The Brain at Play: Investigating Motivational Factors and Perceived Effects of High-level Problem-solving in Video Games

The research has often explored personality and motivational factors as well as cognitive improvement related to action video games. However, less attention has been devoted to games and video games that require high-level problem-solving abilities (e.g., investigation and deduction, strategic thinking, and complex logic). In the present study, 147 participants rated their interest in high-level problem-solving games and filled in the Big Five Inventory for personality, the Gaming Motivation Scale (GAMS), and an ad-hoc measure for perceived cognitive benefits in terms of literacy, numeracy, and adaptive problem solving based on the OECD-PIAAC model (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies). While significant results regarding personality did not emerge, regression analysis showed that the interest in high-level problem-solving games is predicted by identified regulation, highlighting that the participants feel that playing such games is important for their cognitive improvement. Consistently, further analyses revealed that the participants believe that high-level problem-solving games playing foster cognitive abilities in all three areas of literacy, numeracy, and adaptive problem-solving. These results call for further investigation of high-level problem-solving in games and its possible benefits for educational aims and the training of complex cognitive processing.