Boys and girls who play video games may actually be more creative than their peers, regardless of the type of video games being played, according to a new study reported in the journal Computers in Human Behavior.
Researchers at Michigan State University surveyed almost 500 12 year olds about their use of various forms of technology. The children were then tested using the Torrance Test of Creativity-Figural, which involves tasks like turning a shape into an "interesting and exciting" drawing and then writing a story about it.
The researchers found that the children who played the most video games were the most creative. Similar links were not found for other technology like cell phones, the Internet and computers.
Lead researcher Linda Jackson hopes this will help motivate game designers to figure out what elements of gameplay engage children’s creativity.
"Once they do that, video games can be designed to optimize the development of creativity while retaining their entertainment values such that a new generation of video games will blur the distinction between education and entertainment," she explained.
Photo credit: Arvind Balaraman/FreeDigitalPhotos.net