Selective Association Between Tetris Game Play and Visuospatial Working Memory: A Preliminary Investigation
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Summary Recent experimental and clinical research has suggested that Tetris game play can disrupt maladaptive forms of mental imagery because Tetris competes for limited cognitive resources within visuospatial working memory (WM) that contribute to imagery. Whether or not Tetris performance is selectively associated with visuospatial WM remains to be tested. In this study, young adults (N = 46) completed six standardized measures indexing verbal and non‐verbal reasoning, verbal and visuospatial short‐term memory, and verbal and visuospatial WM. They also played Tetris. Consistent with the hypothesis that visuospatial WM resources support Tetris game play, there was a significant moderate positive relationship between Tetris scores and visuospatial WM performance but no association with other cognitive ability measures. Findings suggest that Tetris game play involves both storage and processing resources within visuospatial WM. These preliminary results can inform interventions involving computer games to disrupt the development of maladaptive visual imagery, for example, intrusive memories of trauma. © 2017 The Authors. Applied Cognitive Psychology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Tetris is associated with visuospatial working memory function.
“the computer game ‘Tetris’, which has been shown to be associated with visuospatial working memory function (Lau-Zhu, Holmes, Butterfield, & Holmes, 2017).”
From Intrusive memories of trauma: A target for research bridging cognitive science and its clinical application (2019) · cites this paper as Lau-Zhu, Holmes, Butterfield, & Holmes, 2017
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References 63 · Cited by 75
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Alloway, T. P. (2007). Automated Working Memory Assessment. London: Pearson Assessment.
- Fall, S. (2013). Guiness Word Records 2014 Gamer's Edition. UK: Guinness World Records Limited.
- Authors
- Lau‐Zhu, A., Holmes, E. A., Butterfield, S., & Holmes, J.
- Affiliations
- King's College London (GB)
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Lau‐Zhu, Alex
- Venue
- Applied Cognitive Psychology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2017-07
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 438-445
- ISSN
- 0888-4080 (ISSN-L)
- 1099-0720
- PMC
- PMC5836929
- OpenAlex
- W2735983823
- Cited by
- 75
- References
- 63
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 3
- FWCI
- 9.13
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Applied Cognitive Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UEA Digital Repository (University of East Anglia) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Apollo (University of Cambridge) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
- Apollo (cc-by)
- Funders
- United Kingdom Medical Research Council intramural programme (MC-A060-5PR50, MC-APQ500)
- The Cambridge Commonwealth, European and International Trust
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Automotive Engineering › Spatial Cognition and Navigation
- Keywords
- Tetris, visuospatial working memory, mental imagery, video games, short-term memory, cognitive resources, intrusive memories, trauma, game-based intervention
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