Researchers at the University of Sheffield report that experienced Counter-Strike players process visual information and respond faster than novice players. In a study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, the team found an average reaction-time gap of about 90 milliseconds between expert and novice players.
The study assessed 230 players aged 16 to 34, grouped by level of experience. Researchers used drift-diffusion modelling to examine the stages behind their responses. The results linked experts’ faster performance to quicker evidence accumulation and shorter non-decision times, which include sensory processing and motor response. The study did not find expertise-related differences in decision thresholds.
Despite their speed advantage, expert players did not perform better than novices on task-switching measures. The findings suggest that competitive gaming expertise is associated with faster focused processing, rather than a general ability to manage multiple tasks at once.
The researchers said the study does not establish whether faster reactions develop through playing the game or whether people with naturally quicker processing are more likely to become expert players. Further research would be needed to determine whether the difference carries over to situations outside gaming.
Sources: Neuroscience News.