Gaming, executive functioning and mindfulness: a comparative exploratory study between League of Legends gamers and non-gamers

Previous studies have shown that playing League of Legends (LoL) improves certain abilities and trainable skills. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship and predictive value of executive functioning in dispositional mindfulness in a sample composed of LoL gamers and non-gamers. The results revealed that the gamers had less ability to focus on present-moment activities in their daily lives, were more judgmental in their inner experience, and were less disposed to proceed with mindfulness than were the non-gamers. The gamers showed greater tendency toward presenting problems related to emotional control, executive control, and a possible development of prefrontal symptoms. We concluded that the video game LoL requires the use of many cognitive abilities, including a high demand on the user’s executive functions, a factor that seems to interfere with one’s capacity for mindfulness away from the screen. Gamers may therefore experience a possible vulnerability to presenting prefrontal symptoms, and greater likelihood of their development.