Study Reveals Playing 'Mario Kart' Makes You a Better Driver
Both driving and first-person shooter games can be really good for you.
A nnew study published by Psychological Science explores the effects of playing action video games on visual-motor skill development. Several experiments were conducted by researchers from University of Hong Kong and New York University Shanghai that involved 80 students and professors with multiple titles including driving games like ‘Mario Kart’ and first-person shooting games like ‘Unreal Tournament’ in comparison with non-action, strategic management games like ‘Sims 2’ and ‘Roller Coaster Tycoon.’ Only 14 of the 80 participants had driver’s licenses, which appeared to have no effect on the results.
By examining how their muscles responded to incoming visual cues, researchers concluded that these types of games improved their ability to coordinate visual information, a skill applied to many real world experiences like driving a car. Even from a gaming period of as little as five hours, their visuomotor-control skills gradually enhanced in both response and precision. The study also concluded that contrary to popular belief, first-person shooting games did not have a causal effect of aggravating violence in real life.
Read the full study here.
