Research Report Cognitive enhancement in video game players: The role of video game genre Pawel Dobrowolski a,⇑ , Krzysztof Hanusz b , Bartosz Sobczyk a , Maciek Skorko a , Andrzej Wiatrow a a Institute of Psychology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Jaracza 1, 00-378 Warsaw, Poland b Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Al. Mickiewicza 3, 31-120 Krakow, Poland article info Article history: Keywords: Cognitive functions Video games Executive functions Visual attention Task switching Multiple object tracking abstract Several cross-section and training studies have shown that video game play can improve cognitive functions such as visual attention, cognitive control, visual short-term memory, and general processing speed. Unfortunately the replication of these effects is not always successful, even when using similar cognitive tests to measure performance. We investigated an important aspect of this field that has not yet been empirically addressed: the role of video game genre. Our comparison of two video game player groups of specific genres (first-person shooter and real-time strategy) indicates that cognitive abilities (measured by task switching and multiple object tracking) may be differentially enhanced depending on the genre of video game being played. This result is significant as research to this point has focused on ‘‘action video games’’, a loosely defined category that encompasses several video game genres, without controlling for effects potentially stemming from differences in mechanics between these video games. It also provides some evidence for the specificity of video game play benefits as a function of actions performed within the game, which is not in line with a generalized ‘‘learning to learn’’ accounting of these enhancements. Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction It is now well established that video game players (VGP’s) outperform non-video game players (NVGP’s) on a wide range of cognitive abilities, including visual attention (Durlach, Kring, & Bowens, 2009; Green & Bavelier, 2006a, 2006b, 2007), aspects of cognitive control (Colzato, van Leeuwen, van den Wildenberg, & Hommel, 2010; Glass, Maddox, & Love, 2013; Strobach, Frensch, & Shubert, 2012), visual short-term memory (Blacker & Curby, 2013; McDermott, Bavelier, & Green, 2014; Wilms, Peterson, & Vangkilde, 2013), and general processing speed (Dye, Green, & Bavelier, 2009). Several training studies have also shown that relatively short video game training sessions can improve the functioning of NVGP’s (Basak, Boot, Voss, & Kramer, 2008; Feng, Spence, & Pratt, 2007; Green, Sugarman, Medford, Klobusicky, & Bavelier, 2012; Li, Polat, Scalzo, & Bavelier, 2010). However, in the case of both cross-section and training designs, the occurrence and replication of video game effects has been inconsistent (Boot, Kramer, Simons, Fabiani, & Gratton, 2008; Irons, Remington, & McLean, 2011; Murphy & Spencer, 2009). A number of methodological issues present in both cross-section and training designs have been pointed out which may be contrib- uting to this inconsistency, including the use of unspecified recruiting methods and differential placebo effects in training studies (Boot, Blakely, & Simons, 2011). We would like to address one additional factor that has not yet been explored which could be a significant contributor to the occurrence of cognitive enhance- ments stemming from video game play: the role of video game genre. Most researchers use the term ‘‘action video game’’, defined by Green and Bavelier (2003) as ‘‘those (video games) that have fast motion, require vigilant monitoring of the visual periphery, and often require simultaneous tracking of multiple targets’’, when describing the video games played by their participants. As this definition is quite broad, many different video game genres can qualify as action video games. Video games are categorized into genres based on their gameplay mechanics, or the in-game tasks and rules that players must attend, and the qualitative differences between game genres can be considerable. Boot et al. (2013) sug- gest that this may be why training studies produce inconsistent results, as differences in game mechanics between video games used during training likely produce differential requirements of cognitive functions. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.11.051 0747-5632/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +48 790 574 241. E-mail addresses: pawel.dobrowolski@vrlab.pl (P. Dobrowolski), krzysztof. hanusz@vrlab.pl (K. Hanusz), bartosz.sobczyk@vrlab.pl (B. Sobczyk), maciek. skorko@vrlab.pl (M. Skorko), andrzej.wiatrow@vrlab.pl (A. Wiatrow). Computers in Human Behavior 44 (2015) 59–63 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Computers in Human Behavior journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh