| | Category | BE | L02 | The Effects of Video Games on the Spatial Reasoning Skills of the |
| | Average Teen |
| | Abstract | The purpose of this project is to determine if playing a spatial reasoning- |
| | type video game like Tetris will have an effect on the performance of a |
| | typical teenager on a spatial reasoning IQ test. |
| | |
| | I believe that the subjects who play Tetris for 15 minutes will score higher |
| | on the spatial reasoning test than the subjects who do not play Tetris. I |
| | also predict that the subjects who played Tetris for 30 minutes will score |
| | better than both those who played for 15 minutes and those who did not |
| | play at all. |
| | |
| | Procedure: Prepare all necessary paperwork and solicit volunteers to |
| | assist with project. Administer spatial reasoning test to control group. |
| | Administer spatial reasoning test to test groups after each volunteer has |
| | played Tetris for the allotted time. Grade tests and enter all data into Excel |
| | spreadsheets and determine results and conclusion. |
| | |
| | The control group scored an average of 74% on the spatial reasoning test. |
| | The group that played Tetris for 15 minutes showed a 12% improvement |
| | in scores with an average of 83%. The group that played Tetris for 30 |
| | minutes showed a minor increase of 13% with an average score of 84%. |
| | |
| | |
| | My hypothesis was correct. The subjects who played Tetris for 15 |
| | minutes showed a 12% increase over the control group and the subjects |
| | who played for 30 minutes showed a 13% increase over the control |
| | group. It should be noted that the increase in playing time did not |
| | significantly increase the overall score leading me to conclude that even a |
| | short session of video game play will increase overall performance from a |
| | perspective of spatial reasoning. |
| | Bibliography | Armstrong, T. 1993. Seven Kinds of Smart. Penguin Books USA. New |
| | York, New York. |
| | |
| | Carlson, D. 2004. The Teen Brain Book. Bick Publishing House. Madison, |
| | Connecticut. |
| | |
| | Hoffman, D. 1998. Visual Intelligence. Norton & Company. New York, New |
| | York. |
| | Khalfa, Jean (ed). 1994. What Is Intelligence? Cambridge Press. New York, |
| | New York. |
| | |
| | Okagaki, L. and Frensch, P.A. “Effects of Video Game Playing on |
| | Measures of Spatial Performance: Gender Effects in Late Adolescence.” |
| | Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. Volume 15, pp. 33-58. |
| | |
| | “New Model Solves IQ Paradox.” April 2001. Scientific American. |
| | Accessed 1/12/2009 |
| | http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=new-model-solves-iq-parad |
| | |
| | Spatial Ability Practice Test – Accessed 1/8/2009. |