UH-led study shows 'reasonable amounts' of video games won't harm cognitive abilities of younger children

A recent study led by University of Houston College of Education associate professor Jie Zhang challenges the fears and concerns of parents regarding the potential harm that video games may have on the cognitive capabilities of young children according to a news article published by UH on Feb. 7.

“Our studies turned up no such links, regardless of how long the children played and what types of games they chose,” Zhang said. The study itself is published in the Journal of Media Psychology.

During the study, researchers examined the video gaming habits of 160 diverse urban public-school preteen students, including 70% from lower-income households, which is an age group traditionally less studied in prior research. Participating students reported playing video games an average of 2.5 hours a day, with the most consistent gamers putting in as much as 4.5 hours a day.

To evaluate the participants' cognitive performance, the researchers used the standardized Cognitive Ability Test 7, also known as CogAT, which evaluates verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal/spatial skills. CogAT was selected as a standard measure instead of teacher-reported grades or self-reported learning assessments, which previous research projects utilized.

“Overall, neither duration of play nor choice of video game genres had significant correlations with the CogAT measures," said May Jadalla, professor in the School of Teaching and Learning at Illinois State University and the study’s principal investigator. "That result shows no direct linkage between video game playing and cognitive performance, despite what had been assumed.”

However, the study revealed another side to the topic. Certain types of games described as helping children develop healthy cognitive skills actually displayed no measurable effects despite their marketing.

“The current study found results that are consistent with previous research showing that types of gameplay that seem to augment cognitive functions in young adults don’t have the same impact in much younger children,” said C. Shawn Green, professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

While the study suggests that parents don't need to worry about immense cognitive setbacks caused by gaming, the researchers also cautioned against excessive gaming and the possible displacement of more productive activities such as homework. However, even in those cases, the differences between the participants and their peers' CogAT measures of cognitive abilities were slight.

“The study results show parents probably don’t have to worry so much about cognitive setbacks among video game-loving children, up to fifth grade," Zhang said. "Reasonable amounts of video gaming should be OK, which will be delightful news for the kids. Just keep an eye out for obsessive behavior. When it comes to video games, finding common ground between parents and young kids is tricky enough. At least now we understand that finding balance in childhood development is the key, and there’s no need for us to over-worry about video gaming."

The study was funded by the National Science Foundation.