Effects of progressive gaming sessions on cognitive awareness among Saudi education university students

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of progressive gaming sessions on metacognitive skills among 66 female’s students in KSA university. Using a standardized Tetris gaming intervention with increasing durations (20, 30, and 40 min), we measured changes in academic performance and metacognitive abilities by standardized tests and the Arabic State Metacognitive Inventory. Results showed academic performance significantly improved during 20-min sessions compared to baseline but declined during longer 30 and 40-min sessions (F = 7.82, p < 0.001). Metacognitive variables remained stable across sessions (F = 1.54, p = 0.205), with only self-checking showing significant changes. Regression analysis confirmed gaming duration negatively predicted exam performance (β = − 0.260, p < 0.001) but had no significant relationship with metacognitive variables. These findings suggest that gaming interventions require careful duration management, with shorter sessions (approximately 20 min) appearing more beneficial for academic performance while longer sessions may have diminishing returns. The stability of metacognitive variables despite fluctuations in academic performance suggests that these cognitive domains may respond differently to gaming interventions among female university students.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-025-04594-0.

Introduction

The digital revolution has transformed leisure activities, with video games emerging as a dominant form of entertainment worldwide. With over 3.2 billion individuals now participating in digital gaming¹, representing a 63% increase since 2018², gaming has evolved from a mere hobby into a significant cultural phenomenon intersecting with education, social interaction, and cognitive development. This common adoption has prompted researchers to investigate gaming’s potential effects on cognitive functions, particularly metacognition—the awareness and understanding of one’s own thought processes.

Metacognition, comprising knowledge about cognition and regulation of cognition, plays a crucial role in learning efficiency and academic performance³. The relationship between gaming and metacognitive abilities is theoretically grounded in cognitive load theory, which posits that working memory has limited capacity, and task performance depends on how these resources are allocated⁴. Video games, by design, challenge players’ cognitive resources through varying levels of complexity and cognitive demands, potentially enhancing metacognitive awareness and control^5,6.

In the university education system, cognitive demands are particularly high, requiring students to simultaneously manage complex academic tasks, self-regulate learning processes, and adapt to evolving intellectual challenges⁷. These requirements place significant strain on students’ metacognitive capacities, as they must effectively allocate limited cognitive resources across multiple domains⁸. The ability to monitor one’s cognitive processes and adjust strategies accordingly becomes crucial for academic success in higher education⁹. Gaming interventions that enhance metacognitive abilities may therefore be especially valuable in university settings, where students face intensive cognitive loads across diverse academic disciplines.

Video games offer a powerful tool for enhancing metacognitive skills such as self-awareness, planning, and problem-solving. Different game genres provide unique opportunities for cognitive development, with puzzle games fostering spatial reasoning and strategic planning, RPGs and adventure games promoting self-awareness and emotional regulation, and educational games enhancing problem-solving and self-regulation. The design of these games plays a crucial role in their ability to promote metacognitive development, with intentional design frameworks and expert systems offering structured environments for learning. In this context, Action games enhance psychomotor speed, attention, and top-down attention control¹⁰, while improving players’ ability to track multiple objects concurrently and efficiently allocate attentional resources¹¹. Role-playing games show a nuanced influence, enhancing verbal working memory and visuospatial short-term memory while potentially diminishing empathy¹⁰. Puzzle games specifically target and improve visuospatial working memory and problem-solving skills¹², with studies linking these games to increased IQ scores in teenagers¹⁰. Strategy games enhance cognitive abilities in professional players¹³ and, together with action games, improve mental rotation abilities linked to spatial awareness¹¹.

The relationship between gaming duration and cognitive performance follows an inverted U-shaped curve as predicted by the Yerkes–Dodson law, where moderate engagement optimizes performance while excessive gaming may lead to diminishing returns¹⁴. This pattern is particularly evident in tasks with high working memory demands¹⁵. Extended exposure to complex gaming environments can initially enhance metacognitive abilities through adaptive resource allocation, but prolonged sessions may lead to cognitive fatigue and decreased metacognitive efficiency¹⁶.

While gaming shows promise for cognitive enhancement, longitudinal research remains limited regarding optimal duration and frequency of gaming sessions, particularly concerning potential adverse effects on academic achievement¹⁷. Furthermore, despite females comprising approximately 45% of the gaming population³, they remain underrepresented in academic research examining gender-specific variations in gaming engagement patterns and cognitive responses¹⁸.

To address these gaps, this study investigates the effects of structured gaming sessions on female university students’ metacognitive skills, with a 4-week longitudinal design. Specifically, we examine three hypotheses: (H1) structured gaming sessions will significantly improve exam performance and Cognitive Awareness skills; (H2) Exam performance and metacognitive variables significantly increase over game sessions among participants. (H3) the duration of gaming sessions will demonstrate a statistically significant predictive relationship with both academic examination performance and metacognitive skill domains.

Method

Sample

For this study, we recruited students from education college through in-class announcements presented to 97 students. A total of 66 female students accepted to be a part of this study as volunteers, which represents a 68% response rate. All participants provided written informed consent prior to participation. The study followed participants across four times of evaluation, with demographic characteristics for each time point presented in Table 1 (“Results” section).

Table 1.

Participants’ demographic characteristics.

Characteristic	T-Measurement
	Time 1 (n = 66)	Time 2 (n = 66)	Time 3 (n = 66)	Time 4 (n = 66)
Age M (SD)	20.47 (1.64)	20.47 (1.64)	20.47 (1.64)	20.47 (1.64)
Age Range	18–25	18–25	18–25	18–25
Year of study (Third year)	(66) 100%	(66) 100%	(66) 100%	(66) 100%
Course (Logic and critical thinking)	(66)100%	(66)100%	(66)100%	(66)100%

Measurement

Two evaluation levels were considered: the first one was interested in academic performance, and the second one consisted of measuring metacognitive ability levels. Academic performance was quantified with standardized test scores for each evaluation time (t1, t2, t3, t4). Each examination was composed of 10 multiple-choice questions (in Arabic language), related to the course content covered during the corresponding teaching period. Questions assessed students’ comprehension, application, and analysis of key concepts in “Logic and critical thinking course”. Each question offered four response options with only one correct answer. The tests were scored on a standardized 10-point scale (0 = lowest performance, 10 = highest performance), with each correct answer worth 1 point.

All tests were developed following established assessment guidelines to ensure similar difficulty levels across different evaluation timepoints. For the cognitive effort required for each test, it was calibrated based on Bloom’s taxonomy, with questions distributed as follows: 30% knowledge-based questions (low cognitive effort), 40% application-based questions (moderate cognitive effort), and 30% analysis/evaluation questions (high cognitive effort). This distribution ensured consistent cognitive demands across all assessment timepoints.

In the other hand, Face validity was established through a two-stage process: (1) Five subject matter experts in educational psychology evaluated each item using standardized rating forms, with items below 80% agreement being revised or replaced; (2) A pilot test with 25 students (not included in the final study) provided feedback on clarity, perceived difficulty, and comprehensibility. Final adjustments were made based on this feedback to ensure test suitability for our selected population. Sample questions and the complete set of assessments are provided in Supplementary File 1.

Concerning metacognition abilities, we used the Arabic version of the State Metacognitive scale (SMI-Ar)¹⁹, a 20-item instrument validated for an Arabic-speaking population. The SMI-Ar measures four distinct metacognitive dimensions (awareness, cognitive strategy, planning, and self-checking). Participants responded to each item using a 4-point Likert-type scale (1 = not at all typical, 4 = very typical). The SMI-Ar demonstrated robust psychometric properties, with internal consistency coefficients (Cronbach’s α) ranging from 0.87 to 0.95 across all subscales.

Procedure

A longitudinal design was used for this study to investigate the relationship between gaming duration, cognitive-metacognitive and academic performance. The protocol involved four standardized assessment points spaced at 1-week intervals. The experiment began (T1) with a baseline assessment, which included the administration of a theoretical test (10 standardized multiple-choice questions) and the completion of the SMI-Ar without a gaming session. This step was followed by progressive gaming sessions: T2 (20-min of Tetris gameplay), T3 (30-min of Tetris gameplay), and T4 (40-min of Tetris gameplay). Each assessment followed a standardized sequence: pre-session protocol briefing (5 min); Tetris gaming session (T1–T3 only, variable duration); theoretical assessment completion (15 min); SMI-Ar administration (20 min); and a structured, post-session debriefing (10 min).

To maintain experimental validity, parallel versions of the theoretical tests were utilized across time points while the Tetris difficulty progression was standardized (starting at Level 1) with uniform, performance-based advancement criteria across participants. The primary measures included gaming performance metrics (score and level progression), cognitive awareness scores (SMI-Ar subscales), academic performance indicators (theoretical test scores), and standardized behavioral observations.

Ethical approval

This study’s ethics approval (HAPO-02-T-105) was obtained from Taif University’s research Ethics committee. All methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations. Moreover, all study procedures are conducted to respect the participants’ anonymity. Before providing informed consent, all students were informed about their right to withdraw, and anonymous coding was used.

Statistical analysis

Three levels of statistical analysis, using SPSS 26, were undertaken. For the first part, we employed the Friedman test as the primary method to evaluate changes in cognitive scores across the 4-week intervention period, with Wilcoxon signed-rank tests for post-hoc comparisons. During the second step, we examined the relationships between gaming duration and the metacognitive skills metric with Spearman’s rank correlation analysis. The third step consisted of non-parametric regression analysis to determine predictive factors for metacognitive skills. A Generalized Linear Model with Normal distribution examined the effect of gaming duration (0, 20, 30, and 40 min) on metacognitive assessment scores. The researchers used an alpha level of 0.05 for all analyses, including the normality test using the Shapiro–Wilk test and the sphericity test using Mauchly’s test.

Result

Participants’ demographic characteristics

The demographic data in Table 1 shows consistent participant characteristics across all four measurement times. The study maintained a stable sample of 66 female education college students (mean age = 20.47 years, SD = 1.64, range 18–25) across all measurement points. All participants were third-year students enrolled in the Logic and Critical Thinking course, with no attrition observed throughout the study. This homogeneous sample composition strengthens the internal validity of our findings by eliminating potential confounding variables related to demographic changes over time.

Descriptive statistics and normality testing

Statistical analyses (Table 2) showed distinct patterns for the exam scores and cognitive measures during the intervention period (T1–T4). All 66 students completed assessments across all four time points without any loss of participants. The dataset was complete with no missing values for any variables at any time point. Results (Table 2) showed distinct patterns across the intervention period. Examination scores peaked at T2 (M = 9.06, Mdn = 9.07) before declining, with increased score variability at T3 (IQR = 2.00). Metacognitive measures revealed notable differences between means and medians at T2 for Awareness (M = 3.25, Mdn = 3.10) and Learning Strategy Use (M = 3.30, Mdn = 3.40), confirming the identified skewed distributions. Study Planning consistently showed the highest scores (Mdn = 3.40–3.44) with narrow IQRs (0.45–0.80) indicating more uniform responses among participants.

Table 2.

Descriptive statistics for the academic performance and metacognitive variables across four time points (T1–T4).

Variables	Time point	Mean	SD	Median	IQR	Min	Max	Skewness	Kurtosis
Examination score (exam performance)	T1	8.62	1.03	8.63	1.00	5	10	− 0.91	1.57
	T2	9.06	1.04	9.07	1.00	5	10	− 2.25	6.48
	T3	7.93	1.57	7.93	2.00	3	10	− 0.96	1.35
	T4	7.93	1.57	7.83	1.00	3	10	− 0.96	1.35
SMI-Ar variables
Metacognitive awareness	T1	3.22	0.50	3.22	0.60	1.6	4	− 0.88	1.08
	T2	3.25	0.55	3.10	1.00	2.2	4	− 0.02	− 1.25
	T3	3.28	0.53	3.29	0.80	1.6	4	− 0.75	0.99
	T4	3.28	0.53	3.29	0.63	1.6	4	− 0.75	0.99
Learning strategy use	T1	3.30	0.54	3.30	0.60	1.6	4	− 1.26	2.04
	T2	3.30	0.56	3.40	0.80	1.8	4	2.20	− 0.47
	T3	3.34	0.54	3.34	0.80	1.8	4	− 0.90	1.05
	T4	3.34	0.54	3.34	0.60	1.8	4	− 0.90	1.05
Study planning	T1	3.44	0.41	3.44	0.45	2.2	4	− 0.98	1.39
	T2	3.37	0.54	3.40	0.80	1.8	4	− 0.56	− 0.37
	T3	3.40	0.45	3.41	0.65	2	4	− 0.68	0.58
	T4	3.40	0.45	3.41	0.60	2	4	− 0.68	0.58
Self-checking	T1	3.24	0.50	3.24	0.60	1.2	4	− 0.97	2.82
	T2	3.20	0.52	3.21	0.45	1.4	4	− 0.74	1.15
	T3	3.29	0.52	3.30	0.80	2	4	− 0.50	− 0.13
	T4	3.29	0.52	3.30	0.80	2	4	− 0.50	− 0.13

Values are presented as mean (SD), median, and distribution characteristics (skewness, kurtosis).

IQR interquartile range.

*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001.

The examination of normality indicators reveals significant concerns with data distribution. Notably, Scores at T2 demonstrate substantial negative skewness (− 2.25) with high kurtosis (6.48), while Learning Strategy Use at T2 shows considerable positive skewness (2.20). These values exceed conventional levels for normality (± 1 for skewness), indicating non-normally distributed data. Given these significant violations of normality assumptions despite the adequate sample size (n = 66), non-parametric statistical approaches are warranted for analyzing changes across time points to ensure valid and robust statistical inference.

H1: change overtime

Temporal analysis of academic performance and metacognitive variables revealed distinct developmental patterns across the four time points. The Friedman test results (Table 3) identified significant changes only in exam performance and self-checking metacognitive skills.

Table 3.

Results of the friedman test for changes in academic performance and metacognitive variables over time.

Variable	M-rank T0	M-rank T1	M-rank T2	M-rank T3	Chi-square	df	p value
Exam performance	2.71	3.23	2.28	1.78	51.201	3	< 0.001***
Metacognitive awareness	2.34	2.38	2.54	2.74	4.587	3	0.205
Strategy	2.38	2.37	2.52	2.73	3.925	3	0.270
Planning	2.63	2.32	2.39	2.66	3.988	3	0.263
Self_Checking	2.47	2.19	2.58	2.77	8.602	3	0.035*

*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, M-rank = mean rank.

For exam performance, the pattern of mean ranks indicates an initial improvement followed by a progressive decline in later assessments. This suggests that students experienced an initial boost in academic performance before facing challenges in maintaining these gains over time.

Among metacognitive measures, only self-checking demonstrated statistically significant changes across the time points. Its pattern shows an initial decrease followed by consistent improvement in later periods, with the highest rank occurring at T3. The remaining metacognitive variables (awareness, strategy, and planning) maintained relatively stable patterns without statistically significant changes, suggesting these skills remained resilient even as academic performance fluctuated.

H2: evolution of exam performance and metacognitive variables over gaming section

Wilcoxon signed-rank tests (Table 4) revealed contrasting patterns between academic performance and metacognitive development. Exam performance showed significant continuous decline after T2, with the sharpest drops between T2–T3 and T2–T4 (p < 0.001).

Table 4.

Post-hoc Wilcoxon signed-rank test results for metacognitive variables across time points.

Variable	Comparison	Z	p value	Direction of change
Examination score (exam performance)	T1–T2	− 2.631	0.009	T1 > T2
	T1–T3	− 2.392	0.017	T1 > T3
	T1–T4	− 3.087	0.002**	T1 > T4
	T2–T3	− 4.995	< 0.001***	T2 > T3
	T2–T4	− 5.342	< 0.001***	T2 > T4
	T3–T4	− 4.916	< 0.001***	T3 > T4
SMI-Ar variables
Awareness	T1–T2	− 0.003	0.997	T1 < T2
	T1–T3	− 0.904	0.366	T1 < T3
	T1–T4	− 1.266	0.206	T1 < T4
	T2–T3	− 0.495	0.620	T2 < T3
	T2–T4	− 0.792	0.428	T2 < T4
	T3–T4	− 2.972	0.003**	T3 < T4
Strategy	T1–T2	− 0.151	0.880	T1 < T2
	T1–T3	− 0.623	0.533	T1 < T3
	T1–T4	− 0.854	0.393	T1 < T4
	T2–T3	− 0.473	0.636	T2 < T3
	T2–T4	− 0.823	0.410	T2 < T4
	T3–T4	− 3.226	0.001**	T3 < T4
Planning	T1–T2	− 0.949	0.343	T1 > T2
	T1–T3	− 0.299	0.765	T1 < T3
	T1–T4	− 0.233	0.816	T1 < T4
	T2–T3	− 0.422	0.673	T2 < T3
	T2–T4	− 1.000	0.317	T2 < T4
	T3–T4	− 3.334	0.001**	T3 < T4
Self-checking	T1–T2	− 1.751	0.080	T1 < T2
	T1–T3	− 0.708	0.479	T1 < T3
	T1–T4	− 1.577	0.115	T1 < T4
	T2–T3	− 1.032	0.302	T2 < T3
	T2–T4	− 1.888	0.059	T2 < T4
	T3–T4	− 2.536	0.011*	T3 < T4

*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. Direction of change indicates whether scores at the first time point were higher (>) or lower (<) than at the second time point.

Metacognitive variables demonstrated resilience despite academic decline. The most notable finding was that all metacognitive components—awareness, strategy, planning, and self-checking—showed improvement between T3–T4, with three reaching significances at p < 0.01. This indicates a developmental dissociation where metacognitive skills strengthened during the period of lowest academic performance, suggesting these abilities follow independent developmental trajectories.

H3: the predictive relationship between gaming duration, academic performance, and metacognitive skill domains

Correlation analysis

The result of the Spearman correlation revealed interesting constant (Table 5). The gaming duration was negatively correlated with exam performance (r = − 0.256, p < 0.01) indicating that increased gaming is associated with poorer academic performance. Interestingly, gaming duration showed no significant correlations with any of the metacognitive variables (all p > 0.05), suggesting that the time spent gaming doesn’t directly impact students’ metacognitive abilities.

Table 5.

Spearman correlation matrix for gaming duration, metacognitive variables, and academic performance.

Variables	Time	Exam score	Awareness	Strategy	Planning	Self-checking
Time (gaming duration)	1	− 0.256**	0.063	0.046	0.012	0.097
Exam score	− 0.256**	1	− 0.174**	− 0.123*	− 0.154*	− 0.069
Awareness	0.063	− 0.174**	1	0.802**	0.752**	0.480**
Strategy	0.046	− 0.123*	0.802**	1	0.800**	0.520**
Planning	0.012	− 0.154*	0.752**	0.800**	1	0.485**
Self-checking	0.097	− 0.069	0.480**	0.520**	0.485**	1

Values are presented as Pearson correlation coefficients (r). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.

For the Exam performance results showed weak negative correlations with the metacognitive variables, specifically with Awareness (r = − 0.174, p < 0.01), Strategy (r = − 0.123, p < 0.05), and Planning (r = − 0.154, p < 0.05), while the correlation with self-checking was not statistically significant (r = − 0.069, p > 0.05). These results suggest that students with higher scores on metacognitive measures surprisingly tended to perform slightly worse on exams.

Regression analysis

The regression analysis (Table 6) shows that gaming duration (the independent variable) significantly affects exam performance but not metacognitive skills (the dependent variables). Examining the four gaming duration conditions (0, 20, 30, and 40 min), results show that participants in the no gaming condition (B = 0.858, p < 0.001) and low gaming condition (20 min, B = 1.302, p < 0.001) performed significantly better on exams than those in the high gaming condition (40 min), while the moderate gaming condition (30 min) showed no significant difference. However, gaming duration had no statistically significant impact on the metacognitive variables (awareness, strategy, planning, and self-checking), with only a marginally significant trend for reduced self-checking at 20 min (p = 0.054). These results indicate that while increased gaming duration negatively impacts academic performance (omnibus test χ² = 39.636, p < 0.001), this effect isn’t mediated through changes in metacognitive functioning. This suggests that gaming’s negative academic impact likely stems from time displacement or attention fatigue rather than cognitive skill deterioration, pointing toward time management interventions as potentially more effective than metacognitive training for students.

Table 6.

Combined regression analysis for all variables.

Dependent variable	Predictor variable	B	Std. Error	Sig
Exam score	Intercept	7.767	0.161	0.000**
	Time = 0 mn	0.858	0.227	0.000**
	Time = 20 mn	1.302	0.227	0.000**
	Time = 30 mn	0.168	0.227	0.459
	Time = 40 mn	0 (ref)	–	–
Awareness	Intercept	3.314	0.065	0.000**
	Time = 0 mn	− 0.090	0.092	0.327
	Time = 20 mn	− 0.056	0.092	0.539
	Time = 30 mn	− 0.027	0.092	0.767
	Time = 40 mn	0 (ref)	–	–
Strategy	Intercept	3.372	0.067	0.000**
	Time = 0 mn	− 0.068	0.095	0.471
	Time = 20 mn	− 0.066	0.095	0.485
	Time = 30 mn	− 0.029	0.095	0.761
	Time = 40 mn	0 (ref)	–	–
Planning	Intercept	3.468	0.057	0.000**
	Time = 0 mn	− 0.024	0.080	0.763
	Time = 20 mn	− 0.092	0.080	0.248
	Time = 30 mn	− 0.061	0.080	0.449
	Time = 40 mn	0 (ref)	–	–
Self-checking	Intercept	3.377	0.062	0.000**
	Time = 0 mn	− 0.137	0.088	0.118
	Time = 20 mn	− 0.169	0.088	0.054
	Time = 30 mn	− 0.079	0.088	0.368
	Time = 40 mn	0 (ref)	–	–

**p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.

Discussion

This study provides significant insights about the relationship between gaming interventions and academic performance along with self-reported metacognitive awareness within the Saudi Arabian higher-education context, with particular emphasis on female university students. The findings reveal complex interactions between gaming duration, academic performance, and metacognitive skill development as measured through self-report. These relationships have important implications for educational practice in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

H₁

Structured gaming sessions will significantly improve exam performance and cognitive awareness skills.

This hypothesis is partially supported by the data. The results show that exam performance improved only during the 20-min gaming sessions (T2) compared to baseline (T1), but then declined during longer gaming sessions of 30 and 40 min (T3 and T4). For metacognitive awareness, the results showed no significant changes across time points (p = 0.205), indicating that gaming sessions had minimal impact on students’ self-reported metacognitive awareness.

These findings align with Kowal et al.¹⁴, who reported a dose–response relationship between gaming duration and performance, where moderate engagement optimizes outcomes while excessive gaming leads to diminishing returns. Similarly, Sanchez and Weber¹⁶ found that extended exposure to complex gaming environments can initially enhance performance but prolonged sessions may lead to cognitive fatigue and decreased efficiency. Our results extend these findings by demonstrating that this pattern holds true in educational contexts with female Saudi university students, suggesting the potential benefits of carefully calibrated gaming interventions.

In contrast to our findings, Sanz de la Garza et al.³ reported significant improvements in metacognitive skills following gaming interventions. This discrepancy may be attributed to differences in the gaming genres used, the duration of the overall intervention period, or cultural factors influencing metacognitive development. While they found that puzzle games could foster metacognitive skills through structured play experiences, our study suggests that short-term gaming interventions may not be sufficient to significantly impact self-reported metacognitive awareness among university students.

H₂

Exam performance and metacognitive variables significantly increase over game session among participants.

The first hypothesis that “structured gaming sessions will significantly improve exam performance and cognitive awareness skills” received partial support based on our analysis. Exam performance showed significant variation across time points (F = 7.82, p < 0.001), with a clear pattern of initial improvement followed by decline. Specifically, exam scores improved significantly during the 20-min gaming sessions (T2) compared to baseline (T1), but then declined during longer sessions at T3 and T4. This pattern suggests a non-linear relationship between gaming duration and academic performance, with optimal benefits occurring at moderate exposure levels.

For metacognitive awareness, contrary to our hypothesis, the results showed no significant changes across time points (F = 1.54, p = 0.205). This finding indicates that while gaming interventions had a measurable impact on academic performance, they did not significantly affect students’ self-reported metacognitive awareness during the study period. The stability of metacognitive awareness scores across all time points suggests that these self-reported metacognitive skills may operate independently from the immediate academic performance fluctuations observed.

These results align with research⁶, who found that benefits from gaming are not linear and may vary based on exposure duration. Our findings also complement work¹⁴, who identified specific dose–response relationships between gaming and performance outcomes. However, our results differ from the findings of other study³, who reported connections between play and metacognitive development, suggesting that the relationship between gaming and metacognitive processes may be more complex than initially hypothesized and potentially dependent on factors not captured in our current measurement approach.

H₃

The duration of gaming sessions will demonstrate a statistically significant predictive relationship with both academic examination performance and metacognitive skill domains.

This hypothesis is partially supported by the data. Gaming duration was negatively correlated with exam performance but showed no significant correlations with any metacognitive variables. Regression analysis confirmed that participants in the no-gaming condition (B = 0.858, p < 0.001) and low-gaming condition (20 min, B = 1.302, p < 0.001) performed significantly better on exams than those in the high-gaming condition (40 min).

These findings align with those of Huang et al.¹⁵, who found that gaming duration can negatively impact cognitive performance beyond a certain threshold. They suggested that extended gaming sessions may deplete attentional resources necessary for academic tasks, leading to decreased performance. Similarly, Parong et al.⁵ documented an inverted U-shaped relationship between gaming exposure and learning outcomes, with moderate engagement producing optimal results while excessive gaming led to deteriorating performance.

Interestingly, our finding that gaming duration had no significant impact on metacognitive variables contrasts with Wang et al.⁶, who reported that action video game training could enhance metacognitive control. This discrepancy may be explained by differences in gaming genres (puzzle games versus action games), intervention duration (single sessions versus extended training), or assessment methods (self-report versus behavioral measures). Our results suggest that the negative academic impact of extended gaming likely stems from time displacement or attention fatigue rather than deterioration in metacognitive skills.

Broader implications

This study provides significant insights about the relationship between gaming interventions and academic outcomes within the Saudi Arabian higher-education context, with particular emphasis on female university students. The findings reveal complex interactions between gaming duration, academic performance, and self-reported metacognitive awareness.

The identification of an optimal gaming duration of approximately 20 min aligns with educational recommendations from Wilson et al.¹⁷, who suggested that brief, structured gaming interventions may be most beneficial in academic settings. This finding provides practical guidance for incorporating gaming elements into existing curricula, particularly within the typical university class scheduling in Saudi Arabia.

Martinez et al.¹⁸ emphasized the need for gender-inclusive research in gaming studies, noting that females remain underrepresented despite comprising a significant portion of the gaming population. Our exclusive focus on female students addresses this gap and provides valuable insights into how gaming interventions may specifically affect this demographic within the Saudi educational context under Saudi Vision 2030 initiatives.

Sweller et al.⁴ highlighted the importance of considering cognitive load in educational interventions, suggesting that effective learning experiences must balance cognitive demands to avoid overload. Our findings support this framework by demonstrating that while brief gaming sessions may enhance academic performance, extended sessions may exceed optimal cognitive load thresholds, resulting in decreased performance without corresponding benefits to metacognitive awareness.

The stability of self-reported metacognitive variables despite fluctuations in academic performance suggests that these constructs may be more resilient to short-term interventions than direct performance measures. This dissociation aligns with the observations of Zioga et al.²⁰, who found that gaming affects different cognitive domains through distinct mechanisms and timescales. This understanding highlights the need for diverse assessment methods in educational settings that incorporate gaming elements.

Conclusion

This investigation about the effect of different gaming sessions on metacognitive skills has provided insights into the complex relationship between gaming and academic outcomes. Our findings suggest that gaming sessions have a time-sensitive relationship with academic performance, with shorter sessions (20 min) appearing more beneficial than longer ones. However, metacognitive abilities remained stable throughout the intervention period. These observations indicate that careful consideration of implementation factors, particularly session duration, is important when incorporating gaming elements into educational settings. Our study’s gender-specific focus contributes valuable understanding to an underrepresented area of gaming research, highlighting the need for more nuanced approaches to educational gaming interventions.

Limitation

This study provides results concerning the interaction between gaming duration and meta cognitive abilities for female university students. Through our 4-week longitudinal investigation, two principal limitations are identified. First, the sample composition is restricted to female students from a single Saudi Arabian university, limiting the generalizability of our findings across different population and cultural contexts. Second, the use of a simple game type (Tetris)may not fully capture the range and complexity of gaming effects on cognitive development. Third, future research would benefit from including a control group to further strengthen the findings. Fourth, the study focused on short-term effects over a 4-week period, and longer-term follow-up could provide additional insights into the sustainability of the observed patterns.

Future research

While the current research has provided valuable information, several important questions remain unexplored. Two critical areas are observed. First, it would be interesting to enhance the study’s methodological scope by conducting longitudinal research with diverse game types and varying durations in order to identify the optimal gaming experience for cognitive enhancement. Second, investigating population diversity by comparing gaming effects across gender groups, age categories, and cultural contexts could allow the development of more targeted gaming interventions for education.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Author contributions

WB and SMA designed the study methodology and developed the gaming intervention protocol. SMA conducted literature reviews, wrote introductions, and coordinated participant recruitment at the university. WB performed statistical analyses, interpreted results, and wrote the methods section. SMA and OHA administered the gaming sessions, collected data, and conducted standardized testing. HZ and WB developed metacognitive assessment tools and analyzed the metacognitive data. All authors contributed to data interpretation, participated in manuscript preparation, critically reviewed the final manuscript, and approved the final version.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.