ISSN 0439-755X
CN 11-1911/B

Acta Psychologica Sinica ›› 2026, Vol. 58 ›› Issue (6): 1160-1182.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.1160

• Reports of Empirical Studies • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Beyond the Screen: Sports Video Game Training Can Better Enhance Children’s Executive Functions

MA Chao, ZHAO Lu, ZHAO Xin()   

  1. School of Psychology, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, China
  • Received:2025-03-27 Published:2026-06-25 Online:2026-04-28
  • Contact: ZHAO Xin E-mail:psyzhaoxin@nwnu.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(32260207);Ministry of Education Humanities and Social Sciences Research Project(21XJA190005);2025 Gansu Province Graduate Student “Innovation Star” Program(2025CXZX-LXB050)

Abstract:

As an innovative training method that combines physical movement with cognitive tasks, the impact of different combination modes of sports video games on children's executive function, as well as the roles of cognitive engagement and sport intensity, remains a core issue to be explored in the field of motor-cognition. This study investigated which form of sports video game training is more beneficial for the development of children's executive function through two systematic experiments. Experiment 1 compared the differential effects of the integrated mode (sports video game training) and the combined mode (sports + video game training). The results showed that sports video game training significantly improved children's response inhibition and working memory updating abilities, and the effect was significantly better than that of sports + video game training. A supplementary experiment further found that compared to young adults, the child group obtained greater cognitive benefits from sports video game training, benefiting from their higher neuroplasticity. Experiment 2 further analyzed the mechanisms of sport intensity and cognitive engagement. The results showed that the promoting effect of cognitive engagement on response inhibition was more significant and lasting than sport intensity; regarding working memory updating, both sport intensity and cognitive engagement played positive roles, but they did not show an interaction effect, suggesting that they may affect executive function through independent neural pathways. In summary, this study reveals the significant effects and mechanisms of sports video game training in improving children's executive function, providing new empirical support for embodied cognition theory and the cognitive stimulation hypothesis. It suggests that future research should prioritize the integrated training mode, strengthen the design of cognitive tasks, and adjust sport intensity according to individual differences to optimize training effects.

Key words: sports video game training, executive function, children, sport intensity, cognitive engagement