Playing smartphone games while studying : An experimental study on reading interruptions by a smartphone game

Kurzfassung/Abstract

In this study, we investigated whether the use of smartphone games while reading
a text reduces learning performance or reading speed. We also examined whether
this is affected by push notifications. Ninety-three students were randomly assigned
to three learning conditions. In the gaming group (G), participants played a game
app for 20 s at 2-min intervals while reading. In one subgroup, the game app sent
push notifications (GN+); in the other subgroup, no notifications (GN−) were sent.
In the control group (C), participants did not play a game. After the reading, participants
took a multiple-choice quiz. We compared quiz scores and reading times
of the groups (G) and (C) and within the gaming group (GN+, GN−) and observed
no differences. Since the statistical non-significance of these tests does not entail
the absence of an effect, we conducted equivalence tests, which did not demonstrate
equivalence either. The experiment ensured high internal validity, yet remained
inconclusive. Reasons for the similarity of performance in all groups could be
non-specific exercise effects (all participants owned a smartphone), low similarity
between the tasks, low variance of participants’ ability and motivation (high achieving,
low ADHD scores) or low game complexity. Future research should address
these questions.