Action-video-game playing may be an extreme case of such flexible training. Interestingly, flexible or integrated training regimens-requiring constant switching of processing priorities and continual adjustments to new task demands-have been argued to lead to greater transfer ( Bherer et al., 2005). One exception is when individuals are trained on such speeded tasks: Performance on the trained task is then improved (faster RTs, but no speed–accuracy trade-off) however, little or at best limited transfer to new tasks is observed, limiting the benefits of training ( Pashler & Baylis, 1991).

This is termed a speed–accuracy trade-off, with speeding up resulting in more mistakes. On such tasks, decreases in RT are typically accompanied by decreases in accuracy. In short, are expert video-game players (VGPs) just “trigger happy,” or does video-game playing really improve RTs on a variety of tasks without a concomitant decrease in accuracy? The possibility of identifying a single training task that can lead to RT improvements across a variety of unrelated tasks is of great interest but remains controversial in the field of speeded-response-choice tasks (in which observers must choose among alternative responses or actions as rapidly as possible). However, it remains unknown whether any reduction in reaction time (RT) really generalizes to tasks beyond video-game playing and, if it does, whether it makes gamers more impulsive and prone to making errors. Accordingly, there is anecdotal evidence that avid game players react more readily to their environment.

During game play, delays in processing often have severe consequences, providing large incentive for players to increase speed.

Playing action video games-contemporary examples include God of War, Halo, Unreal Tournament, Grand Theft Auto, and Call of Duty-requires rapid processing of sensory information and prompt action, forcing players to makes decisions and execute responses at a far greater pace than is typical in everyday life.

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