A cognitive science study being conducted at SFU is making waves across the country with the claim that cognitive functions begin to decline at the age of 24. In other words, many SFU students are nearing their cognitive peak, and it’ll be downhill from there!
Joe Thompson, an SFU doctoral student of psychology, has been working under professor Mark Blair to study cognitive abilities in the video game StarCraft 2. This game was able to provide compelling data from the complex tasks the players must face, such as strategic planning and quick threat analysis.
Using analysis from over 3,305 StarCraft 2 players, researchers found that cognitive functions including perception, mental processing, and physical response time trend steadily upwards from ages 16 to 24, after which they begin to slow down.
In-game actions and player reaction times were measured in terms of the different cognitive functions that might rely on speed. Thompson equates the study’s primary measurement of speed to the time between a player looking at a specific location within the game and acting on something in that environment.
Perception, mental processing, and physical response time trend steadily upwards from ages 16 to 24.
The results showed, for example, that the difference in response time for 24-year old player compared to a 39-year old player is about 150 milliseconds. The competitive computer game was selected based on the range of ages and skill levels demonstrated by its players, which supported the idea that a younger age might outweigh other advantages such as experience.
Thompson says this research proves “early adulthood is not a boring period where skills are maintained by a stable set of cognitive abilities.” Instead, he believes skills developed within the video game are created and maintained by one’s cognitive ability to adapt to the evolving and challenging game atmosphere.
Not all hope for cognitive progression is lost for us “old folk.” As seen in the research, players of more advanced ages seemed to compensate for their differences in speed with other skills; therefore, the changes in speed do not necessarily act as a loss. If older players are able to make better and more efficient use of the game’s interface, they can adapt to their cognitive differences from younger players.
Researchers believe they can translate the data from this study to examine the effects of age on our cognitive abilities, in ways not only specific to our digital lives.
