Hello Brains!
There's a lot of mixed messages out there about ADHD and video games.
Do video games cause ADHD? Do they make ADHD symptoms worse?
Or, my favorite, "If my kids really can't focus how can they pay attention to video games?"
Wait. How can we pay attention to video games?
[Intro Music]
Why can we pay attention to video games for hours on end when we can't focus for
long enough to finish half an hour of work? It's not because the work is harder.
Have you seen some of the things kids build in Minecraft? It's not because learning is boring.
I'm fairly obsessed with Duolingo.
And it's not because we don't care.
Well, usually.
One of the biggest reasons video games hold our attention so well is video games
provide instant feedback. Feedback is a response from the environment as a
result of your actions. Everyone can benefit from feedback but ADHDers thrive on it.
According to Whitney Fosco who led a recent study at the University of Buffalo,
the major difference is that typically developing kids usually perform well
even when simply asked to do their best, but kids with ADHD typically need an
external or an additional reinforcement to perform their best. Given the right kind
of feedback some studies suggest that kids with ADHD can actually
outperform their peers. And the more immediate the better. Those of us with
ADHD tend to live in the present, in the now. So if we do something well
rewarding us with our favorite ice cream next week will actually not be as effective
as simple words of encouragement right away.
Immediate Feedback.
Video games are all about immediate feedback because all video games are built
on one fundamental principle: The Feedback Loop. The feedback loop
has four parts: Understanding the situation; taking an action; the application
of the rules; and feedback, which leads to new understanding. In video games this
happens really quickly. Let's break it down.
Here's how the feedback loop works: A game presents you with a situation.
Say you're a kick ass lady cop on the mean streets. Right away you try to understand it.
"Okay there's some arrows here." And you take an action. "Let's press the forward arrow."
Based on the rules of the game you get immediate feedback. "Cool, we're moving."
Which encourages you to repeat that action or, "Oh. No. Enemy," Re-evaluate
and try something else. "Can I jump? Hey, I can jump! Oh! If you go up and then down
you get a giant butt that you can bomp on ememies with! Bomp... Piggy! "
The feedback that video games provide works so well for three main reasons.
It's accurate. It's positive, or at least non-judgmental. And its immediate.
Unfortunately, life doesn't always provide immediate feedback and when it
does it's usually negative. And judgmental.
Timeouts. Lost privileges. I just got slapped. Boss's yelling at me and i'm not even sure why
Especially since we already tend to be hard on ourselves and get frustrated
easily, negative feedback doesn't actually work that well for us.
Not to mention the effect it can have on our self-esteem. Just like if you keep
dying in a video game you might decide you don't like that game,
if you keep getting yelled at for your math test scores you might just decide you hate math.
Does this mean we should just constantly praise our ADHD kids or ADHD selves?
No.
That's the equivalent of pressing whatever button you want and winning no matter what.
First of all, that doesn't make us any better at playing games.
And second, that gets boring pretty quickly.
"Ahhhh!...."
[Crunch]
So what we really need is immediate, positive, and accurate feedback.
Short of actually turning our lives into a video game, which you can do,
I'll go into that in a later episode.
How can we create a working feedback loop that motivates us in real life?
If you are the one with ADHD, ask for feedback. Work with a therapist or ADHD coach.
Ask your boss to let you know once a week how things are going.
Start a YouTube channel and read the comments.
There's a reason I've been able to stick to this longer than most things.
Give yourself credit. The voice in our head tends to be pretty negative.
Give yourself a pat on the back every once in a while, too. Reward yourself.
Recognize when you're making progress on things that are challenging for you and reward yourself.
The actual reward can vary from getting to cross something off your to-do list to
taking that trip you've always wanted after completing a big project.
If you have a child with ADHD, consider using sticker charts. Make it a point to
praise your child when they're doing something you like. Instead of just
taking away privileges, try allowing them to earn rewards. And experiment with it.
It takes time for game developers to perfect their feedback loops so don't be
surprised when you find a few bugs in yours.
In the beginning, your feedback loop might be too easy, too hard, the rewards
might not be motivating enough. Or happen soon enough. Just remember:
when game developers see their players fail or get frustrated or throw their
controller across the room they don't blame the player, they tweak the feedback loop
That's it for this week.
I've included links to more info on ADHD and video games in the description below.
Let me know what kind of feedback works for you
Comment below or hit me up on Facebook or Twitter. Subscribe so you don't miss
the next episode and I will see you next week.
Bye Brains!
"How can I explain to my parents that I can't stop thinking so they can better understand me?"
Be patient. Try not to talk to them when any of you are frustrated. And get
educated together. Dr. Russell Barkley has some great talks for parents.
[Beep]
Hello Brains.
-What? What? I don't understand. -We're gonna do the recording?
-What are we recording? -The game.
Okay. And then what?