Reaction Times of Gamers and Non-Gamers

Paper Summary:

This paper reports that the results of the experiment were consistent with the hypothesis that people who play video games at least 10 hours a week will have improved reaction times over people who do not play video games. The author points out that, for the purposes of this study, gamers were defined as participants who played video games ten hours a week or more, while non-gamers were defined as those who played video games less than ten hours a week. The paper relates that an online survey was created through www.surveymonkey.com and administered to obtain demographics, information about the gaming habits of participants and whether or not they participated in any other activity that could increase their reaction times.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Methodology
Participants
Materials and Measures
Online Survey
Online Reaction Test
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
Appendix: Gaming and Reaction Time Survey Questionnaire

From the Paper:

"Laming (1968) found that reaction times for recognition reaction time tests averaged 0.384 seconds. The means obtained from the current experiment are lower than the expected means for a reaction time test. The mean reaction time for gamers was 0.248 seconds, while that of non-gamers was 0.305 seconds. This may be due to the fact that the measures used in the current experiment were more accurate than those used by Laming or because the stimuli presented were simpler."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Allen, J. (2002) The Online Reaction Time Test. Retrieved 21 September 2006 from http://getyourwebsitehere.com/jswb/rttest01.html
• Adam, J., F. Paas, M. Buekers, I. Wuyts, W. Spijkers and P. Wallmeyer. (1999) Gender differences in choice reaction time: evidence for differential strategies. Ergonomics 42: 327.
• Deary, I. Der, G. (2005) Reaction Time, Age, and Cognitive Ability: Longitudinal Findings from Age 16 to 63 Years in Representative Population Samples. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 12:187-215
• Der, G., and I. J. Deary. (2006) Age and sex differences in reaction time in adulthood: Results from the United Kingdom health and lifestyle survey. Psychology and Aging 21(1): 62-73.
• Dye, M. and Bavelier, D. (2004) Playing Video Games Enhances Visual Attention in Children. Journal of Vision, 4(11):40a

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