Commercial Videogames and their Potential for Higher Education: A Study with 347 Brazilian Undergraduate Business Management Students

Abstract

The present study aims to investigate the impacts of videogames and Hyperculture in the development of the skills needed for managers and administrators in the higher education of the 21st Century. Drawing elements from the Cognitive Mediation Networks Theory and other theoretical elements, it is proposed that Hyperculture expands and develop through videogames, which involve forms of interaction that are largely in alignment with the adult modes of learning, thereby providing an opportunity for the development of relevant competences, particularly STEM and general intellectual ability. In order to test that hypothesis, 347 students of management in a higher education institution in Brazil were objectively evaluated in terms of sociodemographics, academic life, Hyperculture, relationship with videogames, personality, IQ, scholastic knowledge, and leadership. The resulting data was submitted to SSA and Facet Theory techniques in order to obtain a synthetic multidimensional view of the complex interactions underlying the phenomenon in question. The findings indicated that: (a) videogames indeed appear to be an extension of the Hyperculture, (b) Hyperculture and videogames have significant and differential effects upon the development of capabilities that are of great importance for executives in the 21st Century, and the sociocognitive processes involved stimulate the development or expression of personality dimensions. It is concluded that Hyperculture and videogames constitute a potentially important element in the development of executive skills, to the point where it is important to not only consider their influence but perhaps even to find ways to integrate them into the formal education of adults in the fields of administration.