Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society

Studies have shown that video game players exhibit superior performance to non-video game players on a number of cognitive tasks. Methods to compare the groups have mainly involved using measures of central tendency such as the mean without examining intra-individual differences in performance. In the present study, top-ranking Tetris players and novice Tetris players completed a reaction time cognitive task. Results show that the top-ranking players exhibit faster reaction times compared to novice players. Beyond the mean RT, we used the ex-Gaussian modeling technique and found differences in variability and attention between the two groups. Future studies can use modeling techniques such as the exGaussian distribution to analyze the whole distribution at an individual level beyond measures of central tendency and further examine the behavioral differences between video game players and non-video game players.