The Capacity of Cognitive Control in Action Video Game Players: The Role of Gaming Device

Prior work links action video game (AVG) play to cognitive control, but whether this reflects greater capacity of cognitive control (CCC) and varies by gaming device is unclear. This study examined CCC in AVG players (AVGPs) and the role of device using the backward masking majority function task. Both overall AVG experience and device type were associated with CCC. On accuracy across conflict levels, AVGPs outperformed NVGPs overall (gs = 1.04–2.06). PC-AVGPs exceeded SP-AVGPs and NVGPs at low-to-moderate conflict, whereas SP-AVGPs exceeded NVGPs at high conflict. CCC remained highest in PC-AVGPs (M = 3.87 / 3.83), followed by SP-AVGPs (M 3.39 / 3.38), and then NVGPs (M = 2.88 / 2.95; unadjusted/adjusted for weekly AVG hours). In hierarchical regression, device type retained a unique association with CCC, whereas weekly AVG hours did not, indicating device-specific variance beyond exposure time. Overall, links between AVG experience and cognitive control appear device-dependent, underscoring platform effects.