Ian Strachan
Yungaburra, Australia
Psychobiology
GAME BOY: IAN'S STORY
Does annihilating aliens or slaying dragons in the virtual world affect your real-life ability to think, react and perceive? The answer may lie in research that psychobiology major Ian Strachan is helping Assistant Professor of Psychology Rolf Nelson conduct.
SMART MOVE: "This project examines the cognition and perceptual abilities of frequent computer and video gamers as compared to non-gamers. Professor Nelson and I developed the theoretical basis for the experiments on cognitive and perceptual reactions of the test subjects. I also led the subjects through the experiments and collected data for later analysis."
ALL WORK AND SOME PLAY: Strachan, a senior, is intrigued by the psychological effects of gaming. "I've played all sorts of games from Counter-Strike and Team Fortress 2 to StarCraft and the addictive World of Warcraft.
I enjoy playing because the games require individual skill, teamwork, strategic planning and multitasking. Working on this research project and a full time on-campus job at Tech Support 60 hours a week this summer didn't allow me too much time to play. I spent most of my time setting up games and watching other people play. But someone (me) had to select the games to make sure that they were suitable for our experiments."
A WIN-WIN SITUATION: "Not only did I learn how to develop, set up and run a research experiment, but I also gained insight into an area that is new and for the most part unexplored. This is important to me as a psychobiology major. Learning the skills to run an experiment will be infinitely valuable for a career in any form of behavioral science after Wheaton."