Degree Date

8-2025

Document Type

Dissertation - Public Access

Degree Name

Psy.D. Doctor of Clinical Psychology

Academic Discipline

Clinical Psychology

First Advisor

Emese Vitalis, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Laura Monti, Ph.D., Psy.D.

Third Advisor

Ericka Mingo, Ph.D.

Abstract

Chess, one of the oldest modern games, has long been a model domain for expertise research. In comparison, research on video games has historically been influenced by moral panic. Cycles of moral panic tend to revolve around preconceived notions of threats, held at a societal level (typically by older generations). Politicians, quick to capitalize, then advocate for policy change based upon their constituents’ fears. Concurrent media reports draw further attention to the issue, amplifying the perception of harm. As the panic escalates, pressure is placed on scientific communities to perform confirmatory (not exploratory) research. This fundamentally biased approach to research generates more fear, which makes it way back to politicians and the media, who then amplify the concerns of the general public. However, recent studies have shown playing video games may be associated with improvements in some cognitive ability domains, such as working memory, fluid intelligence, visuospatial ability, and executive functions. This study was designed to bring some attention to whether competitive video games, like the strategy game League of Legends (LoL), are correlated with cognitive abilities. Studies on expertise in chess have indicated, with few exceptions, that fluid intelligence (gf) is not correlated with becoming an expert. LoL, unlike chess, is subject to frequent updates. It was hypothesized that given the dynamic nature of LoL, player rank would be correlated with gf. To answer this question, a combination of convenience sampling and snowball sampling methods were used to recruit adult players who were ranked in LoL and played on North American servers. Of the 489 individuals who responded, 59 failed to complete the survey, leaving a sample of 430. Participants answered questions about demographics, practice habits, and history, and then completed the Self-Report Measure of Cognitive Abilities (SRMCA) and the Matrix Matching Test (MMT). Visuospatial Matrix performance on the MMT, an indirect measure of gf, was significantly correlated with player rank (r = .419, p < .001), as was participant self-perceived gf, as measured by the SRMCA (r = .196, p < .001). However, the direction of this correlation was not ascertained through this study. More specifically, it has not yet been determined whether individuals with higher levels of cognitive ability are able to perform in competitive video games, such as LoL, or whether these video games train cognitive abilities.

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