Training attentional control mechanisms using a gamified multiple-object tracking (MOT) task

In daily tasks such as driving or walking down the street, our visual system must select a subset of information to attend to while filtering out unnecessary information. Failure to filter out distractions can have dire consequences (e.g. injuries, collisions), and little is known about the cognitive mechanisms that govern attentional control or how to improve them. However, what if one could improve attentional control abilities by simply playing a video game for a few hours each week? Recent work by Dr. Daphne Bavelier and colleagues has uncovered action video game training as a promising avenue to improve a variety of cognitive abilities involved in attentional control. While this is a promising first step, it is still unclear what facets of action videos games target specific cognitive abilities and what game mechanics facilitate transfer of learning. In this project I will have the opportunity to answer these questions, working alongside Dr. Bavelier in a training study to investigate the game elements that best facilitate attentional control improvements.

Faculty Supervisor:

Lana Trick

Student:

Partner:

University of Geneva

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Guelph

Program: