Differences in Visual Attention Performance Between Action Game Playing and Non-playing Children

Games often act as a teaching tool, but prolonged video game playing may have effects on the cognitive ability of schoolchildren. The present research aims to investigate such effects. The study recruited schoolchildren from grades 1 to 6 as participants to examine differences in attention performance between action game players and non-players. The experiment used the modified UFOV (useful field of view) operated with such factors as distance and clues. The results revealed that the players are significantly superior to the non-players in reaction speed and accuracy, suggesting that the players have better attention in the space and selection realms. In addition, distance also had a significant effect on the participants: increase in distance significantly lowered the accuracy of the non-players, whereas that of the players changed little. The results suggest that video games can strengthen the visual attention of children. It is recommended that the research findings be considered in the design of teaching tools related to attention training. In addition, the task characteristics of the action game content can be incorporated in educational materials to improve the effectiveness of training and assistance.