Can Playing Portal Affect Spatial Thinking and Physics Intuitions?

• In Event: 29.091 - Poster Session 4
  In Poster Session: 29.091-4 - Game Design and Game-Based Learning

Abstract

The current study investigated the relationship between playing Portal, a first-person physics-based puzzle game, and spatial reasoning (i.e., spatial orientation and spatial rotation) and physics intuitions. College students took pre-game spatial reasoning tests. They then played Portal or a control game for 75 minutes. Following the game, they took post-test spatial reasoning tests and a physics intuitions test. Participants who played Portal did not differ from the control group on spatial reasoning. Participants who achieved a high level of performance in Portal demonstrated better physics intuitions than low-achieving Portal players and the control group. This study points to the contribution of a cognitive consequences approach to games research, and demonstrates that achievement in Portal is related to better physics intuitions. 

Authors

• Deanne Marie Adams, University of Notre Dame

• Celeste Pilegard, University of California - Santa Barbara

• Richard E. Mayer, University of California - Santa Barbara