Can Gran Turismo Make You a Better Driver? The Psychology Behind Skill Transfer

The movie "Gran Turismo" is based on the true story of Jann Mardenborough, a talented player who aspires to become a real racer (Rapold, 2023). Nissan created the GT Academy competition to discover champion gamers and train them to become professional drivers. Jann enters the competition and competes against others for the opportunity. Despite facing challenges and self-doubt, Jann pushes his limits to transform his virtual racing skills into real-world track dominance.

The film "Gran Turismo" takes a docufiction approach, crafting a narrative based on the incredible true story of Jann Mardenborough. Mardenborough, a skilled Gran Turismo player, used his virtual expertise to accomplish the seemingly impossible task of becoming a professional race car driver through the Nissan GT Academy, a real-world program designed for this purpose. Over the course of its history, the GT Academy expanded to have competitions around the world. By the time the program ended in 2016, 22 gamers had made the leap from the sim rig to the racecar, earning trophies for Nissan across the globe (GT Academy, 2023).

The movie excels in realistically depicting the racing world. The high-octane sequences capture the technical complexities and exhilarating intensity of professional motorsports. Additionally, the film authentically portrays the challenges faced by aspiring racers, including self-doubt and the daunting transition from virtual to real-world driving.

The science behind skill transfer:

The question is: can skills learned in a simulation be applied in the real world? Transfer of simulated skills to real-world skills have been addressed in many fields, from surgical skills (Sturm, Windsor, Cosman, Cregan, Hewett, & Maddern, 2008; Lohre, e. al., 2020).), table-tennis (Oagaz,  Schoun, & Choi, 2021), Juggling (Lammfromm, & Gopher, 2011), and saftely training (Buttussi, & Chittaro, 2020).  Skill transfer in psychology involves using what you've learned in one situation in a new context. However, this transfer is not always automatic. Just because you've learned a skill doesn't mean it will automatically apply elsewhere. It's crucial to practice and deliberately apply these skills. Psychologists have found that broader skills like communication, problem-solving, and critical thinking can be used across different tasks and areas (Subedi, 2004). Furthermore, specific skills are more easily transferred when the new situation is similar to the original learning context, and more challenging to transfer when the automatic behaviors don’t match (for example, badminton and tennis) (Schoeb, Lafrenière‐Carrier, Lauzier, & Courcy, 2021).

How effective is Gran Turismo for skill transfer?

Gran Turismo is renowned for its emphasis on realism, particularly in car handling. It utilizes a sophisticated physics engine to simulate the way cars handle weight transfer, grip, and acceleration. The game sharpens skills such as throttle control, weight transfer, and smooth steering inputs. Additionally, skills include learning the optimal racing lines, overtaking maneuvers, and pit stop strategies.

However, the physics in high-end simulations provide realistic rendering but they cannot perfectly replicate a real car's g-forces, vibrations, and feedback. Simulations might not capture the subtle differences in handling between various race cars. Furthermore, there's no substitute for the real-world consequences of pushing a car to its limits, which can be a crucial factor in racing (Remonda, Veas, & Luzhnica, 2021).

Sim racing is a valuable tool for aspiring race car drivers. However, it is not a replacement for real-world experience …yet. Current Formula 1 drivers use sim racing with professional coaching and actual track time to bridge the gap and develop a well-rounded skill set (Benedetto, Calvi, & Messina, 2011). Professional drivers often utilize simulators to practice and refine specific skills. Improvements in the physics of car handling are necessary to maximize the transfer of skills from simulation to reality. Additionally, practice should focus on transferable skills such as learning track layouts and finding the correct racing lines for each curve (Cardamone, Caiazzo, Loiacono, & Lanzi, 2011.

Real-world racing demands skills beyond just car control, including physical fitness, mental focus under pressure, and handling unexpected situations (Vingilis, Seeley, Wiesenthal, Wickens, Fischer, & Mann, 2013). Simulators may not fully replicate these aspects. While sim racing won't instantly turn you into a racing champion, it can help build a solid foundation and transferable skills to give you an advantage when driving a real race car.

References

Benedetto, A., Calvi, A., & Messina, M. (2011). Potentialities of driving simulator for engineering applications to Formula 1. Proceedings of Road Safety and Simulation (RSS2011).

Buttussi, F., & Chittaro, L. (2020). A comparison of procedural safety training in three conditions: virtual reality headset, smartphone, and printed materials. IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, 14(1), 1-15.

Cardamone, L., Caiazzo, A., Loiacono, D., & Lanzi, P. L. (2011, August). Transfer of driving behaviors across different racing games. In 2011 IEEE Conference on Computational Intelligence and Games (CIG'11) (pp. 227-234). IEEE.

GT Academy (2023). https://uk.nissannews.com/en-GB/channels/gt-academy?selectedTabId=gt-academy-releases

Lammfromm, R., & Gopher, D. (2011). Transfer of skill from a virtual reality trainer to real juggling. In BIO web of conferences (1, p. 00054). EDP Sciences.

Lohre, R., Bois, A. J., Pollock, J. W., Lapner, P., McIlquham, K., Athwal, G. S., & Goel, D. P. (2020). Effectiveness of immersive virtual reality on orthopedic surgical skills and knowledge acquisition among senior surgical residents: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA network open, 3(12), e2031217-e2031217.

Oagaz, H., Schoun, B., & Choi, M. H. (2021). Performance improvement and skill transfer in table tennis through training in virtual reality. IEEE Transactions on visualization and computer graphics, 28(12), 4332-4343.

Rapold, N. (2023). The Video Game Was Only the Beginning. The New York Times, C4-C4.

Remonda, A., Veas, E., & Luzhnica, G. (2021). Comparing driving behavior of humans and autonomous driving in a professional racing simulator. PLoS one, 16(2), e0245320.

Schoeb, G., Lafrenière‐Carrier, B., Lauzier, M., & Courcy, F. (2021). Measuring transfer of training: Review and implications for future research. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences/Revue Canadienne des Sciences de l'Administration, 38(1), 17-28.

Sturm, L. P., Windsor, J. A., Cosman, P. H., Cregan, P., Hewett, P. J., & Maddern, G. J. (2008). A systematic review of skills transfer after surgical simulation training. Annals of surgery, 248(2), 166-179.

Subedi, B. S. (2004). Emerging trends of research on transfer of learning. International education journal, 5(4), 591-599.

Vingilis, E., Seeley, J., Wiesenthal, D. L., Wickens, C. M., Fischer, P., & Mann, R. E. (2013). Street racing video games and risk-taking driving: An Internet survey of automobile enthusiasts. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 50, 1-7.