Don't put that copy of Portal away just yet -- it could land you that A+ you've been aiming for in history class. According to recent studies conducted at Wheaton College, the games you play can affect the quality and timeliness of your homework.

Rolf Nelson, a psychology professor at the college, specializes in human visual perception and oversaw the experiments. Professor Nelson had participants play either Portal or Unreal Tournament for brief sessions interjected by tasks meant to measure speed and accuracy. The research concluded that playing action games then switching to work may yield faster, yet less accurate results. On the other hand, puzzle or strategy games encourage you to produce more precise answers but at the cost of time.

The study presents a rare glimpse into the cognitive capacities of the mind, while providing all gamers an excuse to play at work or during school. The next time your parent demands that you shut down your game, show them this study [via GamePolitics].