Being A Racing Gamer Makes You More Intelligent

Video games have received heavy criticism since their rise in popularity in the early 1980s with claims they may ruin eyesight, lower IQ and lead to unhealthy emotional behaviours. In response, science fought back with credible tests of the effects of gaming on a variety of different mental and physical skills. What researchers learned would shock their opponents.

While the casual app gamer picks up little skill playing word and puzzle games, racing video gamers are believed to gain far more from their experiences. Studies have shown better motor skills, eye and hand coordination, manual dexterity and reaction time in test subjects who spent time playing racing games over those who did not. Racing gamers have also exhibited better spatial skills, were more attentive and developed better driving habits on real roads.

A 2009 study published by Elsevier suggests that gamers develop better attention skills by training their brain to process information much faster than the average human being. They are faced with obstacles, interactions and split second decision making in fast-action scenarios. The brain begins to filter out non-important information to allow faster processing of primary challenges. As a gamer becomes more experienced, they are able to process primary targets much faster, leaving time for their brain to process secondary information or influences.

The average action video gamer uses both hands, but racing games demand the simultaneous use of both hands and both feet. Drivers process the speed and position of their car on the track while avoiding obstacles like other drivers and (obviously) walls. They constantly adjust their speed and position with the pedals, shifter and steering wheel.

Meanwhile, additional buttons on the wheel and shifter allow the driver to change views, opt for a pit stop, apply boost, make requests to their crew and so much more. With so much going on at once, it's clear why racing gamers’ brains process information so much faster than others.

University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) researchers recently developed and tested a 3D driving game on healthy older adults. They not only found that regular game play helped with memory and attention, but also the skills stayed with the subjects six months after the conclusion of gameplay. These individuals maintained healthy cognitive skills and real world driving skills. These recent studies pave the way to developing different strategies for behavioural specialists to retrain neurological habits of the brain.

With proof like this, what better excuse do you need to wile away the hours behind the wheel of a virtual Ferrari F40 while getting more intelligent? And all because racecar.

This article was written by freelance journalist Kelsey Sakamoto.