Multiplayer Video Games: Skill at Game and Intelligence Linked

[DooKey]

Researchers at the University of York have discovered a link between young people's ability to perform well at two popular video games and high levels of intelligence. The researchers say the correlation between ability at action strategy video games such as League of Legends and Defence of the Ancients 2 (DOTA 2) and a high IQ is similar to the correlation seen in other more traditional strategy games such as chess. I guess this tells us what we knew all along - cheaters are stupid - true skills show intelligence. Read the paper here.

Corresponding author Professor Alex Wade of the University of York's Department of Psychology and Digital Creativity Labs said: "Games such as League of Legends and DOTA 2 are complex, socially-interactive and intellectually demanding. Our research would suggest that your performance in these games can be a measure of intelligence.

 

[sfsuphysics]

I must be a moron then, because I hate playing MP games like DOTA.

Actually I would think that your "IQ" is very narrowly defined if you excel at games like that, you can do one particular thing very well and think very quickly when it comes to those games, but everything else, not so much.

 

[travbrad]

I must be a moron then, because I hate playing MP games like DOTA.

Actually I would think that your "IQ" is very narrowly defined if you excel at games like that, you can do one particular thing very well and think very quickly when it comes to those games, but everything else, not so much.

IQ has always had a very narrow definition because it's only testing some very specific types of tasks and problem solving, many of which can be heavily influenced by education. Certain mathematics problems become very easy once you are taught how they work, but might not be obvious on first glance for example.

IQ is a poor measure of creativity, "emotional intelligence", dedication/resolve, etc all of which matter in the real world. That being said I always get high scores on IQ tests but hate MOBAs, so I must only be half stupid. Sounds about right.

 

[viper1152012]

Funny how not all intelligent people care for dota

 

[Comixbooks]

SIT

 

[dgz]

I suck at IQ tests and I suck at DOTA. Never played either, though

 

[Nolan7689]

Iunno man. LoL player I know went full dummy and broke up with his girlfriend. He wouldn’t have if he had half a brain.

 

[aeliusg]

I must be a moron then, because I hate playing MP games like DOTA.

Actually I would think that your "IQ" is very narrowly defined if you excel at games like that, you can do one particular thing very well and think very quickly when it comes to those games, but everything else, not so much.

IQ has always had a very narrow definition because it's only testing some very specific types of tasks and problem solving, many of which can be heavily influenced by education. Certain mathematics problems become very easy once you are taught how they work, but might not be obvious on first glance for example.

IQ is a poor measure of creativity, "emotional intelligence", dedication/resolve, etc all of which matter in the real world. That being said I always get high scores on IQ tests but hate MOBAs, so I must only be half stupid. Sounds about right.

That's not how fluid intelligence i.e. g works. Fluid intelligence is generalized and predictive, and it correlates with silly stuff like being able to produce n-dimensional models in your head and iterate them e.g. your typical geometric or arithmetic IQ tests. It cannot be taught as far as common practice goes, and it does in fact have some bearing on how well and quickly one learns. That being said I've never played a MOBA in my life nor do I watch Rick and Morty, so I'm definitely not qualified to speak about matters of intelligence. I leave that to 200 IQ commentators only.

 

[M76]

The cycle jerk continues.

If you're a beginner player higher intelligence might help to be better at the game initially. But that's nothing new. If you have higher intelligence you adopt faster and discover the patterns of the game faster. This has nothing to do with dota or lol specifically.

Meaning clickbait article flattering to the millions playing these games who can now bang their chest because this proves how intelligent they are. When in reality if you believe such crap it just shows how unintelligent you are.

 

[demondrops]

i guess intelligence is if u put as much effort in it as the rest, whatever it migth be. how far u get, that is where u hit the limits i guess. i think just general attitude when aproaching games migth count for half of it, type rage banter, so many times in LoL f.ex ppl start having shitty attitude in champ select normally results in lost games, subjective experience or true, there is something too it. i know i corrected my attitude to point where, well, it takes alot to piss me of anything anymore. but i wont be doing any high apm sc2 games lol, but high apm alone wont win games either i guess. mechanics + intelligence. and age just as relevant in gaming as any sport. i was probably the worst cs player in my crew back in my youth lol. but ive improved dramatically over the years, mainly because im much better at focusing and clearing my mind, and just all the years spent infront of a computer. and i guess improved all around. it seems i hit a barrier around plat level play if taking lol ladder into account across most games i play i feel. im a bit of a game jumper tho. dont stick to anything too long. i have next to no education lol really never gave 2 shits about school, wouldnt mind doing something now tho, chemist or something like that would be fun i guess. but random mensa iq test i managed to score like 115.. i think in general they are probably reasonably accurate but it doesnt display the whole picture of things, experience +++

cant say im suprised to what this article is saying, ppl who think games are just mindless action clearly dont know much but i guess skill could vary with iq test scores, like let's compare ppl with exact same iq they will not perform the same way i think, there would still be those who are better?

 

[travbrad]

That's not how fluid intelligence i.e. g works. Fluid intelligence is generalized and predictive, and it correlates with silly stuff like being able to produce n-dimensional models in your head and iterate them e.g. your typical geometric or arithmetic IQ tests. It cannot be taught as far as common practice goes, and it does in fact have some bearing on how well and quickly one learns.

IQ tests have repeatedly been shown to be influenced by education though, meaning IQ tests are measuring both fluid and crystallized intelligence. Some of the IQ tests specifically say that actually if you look into them. As I said before there are still a lot of important psychological qualities these IQ tests don't even pretend to be measuring either. I'm wary of anything that tries to boil complicated systems (the human brain?) down to a single number, because things are ALWAYS more complicated than that.

 

[aeliusg]

IQ tests have repeatedly been shown to be influenced by education though, meaning IQ tests are measuring both fluid and crystallized intelligence. Some of the IQ tests specifically say that actually if you look into them. As I said before there are still a lot of important psychological qualities these IQ tests don't even pretend to be measuring either. I'm wary of anything that tries to boil complicated systems (the human brain?) down to a single number, because things are ALWAYS more complicated than that.

That doesn't affect what I said concerning fluid intelligence. It cannot be taught by conventional means insofar as the research has shown. The rest is extraneous. We all know a man is not measured by his IQ or penis size, for that matter, yet the latter exist as statistically valid parameters. No one is saying high-level MOBA play is the culmination of human intelligence. It's a simple corrrelation; there is no need for further caveats as psychological defenses. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯