The effectiveness of mental arithmetic tasks in inducing stress responses
Based on previous research, this study selected a commonly used psychological stress paradigm in experimental psychology as the laboratory stressor, and employed an improved version of the multiplication mental task as the stress condition, combined with time pressure, to induce stress responses in participants. The study aimed to compare two different psychological conditions by integrating behavioral data and ERP component data for stress induction assessment.
From the behavioral data, it was observed that under the stress condition, participants exhibited significantly shorter response times and lower accuracy compared to the control condition. Participants' performance was disrupted by the stress condition, as they tended to prioritize faster task completion within the constrained time frame, while under the control condition, they prioritized accuracy. This indicates an inability to balance processing speed and accuracy of target information under stress. The increase in processing speed under stress is a widespread phenomenon, consistent with findings by Qin et al., suggesting that participants may selectively neglect target stimuli based on important factors in the multiplication mental task, leading to selective "target neglect", where only the ones digit of the mental task is attended to, while ignoring the two decimal places34. This also corroborates the consistent decrease in accuracy alongside faster task completion observed in this study.
Examining the ERP components, this study found a significant decrease in the amplitude of the P2 wave under the stress condition compared to the control condition. Consistent with previous research by Qi et al., who induced participants' ERPs through mental arithmetic tasks, the reduced amplitude of the P2 wave under stress conditions aligns with the results of this study35. When in a stress-inducing environment, participants' alertness to target stimuli increases, while the allocation of attentional resources in the brain decreases continuously during the processing of target stimuli, leading to the decrease in P2 wave amplitude. Therefore, under stress conditions in the multiplication mental task, participants' attentional resource allocation is reduced due to time pressure, resulting in the decreased amplitude of the P2 component. Previous studies have indicated that stressful environments disrupt the attentional resource processing process, and under time pressure, the required attentional resources for mental arithmetic tasks are reduced, leading to an irrational allocation of attentional resources. Bertsch also supported this phenomenon, indicating that a reduction in reaction time and accuracy leads to a decrease in the amplitude of the P2 component32.
In summary, the combination of behavioral data and ERP data results suggests that this study effectively induced stress responses in participants by using an improved version of the multiplication mental task as a laboratory stressor, inducing uncontrollability, faster response times, lower accuracy, and a weakened allocation of attentional resources in the task processing. This negatively affected attentional performance. Building on previous research, this study effectively utilized the improved version of the multiplication mental task paradigm to induce stress responses in participants, positioning it as an effective paradigm for laboratory stress induction.
The Influence of Electronic Games on Stress Responses
Combining the behavioral perspective of three stages corresponding to the impact of stress response, it was found that in the recovery stage after electronic game intervention, the reaction time of the experimental subjects was significantly lower than that of the other two stages, and the accuracy rate was significantly higher than that of the other two stages. The findings of this study are related to the characteristics of electronic games, which have specific requirements for the participants' cognition, attention, teamwork skills, sensory motor skills, and other abilities that need to be coordinated. Gan's research has demonstrated that after training with electronic games, compared to the control group, experimental subjects exhibit faster processing speed in visual task processing, detection, and rapid tracking of moving objects, as well as a wider effective field of view36. Influenced by electronic games, such games require players to allocate attention resources more effectively to task-related stimuli in the game environment, which is complex and full of uncertainty. The brain needs to quickly mobilize resources to complete the transition between offense and defense. Under the influence of the game effect, the subjects can concentrate their effective field of view on target information and ignore some distracting stimuli in the multiplication mental arithmetic task, thereby shortening the reaction time and improving accuracy.
After game intervention, the experimental subjects showed a significant improvement in reaction time under both stress and control conditions. Previous studies have found that the gaming experience of electronic games can put subjects in an unconscious psychological state. Under the influence of this unconscious experience, the brain can enhance the time process of relevant processing within a certain range when processing target tasks. When facing multiplication mental arithmetic tasks, this unconscious experience has a significant effect37, but there is no significant difference in accuracy under stress and control conditions.
From the perspective of ERP component indicators corresponding to the stress response in the three stages, this study found that under stress conditions, after rest, the amplitude of P1 was lower than that of the baseline and game intervention stages. P1 mainly occurs in the visual cortex area and is usually considered to be related to visual attention, perception, attention, and processing speed of information. In terms of time process, the P1 component occurs in the early processing moments of the brain and is related to the primary coding of information, representing a low-level processing stage38. Previous studies have shown that P1 can be influenced by spatial attention or specific attention. The enhancement of P1 amplitude after game intervention in the experiment may be based on the effect of electronic games. Since mobile electronic games also have immersion, during the game experience, they require more resources. When facing various environments, the brain first processes simple shapes and colors and then makes judgments. In the recovery stage after rest, under stress conditions, the experimental subjects face intense mental arithmetic tasks and need to complete them within a certain period of time. This stimulus environment is similar to the complex situation in the game, allowing the subjects to complete the task with a relatively relaxed mentality. At the same time, literature has also indicated that after 30 hours of electronic game training, there is a significant improvement in spatial attention breadth, and the training effect is stable39. However, it was found through the delay effect that after 30 minutes of rest, the amplitude of P1 was not significantly enhanced compared to the game intervention, which is consistent with the results of Obana et al., who believe that training effects are influenced by time and gradually diminish40. Both Obana's study and the experimental subjects in this study were college students with gaming experience, which may be related to factors such as gaming experience and duration of training.
From the perspective of the amplitude of the P2 component, after electronic game intervention, under stress conditions, the P2 amplitude in the recovery stage significantly differed from the previous two stages. The P2 component is generally more active in the frontal-central region and is generally related to the allocation of attention resources and short-term working memory. Short-term working memory refers to the ability to combine stored memories with stimulus information when receiving external target stimuli and make responses based on the target selection. During the baseline test, experimental subjects need to exert more cognitive resources to complete the multiplication mental arithmetic task, and time pressure forces the subjects into a highly tense state, maintaining a certain level of vigilance while receiving task feedback, resulting in a large amplitude in this stage41. During the League of Legends game, the experimental subjects constantly receive feedback from visual information and need to quickly respond to the situation. While matching speed and rate, the brain increases the cognitive load and increases the amplitude. After the game, when the experimental subjects face the multiplication mental arithmetic task again, judging the task itself becomes easier, and they can allocate resources to the task more reasonably. Numerous studies have shown that daily experience with electronic games is positively correlated with cognitive function performance in the brain, and the game group performs better than the non-gaming group in attention-related tasks. Stress stimulation makes the subjects tense, and attention processing and muscle coordination become imbalanced during the experiment. The intervention of such electronic games mainly features hand and eye movement structures, which happen to improve hand-eye coordination. Therefore, during the recovery stage, the amplitude of the brain waves is lower than in the previous two stages.
The amplitude of LPP indicates that under stress conditions, the amplitude of LPP is significantly lower than that under control conditions. The LPP component represents the brain's stage of fine processing. Under control conditions, the participants process tasks with sufficient attentional resources, and the brain is in a stage of deep processing42. Previous studies have demonstrated that under the influence of stressful environments, the available brain resources decrease, leading to a lower amplitude compared to control conditions. Furthermore, this study shows that during the recovery phase, the amplitude of LPP is significantly lower than during gaming and baseline tests. The distribution of the LPP component in the posterior part of the brain generally represents the brain's stage of fine processing, and this component is related to the inhibitory ability of the cortical brain and is also one of the indicators reflecting emotional processing43. Similar results were also found by Zhang et al., who discovered that the experience of electronic games can enhance the participants' manual response inhibition ability. This is related to the design characteristics of the games, where the constantly changing scene stimuli require participants to be more flexible and rapidly use relevant clues to track targets in order to achieve "victory." As the game progresses, they need to continuously inhibit existing information and be able to judge and respond to new information. The participants' inhibition ability influences their adaptive behavior when facing stressful conditions, enabling effective performance in mental arithmetic tasks under stress conditions, which reflects adaptive behavior exhibited by the participants under stress conditions44.
Since its inception, electronic games have been a topic of debate, from internet-addicted youth to participation in international events, from entertainment to professional establishment, and from lack of recognition to being established as a sport, destined to progress amid controversy. While the beneficial effects of electronic games on the brain have been confirmed, differences in measurement methods and game types have led to opposition from many researchers. Undoubtedly, electronic games will have enormous potential in future research; however, this should not be an excuse for being addicted to games. Only regular and brief participation can have a positive impact.