Presentation
Individual Differences in Vigilance Task Performance: Effects of Video Games and Sports Participation
SessionPoster Session 2
DescriptionVigilance –the ability to detect critical signals over time—is vital in safety-critical roles. Prior research links cognitive ability with improved vigilance, and both fast-paced video game participation and regular athletic activity have been independently associated with enhanced cognitive ability. This study tested whether those activities relate to individual differences in vigilance performance. Data was pooled from multiple prior studies (n = 269) where participants completed a 40-minute vigilance task requiring successive discrimination of rare critical stimuli among neutral stimuli. Performance was measured by hit (correct detection) rate and false alarm rate. Participants self-reported engagement in action video games and organized sports. Results indicated that video gamers maintained a higher hit rate and committed fewer false alarms than non-gamers, meaning that gamers outperformed non-gamers. However, vigilance performance did not differ between sports players and individuals who did not play sports. These results support the hypothesis that video game players exhibit superior vigilance. Consequently, video game play might be a useful criterion for worker selection in high-stakes jobs that require vigilance.
Event Type
Poster
TimeWednesday, October 15th5:30pm - 6:30pm CDT
LocationRiverside East
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