Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Could Video Games Improve Work Performance? Studies Suggest Yes

Professional Gamers at a Tournament. (BenQ.com)

In our country where 42% of the adult population owns a gaming console, according to Pew Internet Research, and the majority of people have access to a computer, it is about time we embraced the gaming culture.
There are many benefits in the world of gaming. WSJ Journalist Robert Lee Holtz discovered that intense hours of gaming has led to better multitasking, decision-making, and the discovery of creative solutions.
Action games and first person shooters (FPS)  allow gamers to gain the edge in decision making. Gamers are usually put into a life or death situation that requires an immediate solution.
In this collection of epic FPS moments from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, top gamers display their finesse by ducking, dodging, and anticipating what opponents will do and where they will go. This type of gaming heightens spacial awareness and mental reflexes.
Real time strategy (RTS) games provide a different experience for users. In Starcraft II, gamers control one of 3 alien races in order to display their dominance in a variety of settings. These sessions test the gamer’s ability to multitask and manage resources in several different areas. In the end, the gamer who is able manage their resources most efficiently often times emerges as the victor.
As the video displays, these gamers can keep track of 6 different things at once without being confused and can execute up to 6 actions a second, about 4 times more than the average person.
Holtz cites research from a few universities that have found that women who game were mentally able to manipulate 3D objects better than most average men, a skill that men are usually more adept at.
From another angle, game designer Jane McGonigal suggests that the real world functions like a game in many ways. Emergency response teams are put together in much the same way that RTS gamers create their dominions. When a firefighter enters a burning building, he will need to find the most efficient path through the debris in much the same way a FPS player must anticipate how to safely achieve his objective while evading danger.
It is only a matter of time before gamers begin to use their capabilities to help the world solve problems. Many have already applied what they have learned in those games to their professional lives and been successful at it. Of the 5 qualities thatGoogle looks for in employees, a majority of gamers exhibit at least 3 of them.
Gamers display amazing cognitive ability through their unique problem solving methods. They take ownership in both victory and defeat, and utilize them as lessons in their path to becoming an expert.

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