Entangled Objects

Game Description

In this game, you see three entangled objects, like flowers, fruit, animals, geometrical figures, or amoebas, which taken together make up a more complex figure. These three entangled graphical objects are compared to a multiple choice of similar or different objects that are possible components of the complex entangled figure. You must choose the one that is part of the entangled figure.

To choose the correct object, you must mentally disentangle the complex figure into its component parts. This task is easier with identifiable objects or geometrical figures, but it is harder with abstract figures. An object seen in its typical context is more easily recognized than one that is isolated. One way to figure out the different components is to look carefully at the separate elements and then mentally visualize them together into one figure.

Identification is easier when the figures are meaningful (objects, geometrical figures), so details are more relevant than the analysis of the whole figure. However, recognition will be more difficult with abstract figures. Naturally, such a complex task takes great concentration.

Cognitive Function Exercised

This exercise trains you to spot the identifying characteristics of an object, store them in working memory, and then transform the details into a whole by visualizing it in your mind and holding it there while accomplishing the same tasks for the other objects. The game trains your visual and spatial skills and your working memory.

Benefits to Daily Life

When you look at something, you usually recognize it easily because you match what you see with the image stored in your long-term memory. To be able to make the match in everyday situations, we rely upon thousands of stored images, associations, and categorizations in our memory. We use these skills each time we try to separate figure from ground in a visual display, visualize ways to redecorate a room or even analyze patterns of traffic when driving.