Attention to low & high prevalence events in action video game players & non-action video game players using sustained multiple object tracking & change detection tasks

Abstract

Surveillance is an important real-world skill involving several cognitive abilities over a prolonged period. Multiple object tracking (MOT) and change detection research have begun to conceptualize the cognitive processes associated with surveillance in a laboratory setting. The current study incorporated change detection into a more sustained MOT task than what had been studied previously. This experimental design may better represent real-world situations in which identification of changes in items occurs in the real world due to the often-infrequent rate in which it is necessary to recognize changes. Additionally, long-term action video game experience and short-term experiences, such as exposure to rates of prevalence, are examined to help identify potential trainings to improve performance. After four 10-minute MOT trials, a short change detection task was conducted to assess a possible relationship of gaming and recent prevalence experience on later tasks. A main effect of items tracked was the only significant effect found throughout the research, indicating individuals can effectively track 2 items for changes and not 4. A main effect of prevalence was found in the MOT task, giving merit to the inclusion of prevalence in change detection MOT tasks put forth by this study. However, neither gaming experience in the MOT task nor prevalence experience in the follow-up task led to improved performance in the task. This study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in a small sample size and low power. Further research is necessary to examine potential mechanisms for surveillance training, but the current design can serve as guidance for future studies.