So, researchers have not stopped at hypersexuality or theories with their data collections and studies.
One topic that you may not think gamers, in particular, would be good at would be multitasking. It's interesting that people, in general, say that they are very good multitaskers. But when it takes real concentration, the type that is necessary for video games, or even driving, we may find ourselves in a predicament because we are just no good at it.
There are two types of multitasking that I'd like to talk about: Sequential and Concurrent
The biggest difference is that one of them we CAN do, the other one we fail miserably at, and I will tell you why.
Sequential is the type of multitasking we are good at. This type of multitasking is where we go from one movement to the other in a smooth fashion. For instance, in a kitchen in a restaurant, you know that after you put the burgers on the grill you prepare the salad and send it out, after you send out the salad ready you drop the fries, and then flip the burgers, and finally pull the fries to drip-dry why you put the cheese on the burger and do the finishing touches to the basket. This way you are getting it ready to go out the window to the customer in time for the salad to be eaten and the fries and burger to be hot and fresh.
The other type of multitasking is Concurrent. This is the type we can NOT do. Simply because our motor functions, cognitive processing, and perceptual realities cannot double effectively. What I'm really trying to say is, you can't use two high motor functions at the same time and trying to cognitively process and percept what you are trying to do. If you do this, you will create a bottleneck in the process...
M + C = GOOD
M + P = GOOD
M + M = CATASTROPHE
A lot of people think they can text (a motor skill) and drive (...a motor skill). Well, SURPRISE, you can't. It just doesn't work. Let's be honest, I don't know the real statistic, but I am sure at least 80 % of people with a texting phone have text and driven simultaneously before, I know I have. It was not easy, but for me it wasn't entirely hard. Which is why my Video Game Entertainment and a few select students will be at the State Fair in the end of this Summer in the Twin Cities area to test out the TEXTING AND DRIVING SIMULATOR using simply a PS3, a driving game, and a cell phone to test their hypothesis.
See you there! And thanks for reading!
Cordially,
Christina Higgins
Official University of Minnesota Graduate holding a Communication Degree!
Vorderer, P., & Bryant, J. (2006). Playing Video Games: Motives, Responses, and Consequences. New York, NY: Taylor and Francis Group.
