University of Rochester: Action games improve vision

by Zack Stern { Feb 6th 2007 at 3:51PM }

Science Blog covers a University of Rochester study that says action videogames improve visual processing by 20 percent. A group of students played Unreal Tournament and another group played Tetris, which was selected because of its motor complexity but visual simplicity. After regular training with the respective games, the UT players more easily identified the orientation of a letter "T" among a jumble of other shapes in a crowding test. The Tetris group's responses didn't change.

The study suggests that action games alter the way our minds process information even after playing; the researchers think that games could help combat certain visual disorders. We just hope that our improved ability to identify objects makes up for our blurred vision after marathon game nights.

Tags: health, mind hack, MindHack, research, study, vision

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

miles foreman @ Feb 6th 2007 3:59PM

Of course they did. "T" looks like a crosshair. If it had been an "L" though, I bet the tetris kids would have had better scores.

Slaziman @ Feb 6th 2007 4:14PM

Tetris has a T shaped block too :(

Vidikron @ Feb 6th 2007 4:21PM

That's actually pretty interesting, but not all that surprising when you think about it. In Tetris you are primarily focus on one shape at a time. And these shapes are also very well defined and don't have a lot of clutter around. In your average FPS you have to be able to track lots of movement and objects at the same time... all with the clutter of the environment and gunfire/explosions going on at the same time. So it's really not surprising that kinds playing UT would be better at spotting specific objects hidden among other objects.

Intentless @ Feb 6th 2007 4:22PM

Do you play action games? Have you actually hung out with the two groups... The "Twitchers" and the RPG slow game players? People who play quick pased games do tend to have quicker reactions to situations and more accurate hand high cordination... I've found that compared to other photographers I find small nuances in images faster than they do or at least the non-gaming ones... If you hung out with my friends you would easily see which of us have played RPGs and which play FPS. Granted some are inclined to play what they are more naturally inclined to do but anyway... I hope your being funny with that T remark... cause an L isn't far off from some crosshairs from some games...

df @ Feb 7th 2007 12:13PM

About time they finished the study - When I was going there in 2001 they were still doing it. Great pay too, $50 to play call of duty for a few hours a week.

However, the results may have been skewed, because of how many gamers there are on that campus. When you go to school in an area that has snow from november to mid april, there simply isn't much to do. I know alot of people ( myself included ) that did the study and claimed to have never played a computer game :P

Everyone that I knew pretended to not know how to play CoD...

wait in the car @ Feb 6th 2007 5:03PM

Does "hand high" coordination refer to how dexterous your hands are when stoned? I think this deserves an entry at urbandictionary.com......

DarkStrikeSX @ Feb 6th 2007 5:12PM

This is completely true. When i was born, I got an eye disorder called "Pendulum Nystagmus", which basically means my eyes shake crazily back and fourth for complex reasons i wont explain here. Anyways, i also have slightly impaired vision accompanied by Pendulum Nystagmus. Well, i went for a recent eye exam, and it turns out my vision has been steadily improving. When i was born the doctor said i would have absolutely no chance at driving a car and other things that required good vision. Now i have my license and I can see very well. Albeit i still have to wear glasses but the point remains that I can see better better than i have ever before. And I think its because of my excessive gaming. Heh, I was once told that playing games was bad for your eyes. So much for that.

Intentless @ Feb 6th 2007 5:19PM

Damn.... Normally not that bad... Busy day at work... Wow... how did I miss that...

wait in the car @ Feb 6th 2007 5:41PM

No worries. I wouldn't have even noticed, let alone commented, if my office weren't the extreme opposite of yours today. It made for a more entertaining post anyway. Counting the minutes...

Grindstone @ Feb 6th 2007 5:55PM

Interesting. I recently went through a "thorough" physical examination and my left eye is now 10/20, and my right eye is 15/20. I used to wear glasses. Now my vision is better than average.

Mr Khan @ Feb 6th 2007 5:57PM

True here

I'm now 15/20 with contacts (although i'm declining without)

don @ Feb 6th 2007 10:16PM

just to clarify, its 20/15, not 15/20. And the sharpness of you vision (which is what you guys are referring to) has little to do with visual performance. By that I mean you can be 20/20 with poor vision (tracking, pursuits, focusing, peripheral awareness) and also be 20/50 with excellent vision.

its too bad so many eye doctors only seem to tell patients what their snellen acuity is, and most patients are trained to only care what it is. snellen is so 1900s... :)

dotun.o @ Feb 7th 2007 12:15AM

"The study suggests that action games alter the way our minds process information even after playing;"

Would this not also suggest that gaming can also affect behavior? Since behavior is also a product of what and how our minds process information?

At the risk of sparking a heated debate, I feel compelled to point out the double standard - the support for games' psychological influence when the results are positive, but outright rejection when negative.

PS: This is not fodder for Jack Thompson and the like; while I do consider violent games (and violent media in general) as factors in aggressive behavior, I do not see eye-to-eye with their crusade against all gaming.