Uncovering the association between strategy video games and self-regulation: A correlational study

Despite their popularity, strategy video games have been poorly studied in social science. Because strategy video games require long gaming sessions and planning and management of resources for reaching long-term goals, we assumed that they would function as a virtual training center for self-regulation abilities in every-day life. Adopting the Strength Model of Self-control theoretical framework (Baumeister, Vohs, and Tice, 2007), in two cross-sectional studies we examined the extent to which playing strategy video games predicts self-regulation. In Study 1, we found a positive significant association between strategy video game play - controlling for the impact of other video game genres - and self-regulation. In Study 2, we deepened this relationship by controlling for the effects of some personality traits and individual preferences (i.e., age, gender, satisfaction with life, avoidance of temptations, need for cognition, risk taking, impulsiveness, Big 5, and overall frequency of exposure to video games). As in Study 1, playing strategy video games was positively associated with self-regulation. Moreover, this relation statistically held when controlling for the impact of individual and personality differences. Implications and future directions are discussed.