What is Visual Processing Speed?
In the world of gaming, the eyes are the most important attributes to being successful. More specifically, a player’s visual processing speed often separates the good gamers from the great ones. VPS is an objective measurement of the amount of time it takes someone to respond accurately to a visual stimulus [1]. In gaming, this can include detecting incoming attacks, or responding to traps in the environment. The better one’s VPS is, the quicker they are able to respond.
What you might not know is that there are studies which indicate that playing action-oriented games can actually improve one’s VPS. How, you might ask? Well, many fast-paced action games have consequences for those who process the visual stimuli at a slower rate. Players are therefore forced to train themselves to react much more quickly than they would have to in everyday life [2]. With practice and repetition, this increases their VPS while gaming.
While there only exists anecdotal evidence that this translates into real-world situations, studies are being done to determine whether or not gaming can improve someone’s physical reaction time in other aspects of life. Either way, increasing VPS through gaming surely has its benefits.
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