That finding, thought to be the first demonstration of a relationship between technology use and creativity, comes from a new study of nearly 500 12-year-olds in Michigan, conducted by researchers at Michigan State University's Children and Technology Project. Already published online, the study is expected to be included in the March 2012 issue of the journal Computers in Human Behavior.
The children were given creative thinking tests – shown a drawing and asked to expand on it or comment on what it means – and then asked about their use of cellphones, computers, the Internet and video games. Only with video games was there a correlation to creativity, the researchers say, and that was true for boys and girls, and across all races.
The study found that boys played video games more than girls did; boys also preferred violent games and sports games, while girls favored games involving interaction with others (human or non-human). Among the games the children said they played: The Legend of Zelda, Super Smash Brothers, Madden NFL Football, Animal Crossing, Half-Life 2, Need for Speed, Star Wars games and Spider Solitaire.
"Not only are (video games) not all bad, there's some 'intellectual' good to be found in playing them," says the project's lead investigator, Linda Jackson, a professor of psychology at Michigan State. "We are the first to look at creativity and technology use, finding that no other technologies except video games was positively related to creativity."
The researchers' previous work, like this study supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, found that video game players had better visual-spatial skills, too. "Visual-spatial skills are viewed by psychologists and educators as the 'training wheels' of later skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics," Jackson says, "and there is little question that we will need more and more workers with skills in these areas.
Other information technologies do have benefits beyond entertainment, however. In earlier studies, the researchers found that children who used the Internet increased their reading scores. The reason? They were reading better, Jackson says, "because the Internetrequired them to read. But for the home Internet these children would be watching TV – which provides no benefits to reading."
As for video games, further research will be needed to prove a causal link between games and creativity, she says. Jackson says that "why is the next big research question. Does it have something to do with the nature of the virtual environment encountered when you go 'into a video game?' Is it the rapid succession of images and scenes that compels the mind to keep track of many (events) simultaneously. Is it the way videogames defy/ignore reality that opens doors in children's minds saying 'it could be otherwise.' There are a host of possibilities each difficult to test but we can do it."
Regardless, these findings should motivate game designers to identify the aspects of video game activity that are responsible for the creative effects. That could lead to a new wave of edutainment video games that "will blur the distinction between education and entertainment," they write in the report.
The researchers have proposed a study to test whether a special touch-screen computer can help kids, ages 3 and 4, with school readiness skills. They are also looking at the differences between U.S. and Chinese adolescents in cellphone use, Jackson says, "believing as we do that the handheld will be the hot information technology in this decade."
Mike Snider began covering the video game industry during the Super Nintendo-Sega Genesis clash in 1992. An original pinball wizard, he eventually was seduced by Robotron: 2084 and Tempest. These days he is a fan of action/shooters and lives out his Keith Moon fantasies playing a mean drum kit on music games. More about Mike.
Brett Molina has been writing about video games for USA TODAY since 2005. He is well-versed in Madden NFL, the fighting genre and first-person shooters. The first video game he played was Asteroids at a local arcade. He has been hooked ever since. More about Brett.