Intelligence and video games: Beyond “brain-games”

The tangled ways to classify games: A systematic review of how games are classified in psychological research

In the face of the rapid evolution of the gaming market and the puzzling overlap of genres, consistency in classification seems elusive. The purpose of the present review was to explore the classification of video game genres in the context of psychological research. The aim was to address the challenges associated with creating consistent and meaningful classifications of video game genres, considering the rapid evolution of the gaming market and recent tendency to create games that could be classified into multiple genres. We performed a search in four databases according to the PRISMA guidelines and reviewed 96 full-text papers (N = 49 909). Through our findings, we reveal how researchers strive to classify genres and the numerous complications that arise from this pursuit. In the face of these challenges, we propose alternative ways of classifying genres. Our first proposal is a new classification of video game genres based on our literature review. In our second proposal, we advocate a more detailed understanding by focusing on specific gaming mechanics, and thus we introduce the innovative concept of utilizing community-based tags, such as Steam tags, as an alternative to genres in psychological research.

Checking Different Video Game Mechanics to Assess Cognitive Abilities in Groups with and without Emotional Problems

This study assesses cognitive abilities through video games for entertainment (Blek, Edge, and Unpossible) that were programmed from scratch to record players' behavior and the levels achieved in a sample without emotional problems and in one with emotional problems. The non-emotional-problem sample was recruited from three universities and two bachelor's degree programs. The emotional-problem sample was recruited from two outpatient centers. The participants in the emotional-problem sample completed reduced versions of the ability tests and video games, as required by their emotional problems. Three subtests of the Differential Aptitude Test that assessed abstract reasoning, visuospatial reasoning, and perceptual speed were selected as ability tests. All participants were required to complete a mental health questionnaire (PROMIS) and a brief questionnaire on their gaming habits and previous experience with the video games used. The results that were obtained showed good convergent validity of the video games as measures of cognitive abilities, and they showed that the behavior of players in the sample without emotional problems while playing predicted the level achieved in the Blek and Unpossible game fragments, but this was only true for Unpossible in the emotional-problem sample; finally, shorter versions of the Blek and Edge game fragments can be used because they maintain their good psychometric properties.

Game-related assessments for personnel selection: A systematic review

Industrial development in recent decades has led to using information and communication technologies (ICT) to support personnel selection processes. One of the most notable examples is game-related assessments (GRA), supposedly as accurate as conventional tests but which generate better applicant reactions and reduce the likelihood of adverse impact and faking. However, such claims still lack scientific support. Given practitioners’ increasing use of GRA, this article reviews the scientific literature on gamification applied to personnel selection to determine whether the current state of the art supports their use in professional practice and identify specific aspects on which future research should focus. Following the PRISMA model, a search was carried out in the Web of Science and Scopus databases, identifying 34 valid articles, of which 85.3% are empirical studies that analyze five areas: (1) validity; (2) applicant reactions; (3) design of GRA; (4) personal characteristics and GRA; and (5) adverse impact and faking. Together, these studies show that GRA can be used in personnel selection but that the supposed advantages of GRA over conventional tests are fewer than imagined. The results also suggest several aspects on which research should focus (e.g., construct validity, differences depending on the type of game, prediction of different job performance dimensions), which could help define the situations in which the use of GRA may be recommended.

Student Characteristics, Institutional Factors, and Outcomes in Higher Education and Beyond: An Analysis of Standardized Test Scores and Other Factors at the Institutional Level with School Rankings and Salary

When seeking to explain the eventual outcomes of a higher education experience, do the personal attributes and background factors students bring to college matter more than what the college is able to contribute to the development of the student through education or other institutional factors? Most education studies tend to simply ignore cognitive aptitudes and other student characteristics—in particular the long history of research on this topic—since the focus is on trying to assess the impact of education. Thus, the role of student characteristics has in many ways been underappreciated in even highly sophisticated quantitative education research. Conversely, educational and institutional factors are not as prominent in studies focused on cognitive aptitudes, as these fields focus first on reasoning capacity, and secondarily on other factors. We examine the variance in student outcomes due to student (e.g., cognitive aptitudes) versus institutional characteristics (e.g., teachers, schools). At the level of universities, two contemporary U.S. datasets are used to examine the proportion of variance accounted for in various university rankings and long-run salary by student cognitive characteristics and institutional factors. We find that depending upon the ways the variables are entered into regression models, the findings are somewhat different. We suggest some fruitful paths forward which might integrate the methods and findings showing that teachers and schools matter, along with the broader developmental bounds within which these effects take place.