Study: Playing Video Games Makes You More Creative

According to new research by Michigan State University, both boys and girls who play video games tend to be more creative, whether or not the games are violent. MSU researchers surveyed 491 middle school students regarding how frequently they used different forms of technology, and measured their creativity with a widely used Torrance Test of Creativity Figural. The test included creativity exercises one may remember from writing classes, such as being tasked with drawing an interesting picture from a prompt, giving it a title, then writing about it.

The study found that the boys and girls preferred different types of games. Unsurprisingly, the boys played games more than the girls and gravitated more toward violent and sports games, whereas the girls gravitated more toward games focused on interaction with others (human and nonhuman). Regardless of the type of technology use in which the children participated, the study found that only video game interaction increased levels of creativity, and it didn’t matter what type of game was being played. So next time you’re playing video games instead of doing some kind of project, you can now rationally tell yourself it is to enhance your creative juices to ensure a better final product.

(via EurekAlert!)

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James Plafke