Abstract
To examine the effects of experience and training of a first person shooter (FPS) game on cognitive abilities, we conducted three experiments in which participants performed useful field of view (UFOV), visual working memory (VWM), and reaction time (RT) tasks. In Experiment 1, we compared performance on the three cognitive tasks between FPS players and non-FPS players. In Experiments 2 and 3, changes in task performance after 10-hr training or no training on the FPS game were examined. Experiment 1 showed that FPS players performed better than did non-FPS players on all cognitive tasks. Experiment 2 showed higher performance on all cognitive tasks after the training compared with those before it. Experiment 3 showed no enhancement of performance on all tasks. These results indicate that FPS game experience and/or training can enhance cognitive abilities at least for UFOV, VMW, and RT.
