive declines associated with advancing age. Furthermore, game interventions have the potential to induce higher rates of intervention compliance compared to other cognitive interventions as they are assumed to be inherently enjoyable and motivating. We explored these issues in an intervention that tested the ability of an action game and a brain fitness game to improve a variety of abilities. Cognitive abilities did not significantly improve, suggesting caution when recommending video game interventions as a means to reduce the effects of cognitive aging. However, the game expected to produce the largest benefit based on previous literature (an action game) induced the lowest intervention compliance. We explain this low compliance by participants’ ratings of the action game as less enjoyable and by their prediction that training would have few meaningful benefits. Despite null cognitive results, data provide valuable insights into the types of video games older adults are willing to play and why. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T06:04:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-127082779bfa45e3b558270645304053 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T06:04:18Z |
| publishDate | 2013-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-127082779bfa45e3b5582706453040532022-12-22T02:08:36ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782013-02-01410.3389/fpsyg.2013.0003139121Video Games as a Means to Reduce Age-related Cognitive Decline: Attitudes, Compliance, and EffectivenessWalter R. Boot0Michael eChampion1Daniel Patrick Blakely2Timothy eWright3Dustin eSouders4Neil eCharness5Florida State UniversityArizona State UniversityFlorida State UniversityFlorida State UniversityFlorida State UniversityFlorida State UniversityRecent research has demonstrated broad benefits of video game play to perceptual and cognitive abilities. These broad improvements suggest that video game-based cognitive interventions may be ideal to combat the many perceptual and cognitive declines associated with advancing age. Furthermore, game interventions have the potential to induce higher rates of intervention compliance compared to other cognitive interventions as they are assumed to be inherently enjoyable and motivating. We explored these issues in an intervention that tested the ability of an action game and a brain fitness game to improve a variety of abilities. Cognitive abilities did not significantly improve, suggesting caution when recommending video game interventions as a means to reduce the effects of cognitive aging. However, the game expected to produce the largest benefit based on previous literature (an action game) induced the lowest intervention compliance. We explain this low compliance by participants’ ratings of the action game as less enjoyable and by their prediction that training would have few meaningful benefits. Despite null cognitive results, data provide valuable insights into the types of video games older adults are willing to play and why.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00031/fullVideo Gamescognitive trainingcognitive agingbrain trainingtransfer of trainingadherence |
| spellingShingle | Walter R. Boot Michael eChampion Daniel Patrick Blakely Timothy eWright Dustin eSouders Neil eCharness Video Games as a Means to Reduce Age-related Cognitive Decline: Attitudes, Compliance, and Effectiveness Frontiers in Psychology Video Games cognitive training cognitive aging brain training transfer of training adherence |
| title | Video Games as a Means to Reduce Age-related Cognitive Decline: Attitudes, Compliance, and Effectiveness |
| title_full | Video Games as a Means to Reduce Age-related Cognitive Decline: Attitudes, Compliance, and Effectiveness |
| title_fullStr | Video Games as a Means to Reduce Age-related Cognitive Decline: Attitudes, Compliance, and Effectiveness |
| title_full_unstemmed | Video Games as a Means to Reduce Age-related Cognitive Decline: Attitudes, Compliance, and Effectiveness |
| title_short | Video Games as a Means to Reduce Age-related Cognitive Decline: Attitudes, Compliance, and Effectiveness |
| title_sort | video games as a means to reduce age related cognitive decline attitudes compliance and effectiveness |
| topic | Video Games cognitive training cognitive aging brain training transfer of training adherence |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00031/full |
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