Switch costs refer to the slower responses observed in task-switch trials than in task-repeat trials, whereas mixing costs refer to the slower responses in task-repeat trials in mixed-task blocks than in task-repeat trials in pure blocks (Rubin & Meiran). The efficiency of task switching can be empirically measured using task-switching paradigms, which yield two performance indicators: switch costs and mixing costs (Rubin & Meiran, 2005). Task switching is the ability to shift back and forth between multiple tasks or mental sets (Monsell, 2003).
Therefore, an interesting question arises as to whether extensive video-game experience could facilitate task-switching performance (e.g., Cain, Landau, & Shimamura, 2012 Green, Sugarman, Medford, Klobusicky, & Bavelier, 2012). Success in such games requires continual tracking of various goals and the ability to shift flexibly from one task to another in the face of changing environmental demands.
Similarly, real-time strategy games typically immerse players in war-like scenarios requiring simultaneous management of several tasks, such as constructing edifices and deploying combat units to secure areas of a map or to invade and destroy opponents’ territories and units. For instance, first-person shooter games require players to tactically navigate a three-dimensional environment while eliminating multiple enemy targets that appear at random. Video games often present players with challenging situations that necessitate strategic monitoring, coordination of multiple task demands, and goal prioritization. Video games are a ubiquitous entertainment medium, with an estimated 40 % of adults and 83 % of teenagers in the United States playing them regularly (Williams, Yee, & Caplan, 2008). Moreover, improving switch costs required a more extensive period of video-game experience than did mixing costs this finding suggests that certain cognitive abilities benefit from different amounts of video game experience. We found that the age of active onset better predicted switch and mixing costs than did frequency of recent gameplay specifically, players who commenced playing video games at an earlier age reaped greater benefits in terms of task switching than did those who started at a later age. Furthermore, we conceptualized video-game expertise as the onset age of active video-game play rather than the frequency of recent gameplay, as it captures both how long a person has played video games and whether the individual began playing during periods of high cognitive plasticity. To reconcile these inconsistent findings, we focused on the link between video games and task switching.
Although prior research suggests that playing video games can improve cognitive abilities, recent empirical studies cast doubt on such findings ( Unsworth et al., 2015).