Games and Learning in Young Children

Research has demonstrated that young children know a great deal about causality and that their causal knowledge changes with age. However, this research has not fully explained how causal knowledge is represented, and more significantly, how it is learned. The aim of this project is to understand how causal knowledge is represented and how it is learned in a virtual environment. We are examining the origins of abstract constraints that guide future inferences. What ways do virtual environments and digital games promote the learning of these abstract constraints? How do players (and especially young players) learn causality in a game/virtual environment, such as elements of narrative, perceptual cues (or lack thereof), and exploration? And how can this learning be promoted?

Researchers

Outcomes

Juvrud, Joshua, Gabriel Ansgariusson, Patrik Selleby & Magnus Johansson. 2021.
"Game or watch: The effect of interactivity on arousal and engagement in video game media." In IEEE Transactions on Games.
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Funding

Games & Society Lab

Last modified: 2022-06-02