eCite Digital Repository
Timesplitters: playing video games before (but not after) school on weekdays is associated with poorer adolescent academic performance. A test of competing theoretical accounts
Citation
Drummond, A and Sauer, JD, Timesplitters: playing video games before (but not after) school on weekdays is associated with poorer adolescent academic performance. A test of competing theoretical accounts, Computers and Education, 144 pp. 1-12. ISSN 0360-1315 (2019) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2019 Elsevier Ltd.
DOI: doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2019.103704
Abstract
Video games are a common pastime for adolescents. There has been a relatively enduring
concern that time spent playing video games might undermine students’ academic
performance. Hartanto, Toh, and Yang (2018) suggested that frequent gameplay,
particularly frequent weekday video gameplay, might displace students’ homework;
reducing academic performance, albeit by a small amount. Although some evidence has
been presented supporting this view, the emerging evidence is mixed. Significant theoretical
flaws have also limited our understanding of the relationship between video game play and
adolescent academic performance. Here we show that, across approximately 219,000
students, the frequency of video gameplay does not appear to have a systematic
relationship with academic performance, confirming the results of earlier research
(Drummond & Sauer, 2014). Moreover, although there is a small-moderate reduction in
academic performance for some weekday players, this reduction only occurs for players
who play in the mornings before school. Players who play in the evenings after school show
no meaningful difference in academic performance to non-users. As no existing theoretical
accounts of the relationship between gameplay and academic performance adequately
explain this finding, we propose that the results most likely support a third variable
explanation. That is, video game play does not appear to affect academic results per se. The
results further suggest that media psychologists and educational researchers analysing large
datasets must be especially diligent when specifying and testing theory, especially with
regards to what evidence would effectively falsify such theory. Failing to do so increases the
risk of false discovery.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | video games, education, academic achievement |
| Research Division: | Psychology and Cognitive Sciences |
| Research Group: | Psychology |
| Research Field: | Educational Psychology |
| Objective Division: | Expanding Knowledge |
| Objective Group: | Expanding Knowledge |
| Objective Field: | Expanding Knowledge in Psychology and Cognitive Sciences |
| UTAS Author: | Sauer, JD (Dr Jim Sauer) |
| ID Code: | 135043 |
| Year Published: | 2019 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 1 |
| Deposited By: | Psychology |
| Deposited On: | 2019-09-24 |
| Last Modified: | 2020-04-17 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
Repository Staff Only: item control page