(In)Formative play The effects of digital games on
creativity and problem-solving skills
Johannes Breuer
University Hohenheim
Institute of Communication Studies
Wollgrasweg 23, 70599 Stuttgart,
Germany
+497114592779
johannes.breuer@uni-
hohenheim.de
ABSTRACT
Several studies have shown that digital games can influence lower
level information processing such as visual selective attention.
Considering the complexity of tasks in many computer and video
games the question arises, whether digital games can also
influence information processing on a higher cognitive level. The
PhD project presented in this paper aims at investigating the
relationship between the use of digital games and creativity and
problem solving skills. Two experimental studies and one online
survey were designed to assess this potential relation and the
underlying causalities. The outcome of these studies could help to
understand how and what we can learn from playing digital
games, which is also relevant for the design of games for learning
purposes.
General Terms
Measurement, Experimentation, Theory.
Keywords
Digital games, creativity, problem-solving, cognitive schemata
1. INTRODUCTION
There are several studies that investigated the influence of playing
digital games on perception and lower level cognitive processing.
Previous research has, e.g., shown that digital games can improve
visual selective attention [1], mental rotation skills [2], spatial
perception [3] or eye-hand coordination [4]. Interestingly, the
cognitive processes studied in these examples are mostly
automated and unconscious. Given the complexity of tasks
present in many current computer and video games the question
arises whether digital games can also affect higher order
information processing such as the formation and alteration of
cognitive schemata. The goal of the PhD project presented here is
to study potential short- and long-term effects of digital games on
the structure of cognitive schemata necessary for creative
performance and problem-solving.
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2. CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM-
SOLVING IN DIGITAL GAMES
Many computer and video games confront their players not only
with challenges that require quick reactions and motor skills, but
also with tasks requiring both reproductive and productive
thinking [5]. In order to progress through the game, players have
to acquire certain skills, which they train mostly via simple
repetition. Examples for such skills are, e.g., the timing of jumps
in platform games or aiming in first-person shooters. Making use
of knowledge or skills acquired prior to a target task is part of
reproductive thinking. Other in-game tasks necessitate more
productive thinking; i.e. coming up with novel solutions. A
common example for this is the use of a previously found object
or a characters ability in an unusual way. In order to arrive at a
novel or creative solution phases of convergent and divergent
thinking are usually necessary [5]. Phases of convergent thinking
include remembering what has been learnt previously and
accessing the right information (e.g. an item which has been
stored in a characters inventory or a hint from the tutorial).
Divergent thinking is similar to productive thinking, meaning that
new or uncommon ideas are formed.
Learning how to interact with the game environment and in-game
objects necessitates the formation or alteration of cognitive
schemata. In cognitive psychology (and also in design and
usability research) the interaction possibilities of an object are
often called affordances. According to James J. Gibson, who
originally coined the term, (t)he affordances of the environment
are what it offers the animal, what it provides or furnishes, either
for good or ill [7]. These possibilities do, of course, vary across
species with different physical and cognitive abilities [8]. In a
similar manner, the options for interaction and the usage context
of objects also differ across different games and game genres.
Some game genres like puzzles, simulations and point-and-click
adventures feature the exploration of affordances as one of their
main game mechanics [9]. Games like these often demand of their
players to thinks outside the box; this includes perceiving and
employing interaction possibilities they would not have noticed
otherwise.
3. TRANSFERS
A number of studies have demonstrated that the in-game
experience of players can influence emotions, cognition and even
behavior in situations outside the game [10, 11, 12]. With a focus
on the use of objects one might ask: Can experiences with the uses
of objects in digital games be transferred to cognitive schemata
relevant for creativity and problem-solving in the real world?
Since psychological research on creativity offers many different
definitions of creativity [5], the question how to best
operationalize and measure creativity is a controversial topic.
While creativity is mostly discussed as a personal trait [5],
research has shown that is a skill that can be trained, even in
adults [6].
Given that learning occurs in digital games and that objects and
tasks we encounter in these games also appear in our real
environment, it is reasonable to assume that such transfers occur.
Since the use of virtual objects very often differs from familiar
uses of these objects in the real world, a certain degree of both
representational and, more importantly, physical realism can be
assumed to make the generalization of cognitive schemata formed
or modified in digital games more likely. As digital games vary in
the degree of realism they employ [14], one might expect
differences between games and genres regarding the likelihood of
transfers.
Until now, there has been very little research on the relationship
between playing digital games and creativity and problem-solving
skills. One study [15] investigated short-term effects of a digital
game on creativity. The authors used the game Dance Dance
Revolution as a treatment and measured and compared the player
and control group scores in tasks from established creativity tests.
The game was used in this study to vary levels of physiological
arousal, while the mood state or valence (i.e. positive or negative)
was induced by a manipulated feedback about test scores. The
results show that the creativity scores were highest in the negative
valence and low arousal condition and second highest in the high
arousal and high valence condition. As the arousal in this study
was induced by physical activity, it would be interesting to further
investigate the relation of digital games and creativity with other
games which are rather cognitively stimulating and involve
problem-solving and creativity in their tasks. Also, since this
study only investigated short-term effects, it is worthwhile to
consider potential long-term effects.
4. HYPOTHESES AND RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
Based on previous studies and the theoretical considerations
outlined above, the following hypotheses were formulated:
H1: The repeated use of digital games has a positive effect on
creativity and problem-solving skills.
It is expected that more creative individuals also tend to chose
games that require creative skills more often than persons with
substantially less interest and abilities in creative tasks since one
main motivation for playing (digital) games is the need for
competence and self-efficacy [16, 17]:
H2: More creative people show a preference for genres that
demand creativity.
If the interaction with objects and characters in computer and
video games can affect cognitive schemata, these effects could be
enriching or reductive. This brings up an additional research
question:
RQ1: Does playing digital games expand or narrow down
cognitive schemata?
Since games and game genres differ with regard to the interaction
possibilities they offer the player, the following research question
arises:
242
RQ2: Is there a difference between game genres regarding the
effect on creativity and problem-solving skills?
5. METHODS
In order to test the two hypotheses and to answer the additional
research questions, 3 studies were designed.
5.1 Study 1
The first study will be an online survey among players of specific
genres to investigate whether there are differences between these
groups regarding creativity and problem-solving skills. The online
questionnaires will include a personality inventory measuring trait
creativity (e.g. the openness subscale form a Big Five
questionnaire), items on the use of digital games and socio-
demographics. The target measurements to test H2 are a set of
established creativity and problem-solving tasks related to object
use. Possible instruments for the assessment of creativity in Study
1 and 2 are: Guilfords alternative uses test [18], the creativity test
by Wallas & Kogan [19], Mednicks remote associations test [20]
and subsets of other creativity tests such as Schoppes verbal
creativity test [21]. Participants will be recruited via game-related
websites (chosen on the basis of the games and genres included in
study 2 and 3) and university mailing lists.
5.2 Study 2
The second study will be a laboratory experiment and was
designed to test the 1st hypothesis. Participants will repeatedly
play a specific game in the laboratory (e.g., 2-3 hours per week
for 3 consecutive weeks) and take the creativity and problem-
solving tests described in Study 1 before the first session and after
each session. To compare potential differences between game
genres, there will be 4 groups; each playing a different game. The
genres to be included in this study are: first-person shooter, 3D
action puzzle game, simulation and point-and-click adventure.
The latter genres were chosen since they include the use and
combination of different objects as one of their main game
mechanics while first-person shooters were chosen as a control
group to see, if there are general effects of digital games. Similar
to study 1, socio-demographics, personality traits related to
creativity and gaming experience will be measured as covariates.
In order to assess on which dimensions the games used in this
study differ, a gaming experience scale measuring immersion and
enjoyment such as the Game Engagement Questionnaire [22] will
be included as well as items on the perceived realism. To answer
the second research questions, the target measurements (e.g. the
alternative uses test) will include both objects that appear in the
games played in this study and objects that do not appear in the
games. The data from study 2 will be analyzed in a latent growth
curve model to account for a performance improvement due to the
repeated testing.
5.3 Study 3
In order to investigate short-term effects of digital games on
creativity and to further test H2 in a controlled laboratory setting
the third study will investigate, if a single use of a digital game
can already improve object-oriented problem-solving and
creativity and whether more creative persons tend to choose other
genres than less creative individuals. Combining H1 and H2, there
could be a circular effect, meaning that individuals who are better
at problem-solving or more creative prefer certain game genres
which, then, increase their respective skills. Thus, a creativity gap
similar to the knowledge gap [23] could emerge and increase over
time. The results on mental rotation skills, gender differences and
video game use, e.g., point in a similar direction [2]. In the third
study, participants will answer the same questionnaire as in Study
2 and take the same creativity and problem-solving tests as in the
other 2 studies. After completing the questionnaire and the tests,
participants can choose to play one of the games used in Study 2.
The choice of games is the dependent variable meant to test H2.
The participants for study 2 and 3 will be recruited among
university students from two large German universities. Both
participants in the laboratory experiments and in the online survey
will be motivated to take part by a lottery of games and/or
vouchers for online stores.
6. OUTLOOK
Since there has been very little research on the potential effects of
entertainment games on higher level information processing the
results of this PhD project will help to broaden the scope of media
effects research dealing with digital games. The results can be
used to understand how and what we learn while playing
computer and video games. This, again, can inform the design of
games for learning purposes or projects that use commercial
entertainment games to improve cognitive skills and knowledge
about different domains (e.g. the use of tools or the properties of
different materials). The focus on the implicit and mostly
incidental effects of digital games can also assist to emphasize the
importance to distinguish between desirable generalizations and
unwanted transfers. The gaming literacy and the learning contexts
needed to foster the former and avoid the latter should not be
neglected when discussing and researching strategies for digital
game-based learning. Finally, the results of the studies presented
here can open up additional questions about the potential effects
of digital games on information processing, e.g. with regard to a
cultivation of (deviant) attitudes or changes in the evaluation of
visual or auditory environmental cues.
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