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26 - Intelligence and Video Games

from Part V - Intelligence and Information Processing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 December 2019

Robert J. Sternberg
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
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Summary

Video games can be useful tools for assessing intelligence and cognitive differences. First, available video games are grouped into thirteen genres defining their basic features. Second, empirical studies relating intelligence and video games are reviewed. Results show very strong correlations between intelligence and video game performance at the latent level, which suggests that the latter taps core facets of the intelligence concept. Third, regarding cognitive processes, studies have focused on “action video games.” Results have shown that video game experience (hours per week) correlates mainly with visuospatial cognition, perception, and attention. Fourth, key neural correlates of video game performance are also discussed. The final section enumerates required features for a video game to properly measure intelligence differences using a video game elaborated for research purposes (Forgotten Depths).

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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