Level up: gamers are smarter.

• Author: Bailey, Ronald
• Position: Citings - Brief article

The stereotype of of gamers as isolated, socially awkward losers hiding out in their parents' basements is wrong, according to a March study in the journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.

Using psychological and game-playing data from more than 3,000 European kids between the ages of 6 and II, a team of psychologists led by Viviane Kovess-Masfety of Paris Descartes University reports that "video games seem to be linked to better intellectual functioning and academic achievement." Fears that playing might have negative consequences on cognition were not born out: "High video game usage was not associated with an increase of conduct disorder or...