In addition, “Preliminary research has also demonstrated that these cognitive advantages manifest in measurable changes in neural processing and efﬁciency.” Which, best I can tell, means that gamers use their neural resources more efficiently-their brains don’t show as much activity as non-gamer's brains show while solving problems.įinally, there seems to be convincing evidence that playing games enhances problem-solving skills and improves creativity. In controlled tests, folks who played first person shooters showed “faster and more accurate attention allocation, higher spatial resolution in visual processing, and enhanced mental rotation abilities.” Apparently, the improvement in spacial skills that gamers develop are comparable to those developed in formal courses designed to teach the same skills. The Cognitive Benefits of First Person Shooters Here are 4 ways video game play may benefit adolescents overall psychological health.ġ. Therefore, I present this particular research with reservations about its underlying assumptions, but enthusiasm about its findings. Since we don’t have the space here to question that ‘ideal’ in depth, we’ll have to take it at face value. Still, despite the many objections to their diagnostic practices, the American Psychological Association does hold the predominantly accepted definition of mental health, the definition of the ‘ideal’ psychological comportment for our current society. Consider that myriad authors have pointed out that many of our most ‘successful’ citizens, our most famous CEOs in particular, display sociopathic tendencies.

Healthy for what? Often, we are defining what it means to be healthy enough to participate in an inherently unhealthy system. That is, I believe we should seriously question what agenda underlies any attempt at identifying an “ideal” image of health. I feel compelled to mention that I do have a number of questions about the validity of the general concept of “psychological health.” The criteria with which we assess one’s psychological well-being seem, to me, inescapably political in nature. They summarize research on the positive impact of gaming in the following areas: cognitive, motivational, emotional, and social.

Bliss video game