JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Video games are often thought of as mindless entertainment, but could they actually be sharpening our sense of timing? The rich multisensory environment that video games provide, requires rapid integration of audiovisual information. Regular exposure to these environments may refine temporal processing, which is not only valuable for skill improvement, but a candidate target for gamified digital health interventions.

Objective:

This study aimed to determine whether video gamers (VGPs) exhibit superior audiovisual temporal processing compared to non-video gamers (NVGPs).

Methods:

We recruited 40 university students (mean age 21.8 years, SD 3.7; 40% female), categorized as video game players (VGPs; ≥4 hours per week; n=22) or non-video game players (NVGPs; <3 hours per week; n=18). Participants completed an audiovisual temporal order judgment (TOJ) task in which auditory beeps and visual flashes were presented at stimulus onset asynchronies ranging from –600 ms (sound first) to +600 ms (visual first). Psychometric functions were fitted to responses to estimate the point of subjective simultaneity (PSS; temporal accuracy) and the just noticeable difference (JND; proxy for temporal binding window [TBW] width, reflecting precision). Group differences were assessed using parametric or nonparametric tests and supplemented with Bayesian t tests.

Results:

VGPs showed PSS values closer to objective simultaneity than NVGPs (VGPs: mean –12.8 ms, SD 41.7 ms; NVGPs: mean –40.8 ms, SD 94.4 ms). Absolute PSS was significantly smaller in VGPs (mean 30.2 ms, SD 30.8 ms) than in NVGPs (mean 80.2 ms, SD 62.2 ms; Mann-Whitney U=–3.31; P=.002; Cohen d=–1.05; Bayes factor [BF10] =9.39), indicating greater temporal accuracy. TBW width was also significantly narrower in VGPs (mean 47.2 ms, SD 24.1 ms) than in NVGPs (mean 113.2 ms, SD 65.0 ms; t38=–4.42; P<.001; Cohen d=–1.41; BF10=261.87), indicating enhanced temporal precision.

Conclusions:

Regular video gaming is associated with more accurate and precise audiovisual temporal judgments, reflected in PSS values closer to zero and markedly narrower TBWs. Notably, these benefits were observed across various game genres, suggesting that video gaming in general, not just action-packed games, may fine-tune temporal processing abilities. These findings highlight the potential of gaming as a form of cognitive training, offering new insights into how immersive, multisensory environments might refine sensory integration skills.