Mechanisms of change in a go/no-go training game for young adult smokers.

Objective: Smoking is a major cause of worldwide morbidity and mortality. Evidence-based intervention programs to help young adults quit smoking are largely lacking; identifying targets for intervention is therefore critical. A candidate target is inhibitory control, with previous studies on Go/No-Go trainings showing behavior change in the food and alcohol domain. The current study examined the mechanisms of change of HitnRun, a Go/No-Go game, in a smoking population that was motivated to quit. Method: A 2-armed experimental study (n = 106) was conducted and young adults (Mage = 22.15; SDage = 2.59) were randomly assigned to either play HitnRun or to read a psychoeducational brochure. Prior to and directly following the intervention period, smoking-specific and general inhibitory control, perceived attractiveness of smoking pictures, and weekly smoking behavior were assessed. Results: Results indicated that Go/No-Go training seems to decrease evaluations of smoking stimuli rather than top-down smoking-specific and general control processes. Similar reductions for weekly smoking were found in both groups. Conclusions: Go/No-Go training did not differentially influence smoking-specific inhibitory control, general inhibitory control and weekly smoking behavior. Go/No-Go training might be able to decrease evaluations of smoking stimuli, yet based on the current study we cannot rule out the possibility of regression to the mean. More research and iterative design is needed to better understand the potential role of Go/No-Go training in smoking cessation interventions, as well as exploring other evidence-based mechanisms (e.g., peer processes, self-efficacy) that might be an important addition to smoking cessation interventions for young people. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Flow Immersive: A Multiuser, Multidimensional, Multiplatform Interactive Covid-19 Data Visualization Tool.

Covid-19 has prompted a surge of data visualizations that have been published for public consumption, yet, many have not had broad appeal or may have not been well-understood by laypeople. A data storytelling platform called Flow Immersive has been created to successfully engage both laypeople and experts in understanding complex information. This tool integrates emerging technologies [e.g., augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR)] with a multiplatform, multiuser publishing approach. From October 2020 to December 2020, Flow's Covid-19 AR videos captured 9 million (9,000,000) views, and have been used in multiple professional presentations. This paper documents the journey from development to deployment, and some user feedback which all led to breakthroughs in scalability and higher levels of engagement.

When winning is losing: A randomized controlled trial testing a video game to train food-specific inhibitory control.

Overweight and obesity are major causes of worldwide morbidity and mortality. A two-armed randomized controlled trial (n = 104) examined the effectiveness of Hit n Run, a video game based on the principles of Go/No-Go inhibition training, in young adults who reported disinhibited eating. Adults (aged 18 to 30) were randomly assigned to play Hit n Run or received an informative brochure (Healthy Eating Step by Step; HESbS). Prior to and directly following the intervention week general and food-specific inhibitory control, caloric intake, and perceived attractiveness of food pictures were assessed. Results revealed no improvements in food-specific inhibitory control or caloric intake in either intervention group. Similar improvements for general inhibitory control and similar decreases in perceived attractiveness of food-related stimuli were observed for both Hit n Run and HESbS. Future research should aim to clarify how video game design can implement working mechanisms of cognitive training tasks to facilitate the development of effective game-based interventions.

Feed the Alien! The Effects of a Nutrition Instruction Game on Children's Nutritional Knowledge and Food Intake.

OBJECTIVE: Serious games are a promising venue to increase children's nutritional knowledge in an entertaining format. The aim of this study was to test the short-term effectiveness of the Alien Health Game, a videogame designed to teach elementary school children about nutrition and healthy food choices. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To examine the effects of the Alien Health Game, an experimental design with a single between-subjects factor (experimental condition vs. active control condition) was used. A total of 108 Dutch children (10-13 years; 58 boys) were randomly assigned to either play Alien Health using the Kinect sensor for two consecutive days, for 1 hour of gameplay (experimental condition; n = 50), or a web-based nutrition game for the same period (active control condition; n = 58). Participants' nutritional knowledge was assessed at pretest, immediate, and at 2-week follow-up. Food intake was assessed at immediate and 2-week follow-up. RESULTS: Participants who played Alien Health had better knowledge of the five most important macronutrients of foods at immediate posttest, but not at follow-up. Participants were better able to distinguish the healthier food item out of two options over time, but this effect did not differ for those in the experimental versus the active control condition. No differences in food intake, neither in the consumption of nutrient-dense or energy-dense foods, were found between children playing both games. CONCLUSION: A brief game-based intervention like the Alien Health Game has the potential to improve children's nutritional knowledge in the short term, but may not be strong enough to increase nutritional knowledge and actual eating behavior in the long term. Further investigation is warranted before this game is applied in future nutrition education programs.

Immersive VR and Education: Embodied Design Principles That Include Gesture and Hand Controls.

This article explores relevant applications of educational theory for the design of immersive virtual reality (VR). Two unique attributes associated with VR position the technology to positively affect education: (1) the sense of presence, and (2) the embodied affordances of gesture and manipulation in the 3rd dimension. These are referred to as the two profound affordances of VR. The primary focus of this article is on the embodiment afforded by gesture in 3D for learning. The new generation of hand controllers induces embodiment and agency via meaningful and congruent movements with the content to be learned. Several examples of gesture-rich lessons are presented. The final section includes an extensive set of design principles for immersive VR in education, and finishes with the Necessary Nine which are hypothesized to optimize the pedagogy within a lesson.

Embodied science and mixed reality: How gesture and motion capture affect physics education.

A mixed design was created using text and game-like multimedia to instruct in the content of physics. The study assessed which variables predicted learning gains after a 1-h lesson on the electric field. The three manipulated variables were: (1) level of embodiment; (2) level of active generativity; and (3) presence of story narrative. Two types of tests were administered: (1) a traditional text-based physics test answered with a keyboard; and (2) a more embodied, transfer test using the Wacom large tablet where learners could use gestures (long swipes) to create vectors and answers. The 166 participants were randomly assigned to four conditions: (1) symbols and text; (2) low embodied; (3) high embodied/active; or (4) high embodied/active with narrative. The last two conditions were active because the on-screen content could be manipulated with gross body gestures gathered via the Kinect sensor. Results demonstrated that the three groups that included embodiment learned significantly more than the symbols and text group on the traditional keyboard post-test. When knowledge was assessed with the Wacom tablet format that facilitated gestures, the two active gesture-based groups scored significantly higher. In addition, engagement scores were significantly higher for the two active embodied groups. The Wacom results suggest test sensitivity issues; the more embodied test revealed greater gains in learning for the more embodied conditions. We recommend that as more embodied learning comes to the fore, more sensitive tests that incorporate gesture be used to accurately assess learning. The predicted differences in engagement and learning for the condition with the graphically rich story narrative were not supported. We hypothesize that a narrative effect for motivation and learning may be difficult to uncover in a lab experiment where participants are primarily motivated by course credit. Several design principles for mediated and embodied science education are proposed.

Effects of Embodied Learning and Digital Platform on the Retention of Physics Content: Centripetal Force.

Embodiment theory proposes that knowledge is grounded in sensorimotor systems, and that learning can be facilitated to the extent that lessons can be mapped to these systems. This study with 109 college-age participants addresses two overarching questions: (a) how are immediate and delayed learning gains affected by the degree to which a lesson is embodied, and (b) how do the affordances of three different educational platforms affect immediate and delayed learning? Six 50 min-long lessons on centripetal force were created. The first factor was the degree of embodiment with two levels: (1) low and (2) high. The second factor was platform with three levels: (1) a large scale "mixed reality" immersive environment containing both digital and hands-on components called SMALLab, (2) an interactive whiteboard system, and (3) a mouse-driven desktop computer. Pre-tests, post-tests, and 1-week follow-up (retention or delayed learning gains) tests were administered resulting in a 2 × 3 × 3 design. Two knowledge subtests were analyzed, one that relied on more declarative knowledge and one that relied on more generative knowledge, e.g., hand-drawing vectors. Regardless of condition, participants made significant immediate learning gains from pre-test to post-test. There were no significant main effects or interactions due to platform or embodiment on immediate learning. However, from post-test to follow-up the level of embodiment interacted significantly with time, such that participants in the high embodiment conditions performed better on the subtest devoted to generative knowledge questions. We posit that better retention of certain types of knowledge can be seen over time when more embodiment is present during the encoding phase. This sort of retention may not appear on more traditional factual/declarative tests. Educational technology designers should consider using more sensorimotor feedback and gestural congruency when designing and opportunities for instructor professional development need to be provided as well.

"Alien Health": A Nutrition Instruction Exergame Using the Kinect Sensor.

Objective: A feasibility study was run on an embodied exergame designed to teach 4th-12th grade students about nutrition and several U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) MyPlate guidelines. The study assessed efficacy on a new version of a game that was first implemented on an immersive platform and published in this journal in 2013. The earlier "Alien Health" game was redesigned for use with the Microsoft® (Redmond, WA) Kinect® sensor. Players learned about the amount of nutrients and optimizers in common food items and practiced making food choices while engaging in short cardio exercises. Subjects and Methods: Twenty 6th and 7th graders were randomly assigned to either the "Alien Health" game or a treated control condition. All engaged in "front of the classroom" performative activities. The "Alien Health" experimental group experienced the full game narrative of feeding the Alien and automated feedback on the quality of performed exercises. The control group experienced the same performative food choices at the interactive whiteboard but did no exercises. Two-week follow-up data were collected. Results: Both groups displayed statistically significant learning gains on the immediate nutrition knowledge posttest. The effect sizes from pretest to 2-week follow-up were 0.83 for the control group and 1.14 for the experimental group. Of interest is the crossover interaction from posttest to follow-up that approached significance (F19=3.96, P<0.058). Here, the experimental group outperformed the control group for knowledge retention. Conclusions: Results suggest acceptability, feasibility, and limited efficacy in a Kinect-based game to instruct in nutrition and the USDA MyPlate icon. The follow-up test revealed that nutrition knowledge continued to increase for the experimental group that performed short cardio exercises, suggesting that short exercises and perhaps a game narrative may have helped to consolidate content memory.

"Alien Health Game": An Embodied Exergame to Instruct in Nutrition and MyPlate.

OBJECTIVE: A feasibility study was run on an immersive, embodied exergame ("Alien Health Game") designed to teach 4th-12th-grade students about nutrition and several U.S. Department of Agriculture MyPlate guidelines. This study assessed acceptability and limited efficacy. Students learned about the amount of nutrients and optimizers in common food items and practiced making rapid food choices while engaging in short cardiovascular activities. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Nineteen 4th graders played a "mixed reality" game that included both digital components (projected graphics on the floor) and tangible, physical components (hand-held motion-tracking wands). Players made food choices and experienced immediate feedback on how each item affected the Alien avatar's alertness/health state. One member of the playing dyad had to run short distances to make the game work. The final level included a digital projection of the MyPlate icon, and each food item filled the appropriate quadrant dynamically. RESULTS: All students remained engaged with the game after approximately 1 hour of play. Significant learning gains were seen on a pretest and posttest that assessed nutrition knowledge (paired t18=4.13, P<0.001). In addition, significant learning gains were also seen in knowledge regarding MyPlate (paired t18=3.29, P<0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest preliminary feasibility via demonstrated acceptability and improved within-group content knowledge. Future research should explore improved measures of knowledge gains, alternative mechanisms for supporting the game mechanics to increase the scalability of the system (i.e., via Kinect(®) [Microsoft(®), Redmond, WA] sensors), and the formal evaluation of the system via a randomized controlled trial.

Fragile X syndrome: Neural network models of sequencing and memory.

A comparative framework of memory processes in males with fragile X syndrome (FXS) and Typically Developing (TYP) mental age-match children is presented. Results indicate a divergence in sequencing skills, such that males with FXS recall sequences similarly to TYP children around five and a half years of age, but eth males with FXS recall significantly worse when compared to TYP children around seven and a half years of age. Performance on one working memory measure, an n-back card task, is modeled with a neural network. To date, no network models explicate the sequencing and memory processes in those with FXS. Noise was added to various levels (weight matrices) in the FXS model and outputs approximated human FXS performance. Three models were compared: 1) FXS; 2) younger mental age-TYP matches; and 3) older reading level-TYP matches. Modeling can help to reify conceptualizations of deficits and to guide in the creation of more valid, science-based remediations. The FXS model suggests that the levels of phonological representation and sequencing in memory are candidates for targeted therapies in males with FXS.