The effect of action video games on motion-induced visual illusions

• Main Author: Tan, Charles Edmond Yan Zhi
• Other Authors: Gerrit Maus
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/70662
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The De Valois illusion and flash-lag illusion are from a type of visual illusions known as motion-induced illusions. The flash-lag illusion for example very often causes problems in offside calls in football, as players are perceived to be in locations different from their actual physical position but aid in tennis, as the ball is perceived to be ahead of where it actually is, allowing for faster responses. The magnitude of these illusions are susceptible to manipulation, and can be changed as the visual stimuli’s characteristics are altered. To be able to train to minimize or maximize the illusion when necessary can thus be very useful. Action video game training often utilizes the simultaneous tracking of multiple moving objects and has been shown to be effective at altering cognitive capabilities such as attention and processing speed and may also be able to manipulate the size of motion-induced visual illusions. It was hypothesized that a group that underwent action video game training would experience larger motion-induced illusion sizes compared to a group that only watched action video game gameplay and a control group. 60 undergraduates were tested and trained. Results did not support the hypothesis, suggesting that action video game training has no effect on the sizes of the illusions. However, unexpected findings show how, overall, the De Valois illusion is perceived as smaller after training but the flash-lag illusions is perceived as larger – opposite effects.