Game Player Response Times versus Task Dexterity and Decision Complexity

Game tasks commonly require dexterous actions and varying amounts of decision-making. People that play games may perform better for basic reaction and decision making tasks in comparison to people that do not play games. This paper presents results from two user studies that evaluate the relationship between self-rated gamer ability and reaction time for two tasks: 1) a task with varying decision complexity, and 2) a task with varying dexterity requirements. Analysis of data from over 150 users shows small effects of self-rated gamer ability on task, but substantial effects of the decision parameters (choices) and dexterity parameters (size and distance) on performance.

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