Episode 37: Hooked on Mnemonics

Cognitive Gamer

00:00 / 21:18

How can some people remember scores of digits at a time or repeat back all the cards in a shuffled deck? Do they have exceptional memories? Is it a party trick? Or, is there something more?

Game References

Chess, En Garde, Sushi Go, That’s Not a Hat, Wilmott’s Warehouse

Research References

Chase, W. G., & Simon, H. A. (1973). Perception in chess. Cognitive Psychology, 4(1), 55-81.

Cowan, N. (2001). The magical number 4 in short-term memory: A reconsideration of mental storage capacity.Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24(1), 87-114. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X01003922

Ericsson, K. A., Chase, W., & Faloon, S. (1980). Acquisition of a memory skill. Science, 208, 1181–118. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.737593

Foer, J. (2012). Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything. Penguin Books.

Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63(2), 81-97. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0043158

Price, J., & Davis, B. (2009). The Woman Who Can’t Forget: The Extraordinary Story of Living with the Most Remarkable Memory Known to Science–A Memoir. Free Press.

Episode 36: Memory Behaving Baddeley

Cognitive Gamer

Episode 36: Memory Behaving Baddeley

00:00 / 14:37

It’s time to dive in and finally have an in-depth discussion of working memory!

Game References

Carcassonne, River Valley Glassworks, Tetris, That’s Not a Hat, Wandering Towers, Wilmot’s Warehouse

Research References

Baddeley, A. (1992). Working memory. Science, 255(5044), 556-559.

Baddeley, A. D., & Hitch, G. (1974). Working memory. Psychology of learning and motivation, 8, 47-89.

https://brainscale.net/app/brain-training/corsi-block-tapping/training

Episode 35: Cognalysis: Sky Team and Wandering Towers

Cognitive Gamer

Episode 35: Cognalysis: Sky Team and Wandering Towers

00:00 / 15:13

It’s a bird, it’s a…yeah, it is a plane! Oh, and also a Tower? We are back with a cognalysis of two games, Sky Team, fresh off its Spiel des Jahres win, and also Wandering Towers.

Game References
Hanabi, Sky Team, That’s Not a Hat, Wandering Towers

Research References
Baddeley, A. (1992). Working memory. Science, 255(5044), 556-559.

DeLoache, J. S., Cassidy, D. J., & Brown, A. L. (1985). Precursors of mnemonic strategies in very young children’s memory. Child Development, 125-137.

Episode 34: I Never Metacognition I Didn’t Like

Cognitive Gamer

Episode 34: I Never Metacognition I Didn’t Like

00:00 / 14:25

As humans, we can think about our own thinking. This is referred to as metacognition, and can provide great insight into game playing and life in general.

Game References

Dominion, Dungeons and Dragons, League of Legends, Magic, poker, Rear Window

Research References

Kreutzer, M. A., Leonard, C., Flavell, J. H., & Hagen, J. W. (1975). An interview study of children’s knowledge about memory. Monographs of the society for research in child development, 1-60.

Rodney & Quinns: 10 Years in Board Games | AwSHUX 2021: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EehobiA6dQg

The Secret Cabal of Gaming: #254: Final Girl And A Short Topic Extravaganza: https://thesecretcabal.com/episodes/episode-254-final-girl

Episode 33: Get Your Head in the Game

Cognitive Gamer

Episode 33: Get Your Head in the Game

00:00 / 22:18

This episode considers how best to learn and teach games. Are there particular techniques that enables people to learn games more quickly and efficiently, and that also results in a longer memory for those rules?

Game References

Fog of Love, Magic Maze, Mechs and Minions, Wingspan

Research References

Bloom, B. S. (1984). The 2 sigma problem: The search for methods of group instruction as effective as one-to-one tutoring. Educational researcher, 13(6), 4-16.

Haverty, L., & Blessing, S. (2007). What did that $2.5 million dollar ad buy us? Cognitive science goes to the super bowl. In D. S. McNamara & J. G. Trafton (Eds.), Proceedings of the Twenty–ninth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (pp. 347-352), Nashville, TN. Austin, TX: Cognitive Science Society.

Khazan, O. (2018). The myth of learning styles: A popular theory that come people learn better visually or aurally keeps getting debunked. The Atlantic, April, 11.

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/04/the-myth-of-learning-styles/557687/

Warrneder, J. (2021). These two blog posts on boardgame geek:

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/116980/thinking-about-design-thinking

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/118075/science-learning-and-its-application-teaching-game

Episode 32: From the Bottom to the Top and Back Again

Cognitive Gamer

Episode 32: From the Bottom to the Top and Back Again

00:00 / 17:26

When processing information, humans use both the information coming through our senses and previously stored knowledge. This is referred to as bottom-up versus top-down processing. This podcast explores how this occurs when we play games.

Game References

Paranormal Detective

Research References

Cattell, J. M. (1886). The time it takes to see and name objects. Mind, 41, 63–65.

McCelland, J. & Rumelhart, D. (1981). An interactive activation model of context effects in letter perception: part 1. An account of basic findings. Psychological Review 88(5), 375–407.

Dogs that look like fried chicken

Blind Spot Demo

Episode 31: I Think I Know What You Know

Cognitive Gamer

Episode 31: I Think I Know What You Know

00:00 / 28:07

Show Notes

When playing games, we find it useful to consider what other players know, and how that affects game play. Psychologists study theory of mind, our concept of what other people know. Dr. Jennifer Blessing and I discuss how this relates to playing games.

Game References

Apples to Apples, Cards Against Humanity, Chess, Codenames, Decrypto, Kemet, Scythe, Sheriff of Nottingham, Taboo

Research References

Baron-Cohen, S., Leslie, A. M., & Frith, U. (1985). Does the autistic child have a “theory of mind”. Cognition, 21(1), 37-46.

Premack, D., & Woodruff, G. (1978). Does the chimpanzee have a theory of mind?. Behavioral and brain sciences, 1(4), 515-526.

Episode 30: The Invisible Boardgame

Cognitive Gamer

Episode 30: The Invisible Boardgame

00:00 / 17:13

I ruminate on playing games online and how that relates to both game and interface design, as well as how humans experience emotion. This has ties to me planning to teach my Cognition of Game Playing as an online class this coming summer term.

Game References

boardgamearena.com

https://boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Distance_Gaming_Guide

Research References

Lang, P. J. (1994). The varieties of emotional experience: a meditation on James-Lange theory. Psychological review, 101(2), 211.

Norman, D. A. (1999). The invisible computer: why good products can fail, the personal computer is so complex, and information appliances are the solution. MIT press.

Episode 29: This is Like That: The Importance of Analogies

Cognitive Gamer

Episode 29: This is Like That: The Importance of Analogies

00:00 / 14:50

In talking about a game, we almost always make references to past games in order to describe or teach the new game. What does cognitive psychology have to say about analogy use, in terms of how prevalent and useful it really is?

Game References

Aeon’s End, Clank, Dominion, Paperback, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Research References

Dunbar, K., & Blanchette, I. (2001). The in vivo/in vitro approach to cognition: The case of analogy. Trends in cognitive sciences, 5(8), 334-339.

Gick, M. L., & Holyoak, K. J. (1980). Analogical problem solving. Cognitive psychology, 12(3), 306-355.

Gick, M. L., & Holyoak, K. J. (1983). Schema induction and analogical transfer. Cognitive psychology, 15(1), 1-38.

Reed, S. K., & Bolstad, C. A. (1991). Use of examples and procedures in problem solving. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 17(4), 753.

Ross, B. H. (1984). Remindings and their effects in learning a cognitive skill. Cognitive psychology, 16(3), 371-416.

Episode 28: From Novice to Expert in One Easy Step

Cognitive Gamer

Episode 28: From Novice to Expert in One Easy Step

00:00 / 16:24

What happens, cognitively speaking, as we move from novice to expert in a game? The episode examines changes in memory and strategy as people gain experience not only games, but in other mental and physical activities as well.

Game References

Chess, Incan Gold

Research References

Bloom, B. S., & Sosniak, L. A. (1985). Developing talent in young people. Ballantine Books.

Chase, W. G., & Simon, H. A. (1973). Perception in chess. Cognitive Psychology, 4, 55-81.

Chi, M. T., Feltovich, P. J., & Glaser, R. (1981). Categorization and representation of physics problems by experts and novices. Cognitive science, 5(2), 121-152.

Ericcson, K. A., Chase, W. G., & Faloon, S. (1980). Acquisition of a memory skill. Science, 208(4448), 1181-1182.

Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The Story of Success. New York: Little, Brown and Company.