Are gamers better at anticipatory responding and anticipatory response inhibition?

Response inhibition is an executive modulating ability that supresses responses that are no longer relevant or required. The role of inhibition has been extensively examined in literature that proposes the notion that pathological gamers are comparable to those who suffer from other behavioural addictions such as substance abuse and gambling. This pathological framework argues that pathological gamers have underlying components of impulsivity and reduced inhibitory ability. On the other hand, there is an approach, defined as the adaptive framework, that argues response inhibition can be learned and improved like other cognitive abilities such and working memory and processing speeds. This thesis investigated the gaming-inhibition dyad to determine if the results would fit the pathological or the adaptive framework. Thirty-nine participants aged 19-69 (M=28.80, SD=13.80, 13 females) completed Dickman's (1990) impulsivity inventory and a questionnaire measuring their gaming experience A novel, gamified anticipatory response inhibition stop-signal task, ARI's staff‚ÄövÑvp, was developed to investigate participants stop-signal reaction times (SSRT). The results revealed a negative correlation between SSRT and videogame experience, implying that those with more game experience had faster inhibitory abilities. Furthermore, those with more gaming experience also responded more precisely. Impulsive underpinnings as a possible mediator for the gaming-inhibition was not found. The findings here predominantly support the adaptive framework; however, it is cautioned that the postulates of the pathological framework not be entirely dismissed.