Rankings or Absolute Feedback? Investigating Two Feedback Alternatives for Negotiation Agreements in a Gamified Electronic Negotiation Training

Abstract

The use of game elements in non-game contexts has gained popularity in the education domain to increase students' motivation and engagement. Additionally, these elements provide feedback on students' performance. Rankings are often applied to display performance feedback relative to others despite their potential negative effects, for example due to increased pressure. In this experimental study, we compare two types of gamified electronic negotiation training, each including the game elements levels, badges, and experience points. As the reflection on the negotiation performance is a central activity for negotiation training, we test two feedback alternatives for the negotiation agreements. One group received relative feedback through rankings, and the other group received a non-game and absolute feedback called Pareto graph. Our findings show similar intrinsic motivation and negotiation outcomes, but higher engagement for participants using the Pareto graph. Practitioners and researchers are encouraged to consider non-game feedback elements in their gamification design.