The Effect of Computer Games on Selective Reaction Time Working Memory and Spatial Visualization: A Meta-analytic Review

Computer games, with increasing variety, have become one of the most popular ways of entertainment and play among children and adolescents. They are divided into several types in terms of structure‚ content and complexity and have been categorized into violent and non-violent genres. In recent years, numerous researches conducted on computer games show that they improve cognitive abilities such as spatial visualization‚ visual memory‚ mental rotation ‚ processing speed and problem–solving thinking. In the present paper, meta-analysis is made on 34 studies about the effect of these games on selective reaction time‚ working memory and spatial visualization as independent variables. The statistical population consists of all relevant researches in between 2003 and 2012. The results are combined in the meta-analysis review. The findings show that no matter what the type of research is (experimental or non-experimental), the size of effect of the research combination is r+ =0.34 for selective reaction time, r+ = 0.2 for working memory, and r+ = 0.27 for spatial visualization. Experimental researches show lower effect size. Also the longer the playing is, the greater is the effect size.