'StarCraft' Gameplay Boosts Mental Flexibility, Says Study
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Re: 'StarCraft' Gameplay Boosts Mental Flexibility, Says Study
#2"The participant pool was composed entirely of 72 female students at the University of Texas at Austin, because researchers were unable to find male participants who played computer games for less than two hours a day."
The sample size seems far too small and narrow to draw any conclusions from.
Re: 'StarCraft' Gameplay Boosts Mental Flexibility, Says Study
#3"The participant pool was composed entirely of 72 female students at the University of Texas at Austin, because researchers were unable to find male participants who played computer games for less than two hours a day." The sample size seems far too small and narrow to draw any conclusions from.
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Re: 'StarCraft' Gameplay Boosts Mental Flexibility, Says Study
#4"The participant pool was composed entirely of 72 female students at the University of Texas at Austin, because researchers were unable to find male participants who played computer games for less than two hours a day." The sample size seems far too small and narrow to draw any conclusions from.
Sample size has nothing (not strictly true) to do with whether a result is statistically significant. I imagine they chose this sample size because it could potentially yield a statistically significant sample.
A larger sample size means that a smaller average increase is required to show that it is a statistically significant deviation than a smaller sample.
Re: 'StarCraft' Gameplay Boosts Mental Flexibility, Says Study
#5[deleted]
Re: 'StarCraft' Gameplay Boosts Mental Flexibility, Says Study
#6I can't help but think that's not a good sample.
Re: 'StarCraft' Gameplay Boosts Mental Flexibility, Says Study
#7"The participant pool was composed entirely of 72 female students at the University of Texas at Austin, because researchers were unable to find male participants who played computer games for less than two hours a day." The sample size seems far too small and narrow to draw any conclusions from.
Sample size has nothing (not strictly true) to do with whether a result is statistically significant. I imagine they chose this sample size because it could potentially yield a statistically significant sample. A larger sample size means that a smaller average increase is required to show that it is a statistically significant deviation than a smaller sample.
> Sample size has nothing (not strictly true) to do with whether a result is statistically significant.
I hate to rain on your parade, but sample size has everything to do with whether a result is statistically significant.
http://sph.bu.edu/otlt/MPH-Modules/BS/BS704_Power/BS704_Powe...
Re: 'StarCraft' Gameplay Boosts Mental Flexibility, Says Study
#8"The participant pool was composed entirely of 72 female students at the University of Texas at Austin, because researchers were unable to find male participants who played computer games for less than two hours a day." The sample size seems far too small and narrow to draw any conclusions from.
Sample size has nothing (not strictly true) to do with whether a result is statistically significant. I imagine they chose this sample size because it could potentially yield a statistically significant sample. A larger sample size means that a smaller average increase is required to show that it is a statistically significant deviation than a smaller sample.
True, however, I also noted the sample was not just small but narrow. 72, female, university students - I would be surprised if over 6-8 weeks their cognitive capacity didn't improve in a measurable way - university can be a very demanding environment.
The study makes no mention of controlling for degree programs or a variety of other factors which would affect cognitive development, combined with the incredibly small sample size, It is my opinion that any conclusions from this research need to be taken with a pinch of salt.
Re: 'StarCraft' Gameplay Boosts Mental Flexibility, Says Study
#9Consider the opportunity costs involved. The huge amount of time and energy usually 'spent' on games like this could have been used for something else, possibly boosting mental flexibility and other things equally or more than Starcraft.
I would expect the purported positive effects of gaming should be way more pronounced, given the many hours many people play each day. It seems that someone who spends the same time honing a real skill (e.g. programming) would come out way ahead!
Tangentially, speaking of the "costs" of gaming:
A game like Starcraft combines
- a competitive 1 vs 1 mode, forcing a maximum effort each game
- is using a wide range of motoric and cognitive skills, requiring not only quick reactions and multitasking, but also several levels of higher level thinking (analyzing the ongoing game, analyzing build orders and metagame between matches, reading up on things on forums).
To me this seems to lead to a complete exhaustion of the player, instead of giving a challange combined with relaxation and distraction.
I would rather recommend casual games ("let take my mind off work for a few minutes"), 3D shooters (positive stress, excitement, but resting cognitive brain functions) or "thinking games", be it chess, or a civilization style building game (giving a mental challenge that one might have missed in today's work). And avoid a super competitive environment that gives you a negative feedback if you're giving 100% all the time.
Would you agree?
Re: 'StarCraft' Gameplay Boosts Mental Flexibility, Says Study
#10" were unable to find male participants who played computer games for less than two hours a day."
BUT THE DOCUMENT S1 DAYS
"Participants who reported 2 hours or less of video games per week qualified for inclusion in this study"
Week != Day
This is some bad reporting, Riva Gold.