Our hypothesis is that playing high-intensity, fast-paced video games will improve reaction time. Games like Kour.io require quick thinking and fast reactions, so we think they may help players react faster after playing. Slower games, such as the easy levels of Geometry Dash, require less quick thinking, so we expect the improvement in reaction time to be smaller. Games like Gas Station Simulator do not need quick reactions, so we believe they will cause little or no change in reaction time.

We also expect that not everyone will improve the same amount because people react differently. Most participants could improve their reaction time from about 0.5 seconds to roughly 0.2 seconds, but some may show little or no change. We might be wrong, which is why conducting this experiment is important.

Reaction time is how quickly someone responds to something they see, such as a signal on a screen. It is controlled by the brain and nervous system and can be affected by focus, alertness, tiredness, and practice.

According to research from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), fast‑paced action video games can help improve reaction time because they train the brain to process information more quickly. Studies discussed by Futurity also show that people who play faster games usually react quicker than those who play slower games, without losing accuracy. In addition, research published in Nature Scientific Reports found that gamers often have better reaction times and hand‑eye coordination than non‑gamers.

This research supports our experiment and helps explain why higher‑intensity games improved reaction time more than slower‑paced games.

1. Independent Variable: The type of video game played, including slow‑paced, medium‑paced, and fast‑paced games. 2. Dependent Variable: The players’ reaction time after playing each game. 3. Controlled Variables: We used the same reaction‑time test for all participants. Everyone played the games in the same order, and reaction time was tested three times after each game and averaged. The same device and similar testing conditions were also used for all participants.

1. First, individual hypotheses were created and combined into one refined hypothesis.

2. Three online video games were selected as the independent variable and classified by intensity:

3. Level 1: Gas Station Simulator (low intensity)

4. Level 2: Geometry Dash (medium intensity)

5. Level 3: Kour.io (high intensity)

6. Human Test subjects were selected to participate in the experiment.

7. Each participant first completed a baseline reaction-time test using a reaction-time game created by Nikaan.
8. Participants then played the three games in order from Level 1 to Level 3 to keep the test consistent.
9. After completing each level, participants tested their reaction time three times.
10. The three reaction-time results were averaged to improve accuracy and reliability.
11. After all participants completed the testing, the data was collected and analyzed.
12. The results showed that the overall average reaction time increased.
13. Additional research was conducted to help explain the results.
14. Finally, the procedure, data, and research were displayed on a trifold presentation board.

We observed that faster-paced video games that required quick reactions and decision-making, like Kour.io, generally improved participants’ reaction times. Medium-paced games, such as Geometry Dash, showed smaller improvements because they require some attention and quick thinking, but not as much as the fastest games. In contrast, slower-paced games, like Gas Station Simulator, that required less attention and fewer rapid movements sometimes caused reaction times to stay the same or even become slower. This suggests that game speed and intensity play an important role in influencing reaction time performance.

The data collected showed a clear relationship between game intensity and reaction time. When the average reaction times were compared after each level, participants generally had faster reaction times after playing high-intensity games like Kour.io, moderate improvements after medium-intensity games like Geometry Dash, and slower or unchanged reaction times after low-intensity games like Gas Station Simulator. This indicates that the type of game played influenced reaction speed.

Higher-intensity games required players to constantly react to visual stimuli, make quick decisions, and perform fast movements. This likely increased alertness and temporarily trained the brain to process information more quickly, resulting in faster reaction times during testing. Medium-intensity games required some quick thinking and attention but were less demanding, so they produced smaller improvements. In contrast, the low-intensity game required few rapid responses, which may have reduced focus and led to slower reaction times.

Although the overall trend supported this pattern, some individual results varied. These differences may have been caused by fatigue, individual skill level, or small inconsistencies during testing. Despite these variations, the averaged data supports the conclusion that faster-paced games improve reaction time more than slower-paced games, with medium-paced games having a moderate effect.

The purpose of this experiment was to find out how different types of video games affect reaction time. The results showed that high-intensity, fast-paced games like Kour.io generally improved reaction time the most, medium-intensity games like Geometry Dash led to smaller improvements, and slow-paced games like Gas Station Simulator sometimes caused reaction time to stay the same or even become slower. This suggests that the speed and intensity of a game influence how quickly players respond.

Overall, the results mostly supported our hypothesis. Some variation in reaction times may have been caused by fatigue, individual skill level, or small differences during testing, but the averaged data clearly shows that faster-paced games improve reaction time more than slower-paced games, with medium-paced games having a moderate effect.

The results of this experiment can be applied to real-world situations where fast reaction time is important, such as sports, driving, or activities that require quick decisions. Because reaction time is controlled by the brain and nervous system, activities that improve alertness and response speed may help people perform better in these areas.

Our data suggests that fast-paced, high-intensity video games could be used as a reaction-time training tool. Athletes, esports players, or anyone learning skills that require quick responses could use short sessions of these games as a warm-up to improve focus and reaction speed. Reaction-time training programs could also be designed using similar principles in a safe and controlled way.

Overall, this experiment shows that video games, when used appropriately, may help improve reaction time and hand-eye coordination in everyday life.

One of the possible errors was individual differences between participants. Some people naturally have faster reaction times or more gaming experience than others, which could have affected the results.

There may also have been measurement error. Reaction time can change slightly depending on focus, distractions, or how quickly a participant clicked during the test. Even small distractions could have changed the results.

Finally, using a limited number of participants might have affected the accuracy of the averages. Testing more people could reduce the impact of individual differences and improve reliability.

Citations / Sources

• National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• PubMed
• ScienceDaily
• Futurity
• Nature
• Nature Scientific Reports
• PLOS ONE
• Science Magazine
• Frontiers
• The Conversation (Science section)
• Smithsonian Magazine (Science section)
• IEEE Xplore
• Wiley Online Library
• Springer Nature
• Scientific American
• AAAS Science News
• Cell Press
• American Chemical Society (ACS Publications)
• Royal Society Publishing
• Elsevier ScienceDirect
• eLife
• BMJ (British Medical Journal)
• National Science Foundation (NSF)
• European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)
• American Physical Society (APS Journals)

We would like to thank our science fair teacher/coordinator Ms. Underdahl for guidance and support throughout this project. We would also like to thank each other and test subjects for helping out in the experiment. Finally, we would like to thank our families for their encouragement and support during this project.