The effect of violent and non-violent computer games on cognitive performance

Two studies were conducted in order to determine the impact computer games had on the cognitive performance. Study 1 evaluated a measure of cognition, which incorporates aspects of short-term working memory, visual attention, mathematical decision making, and auditory perception. Study 2 measured the cognitive performance between those who did not play video games versus those who played either a violent or non-violent video game. Results from Study 1 indicate participants needed approximately four trials to reach asymptotic performance on the cognitive measure. Results of Study 2 showed that participants who did not play any video game did not have a change in their cognitive performance, while those who played either a violent or non-violent video game had an increase in their cognitive performance.     

Micro‐adaptivity: protecting immersion in didactically adaptive digital educational games

The idea of utilizing the rich potential of today's computer games for educational purposes excites educators, scientists and technicians. Despite the significant hype over digital game‐based learning, the genre is currently at an early stage. One of the most significant challenges for research and development in this area is establishing intelligent mechanisms to support and guide the learner, and to realize a subtle balance between learning and gaming, and between challenge and ability on an individual basis. In contrast to traditional approaches of adaptive and intelligent tutoring, the key advantage of games is their immersive and motivational potential. Because of this, the psycho‐pedagogical and didactic measures must not compromise gaming experience, immersion and flow. In the present paper, we introduce the concept of micro‐adaptivity, an approach that enables an educational game to intelligently monitor and interpret the learner's behaviour in the game's virtual world in a non‐invasive manner. On this basis, micro‐adaptivity enables interventions, support, guidance or feedback in a meaningful, personalized way that is embedded in the game's flow. The presented approach was developed in the context of the European Enhanced Learning Experience and Knowledge TRAnsfer project. This project also realized a prototype game, demonstrating the capabilities, strengths and weaknesses of micro‐adaptivity.     

Effects of anxiety levels on learning performance and gaming performance in digital game‐based learning

Anxiety plays an influential role in foreign language learning. However, a lack of attention was paid to examining the effects of anxiety levels on learning performance and gaming performance in digital game‐based learning. To this end, this study developed a game‐based English learning system and investigated how different levels of anxiety affected learners' learning performance and gaming performance. A quasi‐experiment was conducted in an elementary school. The results showed that high‐anxiety learners performed worse than low‐anxiety learners in speaking, word/sentence match, and overall learning performance. However, they performed similarly in listening performance. Moreover, the results showed that high‐ and low‐anxiety learners demonstrated a similar level of gaming performance. A subsequent analysis showed that significant correlations existed between learning performance and gaming performance for learners with high anxiety whereas such positive correlations were rarely found for learners with low anxiety, indicating that high‐anxiety learners' learning performance could be fostered by their gaming performance. The findings suggested that digital game‐based learning was particularly beneficial to high‐anxiety learners, whose gaming performance was a facilitative factor of their learning performance.     

Cognitive abilities,digital games and arithmetic performance enhancement: A study comparing the effects of a math game and paper exercises

Besides entertainment, games have shown to have the potential to impact a broader variety of cognitive abilities. Research has consistently shown that several aspects in cognition such as visual short-memory, multitasking and spatial skills can be enhanced by game play. In a previous study, it was found that playing Monkey Tales, a game aimed at training arithmetic skills, helped second grade pupils to increase their accuracy in mental calculation as compared to paper exercises. In this follow up study we explore whether traditional methods and game training differ in terms of the cognitive processes that both are able to impact. We incorporated standardized measures of working memory and visuo-motor skills. Additionally, the mathematics game was modified and its contents extracted to allow precise comparison between the gaming and paper exercises condition. Thus each single math exercise, type of question (e.g., multiple choice), quantity and order was perfectly matched in the game training and the traditional training conditions. Gains in arithmetical performance, and self-reported measures of enjoyment were also investigated. We found some evidence suggesting that arithmetic performance enhancement induced by game play and paper exercises differ not only in terms of enjoyment but also of working memory capacity improvements.     

The influence of collaboration styles to children’s cognitive performance in digital problem-solving game “William Adventure”: A comparative case study

Since a large variety of digital games have been used in many fields for educational purposes, their real functions in learning have caught much attention as well. This study first defines learning characteristics of problem-solving digital games and their corresponding cognitive levels, then designs and develops a problem-solving game in accordance to the criteria. Tasks in the game context are inter-related to each other so that players need to critically and creatively think about problem solutions. Learners’ task analyses are performed to observe four elementary learners’ gaming paths, behaviors and cognitive activities, individually and collaboratively. System documentation, video recording, researcher observation, and interviews are conducted to analyze learners’ learning strategies and their cognitive performance during the gaming process.     

Is the use of information and communication technology related to performance in working memory tasks? Evidence from seventh-grade students

The main purpose of this study was to assess whether seventh-grade students use of information and communication technology (ICT) was related to performance on working memory tasks. In addition, the study tested whether the relationship between ICT use and performance on working memory tasks interacted with seventh-grade students’ socioeconomic level and gender. 275 students recruited from 30 Chilean schools were grouped according to their self-reported use of PC, the Internet, Chat and Video games. To assess students’ working memory performance, they were tested with a digit span test and a visuo-spatial measure. Only one of our two dependent variables reflected a relationship between specific profiles of ICT use and working memory. Higher scores on the digits span test were related to those user profiles combining PC use and video game play, that is, those identified as Full users and as PC and Console Gamers. We did not find an interaction effect of gender and ICT use or an interaction effect of socioeconomic level and ICT use. There are three possible explanations for these results: first, a proclivity of students with higher working memory capacity to engage in technology use; second, an impact on working memory of potential differences in multitasking; and, third, an impact on working memory of video game play. However, these results must be interpreted cautiously since scores on the GEFT, our visuo-spatial working memory measure, were not related to any profile of technology use. As serious educational games become more regularly used at school, previous differences in video game experience become growingly important. Future research must study whether the intended benefits of serious educational games are being mediated by individual differences in previous exposure to video games and other information and computer technologies, with independence of the directionality of the relationship between video game play and working memory.     

A consensus‐ and harmony‐based feedback mechanism for multiple attribute group decision making with correlated intuitionistic fuzzy sets

In this study, an interactive consensus model is proposed for correlated multiple attribute group decision making (MAGDM) problems with intuitionistic triangular fuzzy numbers (ITFNs). The harmony degree (HD) is investigated to determine the degree of maintaining experts' original information while the consensus level is defined as the proximity degree (PD) between an expert and other experts on three levels: evaluation elements of alternatives, alternatives, and decision matrices. Combining HD and PD, a three‐dimensional feedback mechanism is proposed to identify discordant experts, alternatives, and corresponding preference values that contribute less to consensus, and provides advice to reach a higher consensus level. Additionally, visual representation of experts' consensus position within the group is provided. Furthermore, a graphical simulation of future consensus and harmony status, if the recommended values were to be implemented, is also provided. Therefore, our proposed feedback mechanism guarantees that it increases the consensus level of the set of experts while maintaining, as much as possible, experts' original information. Then, the PD‐induced intuitionistic triangular fuzzy correlated averaging (PD‐IITFCA) operator is investigated to aggregate the interactive individual opinions between experts. Finally, the intuitionistic triangular fuzzy correlated averaging (ITFCA) operator is developed to aggregate the evaluation elements of alternatives under correlative attributes. Based on the score and accurate functions of ITFNs, an order relation is proposed to obtain the final solution of alternatives.     

DRAMA MANAGEMENT AND PLAYER MODELING FOR INTERACTIVE FICTION GAMES

A growing research community is working toward employing drama management components in story‐based games. These components gently guide the story toward a narrative arc that improves the player's gaming experience. In this article we evaluate a novel drama management approach deployed in an interactive fiction game called Anchorhead. This approach uses player's feedback as the basis for guiding the personalization of the interaction. The results indicate that adding our Case‐based Drama manaGer (C‐DraGer) to the game guides the players through the interaction and provides a better overall player experience. Unlike previous approaches to drama management, this article focuses on exhibiting the success of our approach by evaluating results using human players in a real game implementation. Based on this work, we report several insights on drama management which were possible only due to an evaluation with real players.     

Network and multidimensional representations of the declarative knowledge of human-computer interface design experts

A two-part experiment investigated human computer interface (HCI) experts' organization of declarative knowledge about the HCI. In Part 1, two groups of experts in HCI design—human factors experts and software development experts—and a control group of non-experts sorted 50 HCI concepts concerned with display, control, interaction, data manipulation and user knowledge into categories. In the second part of the experiment, the three groups judged the similarity of two sets of HCI concepts related to display and interaction, respectively. The data were transformed into measures of psychological distance and were analyzed using Pathfinder, which generates network representations of the data, and multidimensional scaling (MDS), which fits the concepts in a multidimensional space. The Pathfinder networks from the first part of the experiment differed in organization between the two expert groups, with human factors experts' networks consisting of highly interrelated subnetworks and software experts' networks consisting of central nodes and fewer, less interconnected sub-networks. The networks also differed across groups in concepts linked with such concepts as graphics, natural language, function keys and speech recognition. The networks of both expert groups showed much greater organization than did the non-experts' network. The network and MDS representations of the concepts for the two expert groups showed somewhat greater agreement in Part 2 than in Part 1. However, the MDS representations from Part 2 suggested that software experts organized their concepts on dimensions related to technology, implementation and user characteristics, whereas the human factors experts' organized their concepts more uniformly according to user characteristics. The discussion focuses on (1) the differences in cognitive models as a function of the amount and type of HCI design experience and (2) the role of cognitive models in HCI design and in communications within a multidisciplinary design team.     

Cognitive engineering,cognitive augmentation,and information display

Abstract— From a perspective of cognitive engineering, this paper presents eight principles of good display design based on human cognition: (1) displays that divide attention will increase the cognitive load on working memory; (2) displays that continuously present the same information may compensate for the decay of short‐term memory; (3) displays that assist the viewer in mentally chunking information will decrease the cognitive load on working memory; (4) displays that present icons or images to direct attention to important visual stimuli will likely minimize inattentional blindness; (5) displays that help minimize attentional distractions and help focus attention on a given task will minimize the burden on working memory; (6) displays that present cues composed of strong singletons will capture and engage exogenous attention; (7) displays that help the viewer make a mental connection between an analogue and a target will assist in the induction of analogical reasoning; (8) displays that present over time multiple exposures consisting of statistical regularities may promote implicit learning and expertise development. Thus, information displays of the future can systematically engage high‐level human cognitive processes for purposes of improving human performance on a variety of tasks found in education, the military, and many other applications.     

A concept map-embedded educational computer game for improving students' learning performance in natural science courses

Many recent studies have reported the benefits of educational computer games in promoting students' learning motivations. On the other hand, however, the effect of digital game-based learning in improving students' learning performance has been questioned. Several previous studies have reported that without properly integrating learning strategies into gaming scenarios, the effectiveness of educational computer games could be limited, or may be even worse than that of the conventional technology-enhanced learning approach. In this study, a concept map-embedded gaming approach is proposed for developing educational computer games by integrating concept mapping as part of the gaming scenarios to help students organize what they have learned during the game-based learning process. Moreover, a role-playing game has been developed for an elementary school natural science course based on the proposed approach. From the experimental results, it is found that the concept map-embedded gaming approach can significantly improve the students' learning achievement and decrease their cognitive load. Moreover, the students who learned with the proposed approach revealed a significantly higher degree of perceived usefulness than those who learned with the conventional game-based learning approach.     

Public Displays of Play: Studying Online Games in Physical Settings

As research on virtual worlds gains increasing attention in educational, commercial, and military domains, a consideration of how player populations are ‘reassembled’ through social scientific data is a timely matter for communication scholars. This paper describes a large‐scale study of virtual worlds in which participants were recruited at public gaming events, as opposed to through online means, and explores the dynamic relationships between players and contexts of play that this approach makes visible. Challenging conventional approaches to quantitatively driven virtual worlds research, which categorizes players based on their involvement in an online game at a particular point in time, this account demonstrates how players' networked gaming activities are contingent on who they are playing with, where, and when.     

A case study of computer gaming for math: Engaged learning from gameplay?

Employing mixed-method approach, this case study examined the in situ use of educational computer games in a summer math program to facilitate 4th and 5th graders’ cognitive math achievement, metacognitive awareness, and positive attitudes toward math learning. The results indicated that students developed more positive attitudes toward math learning through five-week computer math gaming, but there was no significant effect of computer gaming on students’ cognitive test performance or metacognitive awareness development. The in-field observation and students’ think-aloud protocol informed that not every computer math drill game would engage children in committed learning. The study findings have highlighted the value of situating learning activities within the game story, making games pleasantly challenging, scaffolding reflections, and designing suitable off-computer activities.     

Early reading intervention by means of a multicomponent reading game

This study examined the effects of an intervention with a multicomponent reading game on the development of reading skills in 60 Dutch primary school children with special educational needs. The game contains evidence‐based reading exercises and is based on principles of applied gaming. Using a multiple baseline approach, we tested children's word, pseudoword and text reading fluency, as well as their reading motivation, at three test occasions. The results indicated that the short intervention (9 × 15 min) enhanced children's pseudoword reading fluency as well as their text reading fluency. Interestingly, the early intervention group showed a sustained intervention effect (i.e., also during retention), which shows that using this reading game has a long‐term effect on early text reading development. Intervention did not affect reading motivation, which suggests that the multicomponent reading game can be used to facilitate early reading development without compromising reading motivation.     

The format of problem representation for in‐game learning supports

A promising method to support game‐based learning is to facilitate learners' externalization of cognitive and metacognitive processes. Externalizing Problem Representation (EPR) refers to a cognitive behaviour in which a learner constructs her own representations overtly. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether learning supports promoting EPR enhance qualitative understanding and quantitative proficiency in ratios and proportional relationships in a learning game (i.e., E‐Rebuild) context. Specifically, this study investigated the effects of representation format in problem representation on qualitative understanding and quantitative proficiency in a learning game context. The results of this study indicate that (a) symbolic learning supports better facilitate comprehension of math concepts and their relations than iconic learning supports in video game contexts, (b) symbolic learning supports better facilitate players' reflection for implicit understanding and promote their math problem‐solving skills, (c) participants in the symbolic learning support group increased significantly in qualitative understanding but not in quantitative proficiency after gameplay, and (d) participants in the iconic learning support group experienced significant growth in quantitative proficiency but not in qualitative understanding after gameplay.     

An instrument to build a gamer clustering framework according to gaming preferences and habits

In the era of digital gaming, there is a pressing need to better understand how people's gaming preferences and habits affect behavior and can inform educational game design. However, instruments available for such endeavor are rather informal and limited, lack proper evaluation, and often yield results that are hard to interpret. In this paper we present the design and preliminary validation (involving N = 754 Spanish secondary school students) of a simple instrument that, based on a 10-item Game Preferences Questionnaire (GPQ), classifies participants into four ‘clusters’ or types of gamers, allowing for easy interpretation of the results. These clusters are: (1) Full gamers, covering individuals that play all kinds of games with a high frequency; (2) Hardcore gamers, playing mostly first-person shooters and sport games; (3) Casual gamers, playing moderately musical, social and thinking games; and (4) Non-gamers, who do not usually play games of any kind. The instrument may have uses in psychology and behavioral sciences, as there is evidence suggesting that attitudes towards gaming affects personal attitudes and behavior. Besides, we propose applying the instrument to help designers of educational games to get better tailored their games to their target audiences.     

基于双层专家权重确定的风险型大群体决策

针对风险型大群体决策问题,考虑专家权重确定的复杂性,提出基于累积前景理论的决策信息处理和考虑双层专家权重确定的大群体决策方法.采用二元语义获取并表达专家的评价信息;基于累积前景理论计算方案的综合前景价值矩阵;采用双层专家权重确定方法,第1层利用聚类方法对大群体成员价值向量进行聚类,根据聚类结果确定聚集群权重, 第2层利用熵权法获得专家熵权,二者结合得到专家权重.通过确定专家权重和综合前景价值矩阵得出最终的决策结果.最后通过算例表明了所提出方法的可行性和有效性.     

考虑群体信任的网络安全态势多维偏好评级方法

现有网络安全态势评级方法难以同时兼顾专家间信任信息、偏好信息以及客观异质信息等多源信息,为此,建立基于群体信任的网络安全态势多维偏好评级模型.在描述网络安全态势多维偏好评级问题的基础上,提出社会网络中信任信息不确定程度度量方法,进一步建立一种考虑单链信任信息不确定性和内部差异性、多链间信任非补偿性和内部差异性的不完整信任网络构造模型,据此确定专家权重;定义基于级别特征值的客观排序、专家偏好的群体一致性程度和群体非一致性程度,进一步建立包含专家信任信息、偏好信息和评级信息等在内的网络安全态势评级多维偏好分段变权综合优化模型,获得基于二元语义的网络安全态势等级和等级区分度.所提出方法为构建和检验网络安全态势评级提供理论依据,有助于研发先进的网络安全态势评级系统,提高网络安全防护能力.     

Social Network Decision Making with Linguistic Trustworthiness–Based Induced OWA Operators

Classic aggregation operators in group decision making such as the ordered weighted averaging (OWA), induced ordered weighted averaging (IOWA), C‐IOWA, P‐IOWA, and I‐IOWA have shown to be successful tools to provide flexibility in the aggregation of preferences. However, these operators do not take advantage of information related to the interaction between experts. Experts involved in a group decision‐making problem may have developed opinions about the reliability of other experts' judgments, either because they have previous history of interaction with each other or because they have knowledge that informs them on the reliability of other colleagues in the group in solving decision‐making problems in the past. In this paper, and within the framework of social network decision making, we present three new social network analysis based IOWA operators that take advantage of the linguistic trustworthiness information gathered from the experts' social network to aggregate the social group preferences. Their use is analysed with simple but illustrative examples.     

Visuospatial working memory in learning from multimedia systems

Abstract  Multimedia systems involve the association of various types of information: verbal information presented visually or auditorily, static or dynamic pictorial information, and sound information. In a cognitive approach, integrating this information involves complex processes constrained by properties of the learner's cognitive system, and especially by the capacity of working memory. This paper, reports on an experiment focused on the integration of verbal and pictorial information when students learn a series of physics concepts. The involvement of the visuo-spatial working memory was investigated by means of a dual-task paradigm. Results show that pictorial information enhances the learning process. They also suggest that the visual and the spatial components of visuospatial working memory should be considered separately. Finally, they emphasise the need to consider the limitations in cognitive resources available to the learner.