Psychology of Computer Use: XII. Videogame Play: Human Reaction Time to Visual Stimuli

Abstract

Past research shows that videogame play appears to be effective in improving performance on visual, spatial, and motor tasks. In this experiment 20 subjects, 5 male and 15 female, were pre- and posttested for reaction time speed over 20 trials. The experimental group received a 15-min. practice treatment interval on an Atari 2600 videogame system between the two test sessions. Analysis using the reaction time differences confirmed the hypothesis that videogame play decreases reaction time.