Recent studies report improved performance on attention tasks by video game players (VGPs) compared to non-gamers (NVGPs). There has been growing research into whether VGPs are also superior on measures of executive function. Several studies have examined differences in task-switching performance, one putative executive function, with mixed results. Task-switching itself is thought to consist of several different processes, which can be teased apart by manipulating different variables within a task-switching program. The goal of the present study was to systematically manipulate the type of switch as well as the amount of time given to prepare for a switch in order to better understand whether VGPs do show better switching performance than NVGPs and why. We found that when videogame players were given an opportunity to prepare for a switch, they demonstrated significantly lower switch costs than their NVGP counterparts. This result appeared both when the switches were predictable as well as when there was downtime between trials in a random condition. This suggests that superior switching performance in VGPs may be due to strategic or motivational differences in preparation.

Better task-switching performance in expert video game players: Superior preparation?