The Journal of General Psyt-hohgy. 2004, 131(2). I5l-I.’i
Boys’ and Girls’ Use of Cognitive Strategy
When Learning to Play Video Games
FRAN C. BLUMBERG
LORI M. SOKOL
Division of Psychological and Educational Sen’ices
Graduate School of Education
Fordham University
ABSTRACT. The tiuthors examined gender difl’erences in the cognitive strategies that chil-
dren use when they learn how to play a video game. They interviewed 2nd- and 5th-grade
hoys and girls about how often they played video games and what they did "when learn-
ing how to play a video game." The children’s responses to the latter queslion were cate-
gorized as either internally or extemally oriented (i.e., reading a manual vs. asking for
help, respectively). The results indicated that more frequent players and older children
were more likely to cite internally based strategies. No main effects of gender were found
for the proportions of ihe internally vs. externally based strategies that were cited.
Key words: child developmenu cognitive strategies, video games
IN THE WORLD OF VIDEO GAMES, equal access does not necessarily mean
equal oppottunity. For example, current ftndings indicate that girls and boys may
not equally avail themselves of video game experienee (Subrahmanyam, Kraut,
Greenfield, & Gross, 2001). The study of the impaet of that differential experi-
ence is warranted given the link between the playing of video games and the infor-
mal education that it might provide (Greenfteld & Coeking, 1994).
Video games often provide the first opportunity for children to interact with
computer technology (Greenfteld, Brannon, & Lohr, 1996). According to
Greenfieid and her colleagues (e.g.. Greenfteld, Brannon, et a!.; Greenfield,
DeWinstanley, Kiipatriek. & Kaye, 1996; Subrahtnanyam, et al. 2001). video
games might influence information processing skills sueh as those pertinent to
spatial ability, which in turn, have itnplications for more complex computer use
(Goldstein. 1994).
The results of studies in which researchers examined children’s video game
performance typically reveal gender differenees. For example, Greenfield, Bran-
non, et al. (1996) found a significant gender difference in the propoition of boys
and girls reaching criterion on a video game that involved shooting down starships.
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152 The Journal of General Psychology
Subrahmanyam and Greenfield (1994) also found that spatial performance was
significantly better among fifth-grade boys than among fifth-grade girls on a video
game assessment of mental rotation.
Girls and boys also show differential video game experience that has impli-
cations for their level of expertise while they play. For example, both gender and
the extent of video game practice were related to participants’ scores on ihe video
games Subrahmanyam and Greenfield (1994) used in their study. Similarly,
Greenfield, DeWinstanley. et al. (1996) found that boys had more overall video
game experience than did girls, which may have contributed to their superior
video game performance. The results of a study by Kafai (1996) also showed
that gender differences were reflected in children’s designs of video games to
teach fractions: Boys emphasized competitive goals, and girls emphasized
instructional goals. Those differential approaches might reflect girls’ greater
concern with the exchange of information as opposed to boys’ greater concern
with task mastery and completion (Ghing, Kafai, & Marshall, 2000). Accord-
ingly, girls’ strategies for learning how to play a video game might emphasize
greater cooperation and collaboration between players, whereas boys’ strategies
might emphasize greater self-reliance, less consultation with others, and greater
internal generation of game strategies.
The present study was designed to examine potential differences in the cog-
nitive strategies that girls and boys report they use when they learn to play an
unfamiliar video game. The assessment was also linked to their self-reported fre-
quency of game play. Consistent with fmdings from Kafai (1996) and her col-
leagues (Ching et al., 2000), we hypothesized that girls vi’ould be more reliant on
externally based strategies than would boys. We also expected girls to report less
frequency of play than did boys. Similarly, we hypothesized that boys would be
more reliant on internally based strategies than would girls and that they would
report greater frequency of play than did the girls. Finally, we hypothesized that
internally based strategies would be related to better game performance more so
than would externally based strategies.
The findings reported here were drawn from a larger investigation that
examined second- and fifth-grade children’s patterns of attention and goals for
learning while they played a video game (Blumberg, 1998). The foeus was only
on children’s game performance. In the larger study, children were also inter-
Paiiions of this research were presented at Ihe biennial meeting of the Society for Research
in Child Development, in Minneapolis. MN. in March. 2001.
The authors thank Joseph P. Qitinlun. the principal ofP.S. 127 in Brooklyn. New York,
and the second- and fifth-firade teachers and students at that school who lent their sup-
port and cooperation. Special thanks go to the anonymous reviewers and John Randall for
their helpful comments in the preparation of this manuscript.
Address correspondence to Fran C. Blumher^, Division of Psychological and Edu-
cational Services. Graduate School of Education. Fordham University, II3W. 60th Street.
New York. NY 10023: bhimherg@fordham.edii (e-mail).