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Cited by 39Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skillsCognitive Abilities and TestingEducational Games and Gamification

The Impact of Action Video Game Training on Mathematical Abilities in Adults

Open access
Libertus, Melissa E., Liu, Allison, Pikul, Olga, Jacques, Theodore, Cardoso-Leite, Pedro, Halberda, Justin, Bavelier, Daphne·2017·AERA Open
DOI 10.1177/2332858417740857
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Abstract

Playing action video games has previously been linked to improvements in attentional control, the ability to choose what to attend and what to ignore that relies on a frontoparietal network of the brain. Here we asked whether action video game training would impact a range of mathematical abilities that rely on similar brain regions. Twenty-four adults completed extensive cognitive testing before, after 25 hr, and after 40 hr of video game training. Half of the participants trained on an action video game, the other half trained on a nonaction video game. Action video game training yielded no significant improvements in foundational number-processing skills and attentional control in this study but some improvements on standardized assessments of complex mathematics. Thus, although action video game play is clearly not an intervention of choice when considering mathematical skills, the present study suggests its use as a recreational activity may support, albeit weakly, complex mathematical skills.

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  • The same null effect applies to action and nonaction videogame training and brain training.

    “The same applies to action and nonaction videogame training and brain training (Duyck & Op de Beeck, 2019; Kassai, Futo, Demetrovics, & Takacs, 2019; Libertus et al., 2017; Lintern & Boot, 2019; Sala et al., 2019a; Sala, Tatlidil, & Gobet, 2018, 2019b; Simons et al., 2016).”

    From Cognitive and academic benefits of music training with children: A multilevel meta-analysis (2020) · cites this paper as Libertus et al., 2017

    The Discussion reports no significant improvement in attentional control and no effect on foundational number processing when action-game training was compared with nonaction-game training. But it also reports a small improvement in mathematical computation after action-game training, so a blanket null-effect claim overstates the findings. The paper does not test brain training. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Libertus, M. E., Liu, A., Pikul, O., Jacques, T., Cardoso-Leite, P., Halberda, J., & Bavelier, D.
Affiliations
  • University of Pittsburgh (US)
  • University of Rochester (US)
  • University of California, Riverside (US)
  • University of Geneva (CH)
  • Johns Hopkins University (US)
  • University of Geneva
ORCID
Venue
AERA Open
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2017-10
Volume
3
Issue
4
ISSN
2332-8584 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1177/2332858417740857
OpenAlex
W2767415981
Cited by
39
References
3
Citations by year
2025: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1
FWCI
4.95
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • AERA Open (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • Archive ouverte UNIGE (University of Geneva) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Open Repository and Bibliography (University of Luxembourg) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Archive ouverte UNIGE (University of Geneva) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (1109366, R01 HD057258, 1227168)
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • Fonds National de la Recherche Luxembourg
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD057258)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Educational Games and Gamification
Keywords
action video games, video game training, mathematical ability, number processing, attentional control, frontoparietal network, cognitive training, adults

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