The effects of video game use on spatial ability in a landmark memory task

Author

Brendan T. Jacobs, Purchase College, State University of New YorkFollow
Christina A. Thrasher, Purchase College, State University of New YorkFollow
Lauren L. Harburger, Purchase College, State University of New YorkFollow

Volume

30

Number

1

Department

Dept. of Psychology

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Date

2024

Abstract

The present study sought to determine whether playing video games more often improves spatial ability on the landmark memory task. The researchers hypothesized that participants who play video games more often would perform better on the task than those who play video games less often. One hundred seventy-two participants (80 men and 92 women) between the ages of 18 and 26 filled out a questionnaire which asked about video gaming habits prior to a landmark memory task. The landmark memory task consisted of 10-second videos that showed 180-degree views of various locations. At the completion of each video, an image from the video was displayed and participants were asked if a landmark from the original video was to the left or right of the image location. Performance on the landmark memory task was not correlated with how often participants reported playing video games when the genre of games was not specified; thus, our hypothesis was not supported. Although, spatial task performance was significantly correlated with how often participants played 3-dimensional (3D) navigational video games. Participants who played 3-dimensional navigational video games more often performed better on the landmark memory task than participants who played 3-dimensional navigational video games less often. Thus, 3-dimensional navigational games may be more beneficial to spatial ability compared to other genres of games. Limitations and future directions are further addressed.

Keyword

video games; spatial memory; navigation; landmark cues; object memory

Discipline

Psychology

Document Type

article

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Recommended Citation

Jacobs, Brendan T.; Thrasher, Christina A.; and Harburger, Lauren L. (2024) "The effects of video game use on spatial ability in a landmark memory task," Modern Psychological Studies: Vol. 30: No. 1, Article 10.
Available at: https://scholar.utc.edu/mps/vol30/iss1/10