VR games can be used to gauge intelligence

Gamers who completed a virtual reality (VR) game more quickly than their peers also exhibited greater levels of general intellect and cognitive power. The University of Cologne, University of Liechtenstein, and Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences conducted the investigation that led to this conclusion.

The findings also suggest that virtual reality games can be valuable additional tools for human resource management in businesses to forecast the work performance of a candidate. Markus Weinmann of the University of Cologne and his colleagues' study, "Intelligence at play: game-based assessment using a virtual-reality application," was released in the journal Virtual Reality.

Several studies have already shown that video games may indicate or even help to develop intellectual and cognitive abilities. As intelligence is one of the most commonly used predictors for job performance, video games could be interesting for human resource management. Although many companies are increasingly using VR technology to recruit candidates, only a few studies have specifically investigated whether and how VR games can be used to draw conclusions about intelligence in this area. The study by Markus Weinmann and his colleagues contributes to bridging the gap between research and practice.

Weinmann and his fellow scientists invited 103 participants to their lab. Under controlled laboratory conditions, they played the commercial VR game "Job Simulator" and completed the short version of the intelligence test BIS-4.

The researchers' analyses show that participants who finished the game faster than others also had higher levels of general intelligence and processing capacity. An increase of 17 per cent in processing capacity correlated with less time spent playing the game (by an average of 3.7 minutes). The results suggest that VR games can be useful supplementary tools in companies for predicting job performance.

The results are a scientific novelty, as it has hardly been possible to conduct VR studies with state-of-the-art VR hardware. There are thus few studies that have investigated the correlation between behaviour in VR and intelligence. "There are already some companies that use games, so-called 'serious games', for recruiting. The new results are in line with this specific application of VR games and show that they can be used for recruiting," said Weinmann.

The scientists intend to continue their research on the potential of video games for practical applications. Among other things, they are investigating how people behave towards virtual avatars in the metaverse.