How do video games make you smarter

Believe it or not, the answer to this question is yes. Yes, there is a considerable possibility that overdoing it with video games could affect things such as the development of your social skills. As with most things, anything you do too often may lead to negative consequences and playing video games is no exception. But to be fair, the benefits of playing video games completely depend upon the type of games you are playing. How do video games make you smarter?

Obviously, they are not all meant to teach you math, geography, and spelling. Nevertheless, video games can generally make learning very enjoyable.

The best video games normally have a substantial element of challenge about them. The challenge normally comes by presenting you with a complicated scenario, and forcing you to work your way through it. At times, you have to try out different ideas up until something works out, which is a great way to learn trial and error. However, different games require different kinds of problem-solving. Most video games, especially 3D ones, require gamers to develop excellent spatial skills to navigate complex environments.

Video games, especially action games, require quick, on-the-fly decision-making capabilities. Avid gamers can make decisions under pressure. Here are some findings from relevant research. IQ is short for intelligence quotient. Researchers developed it to measure how well someone can use information and reasoning to answer questions or make predictions. IQ tests measure short-term and long-term memory and how quickly one can solve puzzles and recall information.

However, it does not encapsulate the complexity of the mind. Other factors, such as social and economic status, influence IQ. Emotional Intelligence EQ is also a significant contributor to success.

IQ is a predictor of many things, but it does not define intelligence. However, it can only predict how well people will do in particular situations, such as science, engineering, and art. Success in life requires more than just intelligence — it depends on persistence, ambition, opportunity, and luck. Games select and filter for higher fluid IQs because games adequately, intellectually challenge us as kids when school was not enough. There are studies that children crave challenge and mastery, which games provide for them, and that creates a feedback loop.

They are not traditional video games, like action or RPG genres. These brain boosters were designed to train a specific skill that can be used in many other ways. As an alternative, look through this Business Insider list of brain trainers. These games encourage you to think creatively while solving real-life situations. Creativity allows you to come up with new ideas for old problems. Video games offer an engaging way to train your brain to excel at creative thinking. This list of video games will boost your creativity.

All of them refer to one of the above genres. Certainly, playing on the computer day and night will not make you into a creative guru, but it can be a perfect supplement to your principal activity. Another selection of creative games can be found in this video. The authors selected the top-ten video games that enhance creativity, highlighting the fact that such games were designed to provide a creative experience. Management skills are numerous and can differ depending on the sphere of their application.

However, two of the universal abilities are strategic thinking i. The strategy genre is the best way to develop these abilities. This list of the best management games includes the latest strategies and simulators of , as well as some of the all-time classics. The article features a video review of twenty games to show you what is available in this genre. Some games can teach you project management , which is a specific domain of general management that requires extensive fieldwork.

You can nail down your experience with gaming practice. Video games are a pleasurable pastime. They also train your brain for the challenges you face in real life. Playing video games helps you become more creative, quick-thinking, and emotionally intelligent. Have your cognitive or emotional abilities benefitted from gaming? Which game was the most helpful? Share your thoughts in the comments below. We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. If you continue, we will assume that you agree to our Cookies Policy.

Consider the following: You become more sensitive to visual contrast. Your job-related skills attention, eye-hand coordination, working memory, and decision-making are enhanced. You learn to quickly distinguish a specific target among a field of distractors.

Playing video games can treat dyslexia, a condition derived from insufficient visual attention. All games are based on cause-and-effect relationships. As a simple example, an RPG role-playing-game character can recover their health by eating a plant. More advanced levels require complicated logical calculation. To succeed in the game, you need to memorize rules, locations, tasks, and the empirical conclusions described above.

The amount of data is enormous, comparable to taking on several new projects at work or school at once. Messages, advertisements, and social media make it almost impossible to concentrate on your studies.

They can help you engage in your task without distraction. Strategic thinking. In games, as in real life, resources are limited, and needs are endless. Playing video games teaches you how to use your resources wisely.

Fast decision-making. Sometimes, seconds of hesitation can cost you another hour of playtime. To play well, you must learn to make rapid-fire decisions under pressure. Games help you gain confidence and try out risky decisions. Driving and piloting simulators are very good at training you how to multitask. Hand-eye coordination. While you play, your hands move the joystick or keyboard, and your eyes watch the screen.

Your hands have to respond to both visual and audible signals. So the better your coordination, the higher your score. Language skills. The rules, dialogues, and storylines of games are usually already written. To follow the plot, you have to read, listen, or both, making it the perfect way to improve your foreign language knowledge. Figurative thinking. A good video game is like a good novel.

It has a plot, characters, setting, and symbolism. Playing these games can enhance your imagination and story-telling skills. Visual-spatial ability. This list of the largest video game worlds makes you wonder how someone could learn how to navigate around all of those locations. But, many players do, and the memorization skills they acquire while doing so help in their real life, too.

In video games, it is usually not a big deal if you fail at something. You can often start again from your last saved point. In reality, we often overestimate the negative consequences of failure. Bavelier's team is now investigating which characteristics in action video games are key to boosting players' learning. They acknowledged, as Bushman pointed out that, "games other than action video games may be able to have the same effect.

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