Understanding Children’s Choices and Cognition in Video Game Play

Abstract

This article provides a synthesis of a group of research studies conducted to better understand in what ways children’s entertainment video game play choices relate to their creativity, motivations, problem-solving strategies, learning preferences, and beliefs about how to play games. Three studies were conducted among American students: (1) a survey and creativity assessment with students aged 9–11, (2) an in-depth qualitative study with three adolescent boys, and (3) an online survey. Key findings from this research relate to both psychological factors motivating video game play, and cognition and choices children make while playing video games. Results from these studies demonstrate that, despite assumptions that children play video games to avoid mental stimulation, children are actually motivated by the challenge and thinking required by video games. The reward system used in video games is a strong continuing motivator for boys in particular. Among both genders, playing certain genres of video games is related to utilizing particular learning strategies. Additionally, though creativity does not appear to be hindered by video game play, the most creative children are generally not choosing to spend their time on video games. Finally, children create their own code of conduct and ethics within video game play, although an individual’s work ethic within video games tends to reflect patterns in other areas of life. Collectively, these studies provide a rich picture of children’s video game play and show consistency, both between game contexts and real life choices, and with other literature related to children’s motivations and strategies for learning.

Adolescents’ Perceptions of “Cheating” in Gaming and Educational Settings

“…Similar to Jessica, other participants felt as though the player’s guide and YouTube walkthrough provided the ability to guide the participant in the right direction rather than just giving them the right answer since they still had to complete the task. The present study discovered similar findings to that of previous research (e.g., Hamlen, 2013). Namely, we found that participants utilized outside tools to solve difficult tasks.…”

“…Other studies have found that individual’s desire to play video games is based on recreation as they seek rewards and relaxation associated with video gameplay (Hamlen, 2013; Mentzoni et al, 2011). In addition to experience the enjoyment or escape offered by video games, video games also seem to have an effect on players’ social behaviors, such as empathy and teamwork (Happ et al, 2013; Stenico & Greitemeyer, 2014).…”

“…In addition to experience the enjoyment or escape offered by video games, video games also seem to have an effect on players’ social behaviors, such as empathy and teamwork (Happ et al, 2013; Stenico & Greitemeyer, 2014). If skills learned in video games can transfer to school and work settings, as some research suggests (Hamlen, 2013), further research is needed to fully understand the range of ways people’s behavior may be influenced by video games.…”

“…Hamlen (2013) studied the video gameplay of three high school boys and utilized in-depth interviews to examine their perspectives toward cheating and gameplay. Amongst the three students, none of them could produce a clear definition of cheating.…”

An Exploration of Computer Game-Based Instruction in the “World History” Class in Secondary Education: A Comparative Study in China

“…The majority of youngsters enjoyed computer games but disliked the boring contents in textbooks [8] . The features of computer games were believed to have shaped students' cognitive abilities of and motivation towards learning, contrasting with monotonous and unattractive scholastic contents in traditional instruction [27] . There was a sharp contrast between formal education and computer games [28] .…”