Mental Ability Games

The one variety of play that has not declined over these decades, but has increased, is video gaming. For the most part, children can no longer go outdoors and find others to play with, freely, away from adults, as they once did; but many of them can and do go onto computers and play video games. Over time, these games have become increasingly varied, complex, creative, and social.

This is especially true with the increasing popularity of multi-player online games. If you believe the scare articles in the media, you might believe that the rise of video gaming is a cause of declines in psychological health, but, as I have suggested elsewhere (e.g. ), the opposite may be true.

Video gaming may in fact be an ameliorating factor, helping to counteract the harmful effects of the loss of other forms of play. If video gaming worsens psychological wellbeing, then we should expect to find more mental health and social problems in video gamers than in otherwise similar people who are not gamers. If video gaming, like other forms of play, generally improves wellbeing, then we should find that gamers are mentally healthier, on average, than non-gamers. By now, many dozens of studies have examined psychological correlates of and consequences of video gaming, and, taken as a whole, the results overwhelmingly support the idea that video gaming produces many of the same kinds of benefits as other forms of play. Here is a review of that research. Cognitive BenefitsMost of the video gaming research to date has focused on. Correlational studies have consistently revealed that young people who play video games extensively have, on average, higher IQs and perform better on a wide variety of cognitive tests of perceptual and mental ability than do non-gamers.

General Mental Ability Test

Moreover, a number of experiments have demonstrated improvement in previous non-gamers' cognitive abilities when they take up gaming for the sake of the experiment. I summarized many of those findings in a previous post. Research more recently has confirmed and extended those findings. In a recent article in Psychological Bulletin, Benoit Bediou and his colleagues (2018) reviewed all of the recent research (published since 2000) they could find concerning the cognitive effects of playing action video games.

They found 89 correlational studies, which related the average number of hours per week of action video games to one or more measures of cognitive ability, and 22 intervention studies (true experiments), in which non-gamers were asked to play action video games for a specified number of hours per week, for a specified number of weeks, and were compared with other non-gamers on degree of improvement over that time on one or more cognitive tests. Their analysis of the correlational studies revealed, overall, strong positive relationships between amount of time gaming and high scores on tests of perception, top-down, spatial cognition, multitasking, and cognitive flexibility (ability to switch strategies quickly when old ones strategies don’t work). Their analysis of the intervention data indicated that even just 10 to 30 hours of video play, over the duration of an experiment, significantly improved performance on tests of perception, attention, spatial cognition, and cognitive flexibility. Most video game research has been conducted with or young adults as participants, but one large-scale study conducted by Columbia University’s Mailman School of Mental Health examined correlates of video gaming in children ages 6 to 11 (Kovess-Masfety et al., 2016).

In this survey, 3195 children and their parents estimated the average number of hours per week that the children played video games, and parents and teachers filled out questionnaires regarding each child’s intellectual, social, and emotional functioning. The primary finding was that those who played video games for 5 hours a week or more evidenced significantly higher intellectual functioning, higher academic achievement, better peer relationships, and fewer mental health difficulties than those who played such games less or not at all. Creativity BenefitsTo date, there has been little research into possible links of video gaming to creativity.

An exception is a study by Linda Jackson and her colleagues (2012) in Michigan, in which the participants were 491 12-year-old children. These researchers assessed the hours per week that each child typically spent playing video games, and also assessed time spent on cell phones or on the Internet not playing games.

They assessed various aspects of creativity in each child using the well-validated Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (see for more on this battery of tests). The result, overall, was a large, significant gain in creative thinking, especially in that aspect of creative thinking referred to as flexibility.

The gain occurred for all three types of computer games, but was greatest for Portal-2. This study shows that even a short period of video gaming can put one, at least temporarily, into a highly creative frame of mind. This finding is quite similar to findings in previous research that other forms of play can also boost creativity (see Ch. 7 of Free to Learn also Gray, 2018).

On the basis of this, Matthew Ventura and his colleagues (2013) hypothesized that gamers would be more persistent—less likely to give up early—in solving difficult problems than would non-gamers. They subsequently confirmed this hypothesis in an experiment with college students. They found that those who played video games many hours a week persisted significantly longer at attempting to solve very difficult anagrams and riddles than did those who played video games less or not at all. This gain in persistence may help explain the positive correlations between video gaming and school grades, noted earlier. Consistent with the hypothesis that video gaming helps children learn to regulate their emotions is the evidence (mentioned earlier) that children who played video games for more than five hours a week exhibited fewer mental health difficulties, outside of play, than children who played such games less or not at all (Kovess-Masfety et al., 2016).

Also, in studies in which they describe their own perceptions of benefits of gaming, gamers often talk about how video play helps them to deal better with the and frustrations of their non-play life (see, and also Granic et al, 2014). Play has always provided the major context through which children make and interact with friends, and there is reason to think that video gaming serves that function for many children today. Children deprived of video gaming are likely to be left out of conversations among their peers, because so many of those conversations focus on games. Thus, it is not surprising that research, such as the study mentioned earlier involving children 6-11 years old, has revealed positive correlations between video gaming and social competence (Kovess-Masfety et al, 2016; for other studies, see Granic et al, 2014; and Olson, 2010; & Stevens et al, 2008).

And now, what are your thoughts and questions about video gaming? This blog is, among other things, a forum for discussion, and your views and knowledge are taken seriously by me and other readers.As always, please post your comments and questions here rather than send them to me by private email. By putting them here, you share with other readers, not just with me.

I read all comments and try to respond to all serious questions if I think I have something worth adding. If you respond to another person’s comments, please be respectful of that person, even if you disagree strongly with what that person has said. Thank you for this post. It speaks to my experience with my happy gamer. Because he has never been limited, he self regulates and is happy to take off at a moment's notice to meet up with a gang of peers unsupervised to swim at the Y and run around from Y to grocery to park to friends homes, trekking about town all day on a Saturday. Come school days, my happy unschooling gamer connects with friends all over the world in gaming and often with Skype, and I love to watch him playing Fortnight.

He offered me a chance at the game, but at 53, I'm a bit terrified of the controller, lol. Many days, my son will watch media or play games on PC or Xbox morning til night. Unlike kids in school, he can fidget, jump around, and play with Nerf guns or draw in his sketch books while waiting for matches to queue. I Iove having his setups in our primary living space and learn so much in the process, as does he. Some days, he goes to Y in the Park to play with friends when they get out of school. Other days, he challenges himself to level up. If he were limited or restricted from gaming, it might be like the parents who complain their kids will melt down if they have to stop.

His freedom has led to self regulation instead. And let's not forget the context building and knowledge that comes from cross referencing gaming passions with cultural and historical and geographic importances across other media, all self dug rabbit holes of learning. Icing on the cake!. Matt, He often pulls himself away to do myriad of things, including connecting with others. He switches gears easily, thus restrictions are not needed. It is never a fuss or fight to stop playing if life dictates a rational need to do so, or at all, under any circumstances, including when he gets bored of it.

But, I'm not going to make him stop simply because I fear he is over indulging. I have learned that I can fully trust my child because I have raised him in secure attachment, partnership, and respect. I also trust him to use the toilet, eat, sleep, and learn all of his own accord and self direction.

Just exactly, what is your concern? Because having raised his sisters into adulthood (oldest is almost 30), and comparing the impacts of restrictions vs.

Trust for the first 10 years of their brother's life, I've no complaints about the interdependent, compassionate, empathetic, self confident, creative, self regulated, outgoing, skilled, free thinking, mature, articulate, and happy child before me. And the citations in this article underscore my relevant and direct experience with my child. Trust the child. Do not guide from a place of conditioned fear. That's the job of old codgers who walked a mile in the snow uphill both ways to school. Isn't that a bit ridiculous, though?

He self-regulates in the life he has. There is no need for a limit on an enjoyable activity. Would you look at someone who plays a lot of chess and say 'sure, he self-regulates now, but what if we took chess away, would he be able to self-regulate then? We don't know.'

Or what about an adult? 'Sure, he self-regulates now, but what if we took his car or job or wife or kids away? Would he still be able to self-regulate? We don't know.' Of course there is no way to know for certain how anyone will handle a change in circumstance or lifestyle or the loss of something.but the best predictor is how someone handles his current life. There is no need to remove something or limit something arbitrarily just for the sake of limiting something or just to test how someone will handle an arbitrary limit.

Mental Ability Test

Andrea,I'm saying that if no demands are being put on the child, then there is no way to determine if the child can self-regulate. If the child is allowed to do what he wants 24/7, there's no way to tell if he can deal with external demands (I'm not saying that is the situation in her case).I think of childhood as a gradual transition to adulthood. Unless a child/family is independently wealth, they need to learn the normal aspects of being an adult and the demands that come with that. I don't believe a child can be given unlimited daily freedom, and then suddenly at age 18 they will be ready to earn a living, pay bills, take care of themselves physically, etc. Setting appropriate (not arbitrary) limits is part of being a responsible parent, in my opinion. Anonymous wrote:I don't believe a child can be given unlimited daily freedom, and then suddenly at age 18 they will be ready to earn a living, pay bills, take care of themselves physically, etc. Setting appropriate (not arbitrary) limits is part of being a responsible parent, in my opinion.I think your last sentence is the key to your comments: 'in my opinion'.

I'm interested if you are, like Peter Gray, an expert in this area or just someone with an opinion. The reason I ask is that I know for a fact that, loving, proactive 'freedom' (as you call it) certainly does lead to older kids and adults who are able to take responsibility for their own lives. I know many happy, productive adults who were radically unschooled through their childhoods and my own 15 year old is about to successfully complete a UK college diploma that she chose to sign up for along with schooled kids two years older than her because she loved the topic area. She's got up early every day, done her homework and pushed through the difficult and challenging times.

And all this despite being a prolific gamer.So if you are an expert, I'd really love to see your opposing evidence to Peter Gray's article rather than just an unlearned opinion. Hey Matt,Clearly you have strong convictions about coercing and restricting children.I feel like this last comment of yours is the most objective one you've posted across this 2-part (so far) series by Dr. Gray and the ensuing dialogue. Now you have arrived at the same line of questioning that all of us in this lifestyle have come to at one point or another.Welcome to the edifice of your own cognitive dissonance!That is not a put down!

I am trying to empathize, however lacking in eloquence that I might be at the moment.I will address your concern for kids like mine once they hit 18, but first, I want to talk about this paradigm.I was once like you, believing that kids cannot be successful unless they have been molded into shaped with clear expectations, demands, coercion if need be, restriction, and the regimental structure of compulsory schooling and strict parenting. That was literally ME in my 20s and 30s.I raised my now adult daughters that way, and endured rebellion for nearly a decade.I will note that there are certain 'gurus' out there who do what I now do as a parent, but despite concurring with the premise for their parenting, some are attention seeking narcissists, so as with any topic on the internet, it pays to find trustworthy sources of information. That's a side note.Reflecting on my own life and that of most people I know who grew up in the 60s-80s with patriarchal parenting from parents who were raised in the 30s-50s, I knew we were parenting in the only way we knew - the way that was modeled to us.It wasn't working, clearly. Despite trying to save my daughters from repeating our own mistakes, such parenting failed them, as it had failed me, and their father. My own troubled young adulthood is evidence enough of that fact, but being pregnant at an advanced age gave me the circumspect I needed to finally create a change for the better.I didn't know for certain that this new way (which really is not all that new, but the Internet makes it seem new) would even work, but I knew something had to change. The paradigm is more complex than I can indicate here, but the basis in authenticity is universal.I did my research and concluded that connection was the lacking ingredient.

The number of unschoolers is supposedly growing, too, if you entertain statistics on the internet or in the news. I took the risk and have never had any regrets beyond my own self doubts in the early days of this lifestyle.My adult daughters are now, not surprisingly fully supportive of the paradigm in which I raise their little brother. And because I owned my prior conditioning to reform the disconnection with them as part of my own evolution away from partriarchy, they trust me and are closer to me than when they were growing up.Even when I don't agree with their adult choices, I come to them with only compassion and acceptance and leave my judgment outside the door, as connection and trust are key in unconditional love and individual sovereignty. Maggie,That was probably my least objective comment because it was simply my opinion on an issue. Peter is trying to make a research case for video games when there is none.There would be no way to 'prove' unschooling is better because every child is unique. I think it can work depending on the child. For example, a family down the street homeschools one child and sends the other to public school.

Both seem fine to me.I have read Peter's book, books on homeschooling, read about Sudbury Valley, etc. You should read 'The Collapse of Parenting: How We Hurt Our Kids When We Treat Them Like Grown-Ups' by Leonard Sax if you want a different perspective on the issue.You seem like a caring mother. I just think we have different parenting philosophies and probably won't agree on this. Peter,I'll have to tackle the studies in a separate comment, but here is some food for thought: if video games are so great a skill-builder then why does no business or organization (except maybe video game design) value them?I know of no student who puts on their resume 'plays lots of video games'. Or do you think when the military is looking for future leaders, they look for someone who 'plays lots of video games'.Also, you creating a straw man argument about 'moral panic'.

Rational parents are against these games because it's common-sense: excessive time on video games does not lead to any positive outcomes. Please refer to (google) Forbes magazine on Roblox, and check out Wired magazine. Also, talk to Elon Musk!:-) The future is here and kids who game will have the world at their fingertips.

Kids in school are being trained for jobs that will no longer be relevant when they graduate. These are the tools of their future. Why is there no pro football in the Olympics (despite every high school football coach getting paid more than every teacher), but in 2020, we will have e-gaming as a sport?! If kids in science are considered nerds, step aside because the true nerds are in front of their xboxes!:-). Peter,Please help the parents who want to respect their child's right to play (video games) but who consistently see their children sitting sedentary 99.9% of the day in front of the device(s) they use to play, surf and watch youtube. We parents want to respect them yet we know sitting all day is horrible for your PHYSICAL HEALTH.

Another area of concern is their loss of face to face social time with family and friends also. With so much video game play, even when it's social, there is.01% of the day with FACE TO FACE SOCIAL time for many of the parents facilitating self-directed learning in today's world. What is a self-directed learning way of helping your child remember to have BASIC SELF-CARE (bathing, sleeping, eating, drinking) during their 14-hour gaming sessions? Sure, we can bring them food but sometimes they're so busy they won't eat. Some children can go weeks without bathing unless reminded multiple times, and for some it even takes getting very firm and loud with them in order to get them to stand up from their computer to even take a break. If you have strong-willed teens who have been used to self-directed learning their whole lives, what is a parent to do to ensure they're awake most of the day and asleep most of the night and not UP ALL NIGHT GAMING with someone overseas and sleeping all day?These are valid parental concerns that need no shame, blame or judgment, only clear guidance in these kinds of situations which no other generation has had to face.

It is frankly overwhelming these days trying to support self-directed learning for our children while being a mindful parent who considers ALL of the 'screen use' research as a whole and wants to do the best for their child.In the end, of course, every family is different and parents are going to do what they believe is best for their particular child. However, I'm seriously ASKING FOR YOUR SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING RECOMMENDATIONS that would help parents help their children WHEN CONSIDERING THESE VALID CONCERNS.How is a parent to facilitate self-directed learning with regard to PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, FACE-TO-FACE SOCIALIZING, AND BASIC SELF-CARE when the child doesn't even want to (and usually refuses to) participate in a conversation about the parents' (valid) concerns about sitting and gaming for up to 14 hours a day? Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

You're also glossing over the fact that any gaming will undoubtedly increase total screen time among kids.Perhaps you missed the major study last year showing the problems with increasing screen time:'“Decreases in Psychological Well-Being Among American Adolescents After 2012 and Links to Screen Time During the Rise of Smartphone Technology'It also found that adolescents’ psychological well-being decreased the more hours a week they spent on screens, including with the Internet, social media, texting, gaming and video chats. The findings jibe with earlier studies linking frequent screen use to teenage depression and anxiety.' F., Felt, J., Carrier, L. M., Cheever, N. A., Lara-Ruiz, J. Media and technology use predicts ill-being among children, preteens and teenagers independent of the negative health impacts of exercise and eating habits. Computers in human behavior, 35, 364-375.'

For children and preteens, total media consumption predicted illbeing while for preteens specific technology uses, including video gaming and electronic communication, predicted ill-being. For teenagers, nearly every type of technological activity predicted poor health.' I am not an expert nor a neuroscientist, just a mom of four (currently 18,16,13 and 5). Mine is just an opinion based on direct observation of dozens of children and teenagers I've come to know (some, very well) through my kids.

So, it is just what you want to make of it.In this experience of mine, serious videogaming has happened in kids whose parents are absent from home until 7 or 8 pm since they were toddlers (and cared for in daycare, by childminders or grandparents). Most of these kids have no siblings (or have one that is much older or much younger - 6+ years in age difference). Most of these parents aren't heavy on the real/outdoor/cultural side of life - in the weekends, they either do their own thing or stay home watching tv/chores, etc, and the kids are in their own bedrooms playing.Most of these kids have very poor physical skills (some have actual posture/back problems) caused by the sedentary lifestyle.

These kids are usually smaller/frailer than their peers, despite their 'genetics', ie, their parents aren't necessarily smaller/frailer - the kids seem to have some sort of stunt physical development because of serious gaming.In school, some of these kids are brilliant nerds in tech/science, others are average students, others play truant to game. Ever think maybe the fact depression is increasing is because of increasing AWARENESS. When I went to school I was depressed and I was not allowed video games, but my depression was also diagnosed until years later, why? Because I suddenly didn't feel ashamed talking about it due to influential people speaking up about the stigma surrounding mental illness.Stop your get off my damn lawn posts, there are lots of positive and negative studies on this subject, you seem only interest in one side. My daughter has always had unlimited time on electronics. I do believe that gaming is not necessary. So if parents choose to not allow their children to play I think that is ok.

But, I do believe is that there are other alternatives of play, as you stated that a child can get Cognitive, Creativity, Motivational, Emotional, and Social Benefits.In nature you can gain Cognitive benefits. Creativity-you can gain by doing art in an abstract way with an abstract mind. Rather than make parents feel like they are doing wrong for wanting to give kids the best in life, without gaming, there is more of a parenting style that should be expressed. In art providing the tools and allowing the child to explore and create with out a step by step craft, they can gain and explore their heart and mind without any influence by the parent or the art assignment. It comes from something within that is much more rewarding.

A childs current desire can be fulfilled in other ways as long as they are allowed to go about it for hours rather than be persuaded to stay on a busy schedule and are asked or forced to stop their project by parents. The reason kids get upset about stopping and putting down their gaming is because there is something in the game that they are personally passionate about.Emotional-There are different levels of emotions every person has. It is based on experience and influence. Some can tolerate more than others so it is difficult for me to give full trust on a game and allow it to test my childs emotions and see where it goes from there.

As we have walked through it when incidents occur, the only thing I have learned is how to recognize red flags that I know would affect my daughter. To me, she can discover her much more subtley through positive social interaction. As far as social, I am surprised to see mention about a child feeling left out in social conversations about gaming. If there is an understanding about gaming between the parent and child, and, if a child is influenced by the parent to love everyone for who they are no matter what their interests, are, a child would not feel left out in those kinds of conversations. If the relationship-partnership-friendship is a good one between the child and parent, then I would hope the child would come and discuss what they felt in a conversation where they were feeling left out.