Effects of Action Video Game on Spatial Attention Distribution in Low and High Perceptual Load Task

As video game playing is gaining great popularity in today’s society, some researchers have done great researches about its cognitive effects. They found that the experience of video game playing could enhance a number of cognitive abilities of people such as reaction speed, attentional capability and the efficiency of the spatial attention distribution, which made the target search from distractors faster with better accuracy. Based on the previous researches, the present study explored the attention distribution of action video game players and nonplayers at different perceptual loads under focused attention condition. The results showed that, at low perceptual load, action video game players tried to focus their attention on the task at-hand whereas the non-players tried to explore the adjacent locations with the left-over resources from the research task; however, at high perceptual load, the players would process the visual information at the adjacent locations of the target with the left-over resources, whereas the non-players focused their attention on the target locations to finish the search task. Furthermore, the training study indicated that the two video games applied could enhance the reaction speed of the participants and that limited training could not alter the way of the spatial attention distribution.