Towards understanding the effects of individual gamification elements on intrinsic motivation and performance

Mekler, Elisa D.; Brühlmann, Florian; Tuch, Alexandre N.; Opwis, Klaus

doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.08.048

Cited by 587 publications

(428 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The study was broken into four conditions; a 'plain' control condition, in which the task had no gamification elements, a 'points' condition, in which the participants gained 100 points for each tag entered, a 'leaderboard' condition, in which participants gained 100 points for each tag entered and could compare their score to four fictitious participants, and a 'levels' condition, in which participants gained 100 points for each tag entered and were incentivised to fill a progress bar that progressively filled each time a participant earned points. The study found a significant main effect of game elements on the amount of user generated tags, with the control condition being significantly outperformed by the points condition, and the points condition being significantly outperformed by both the leaderboards and levels condition (Mekler et al, 2015). This finding, coupled with Looyestyn's discussion of the effective use of leaderboards (Looyestyn et al, 2017), strongly supports the idea that rewards and more complex reward mechanics are able to increase user engagement in many gamified contexts.…”

Section: Common Video Game Rewardssupporting

confidence: 72%

“…Mekler et al's work did not find any main effects of game elements on intrinsic motivation, as participants were similarly intrinsically motivated across conditions (Mekler et al, 2015). This finding is somewhat novel as the theoretical positioning of the overjustification effect posits that intrinsic motivation will decrease in the presence of extrinsic rewards.…”

Section: Common Video Game Rewardsmentioning

confidence: 53%

“…If traits such as an individual's reward responsiveness can have an impact on player experience evaluation, other trait differences may have a similar impact. Mekler similarly found an effect of traits related to the General Causality Orientation scale (Mekler, 2015). This suggests that player experience evaluation needs to consider who is playing rather than simply what is being played.…”

Section: The Role Of Reward Responsivenessmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Players at the top of the leaderboard have received all possible achievements in more than 1,000 games. Many players in these communities are motivated to purchase and play games that they do not enjoy in order to receive achievements (Wilde, 2016 In recent work, researchers have experimentally examined individual gamification elements on intrinsic motivation and performance (Mekler et al, 2015).…”

Section: Common Video Game Rewardsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Video Game Reward Types and The Player Experience

Phillips¹

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The complexity of video games is growing rapidly, with new game genres and game mechanics emerging. To keep pace with this, a broadly defined and widely applicable framework is needed to increase our understanding of how video game rewards impact the player experience. However, very few such frameworks exist, and those that do tend to be based on their authors' experience with video games. This thesis aimed to create a new typology for examining video game rewards in a meaningful and applicable way. A mixed-methods approach was used to iteratively develop a new video game reward typology. First, existing methods for classifying video game rewards were identified, trialled and revised. A set of focus groups was then conducted to explore the applicability of the existing and revised video game reward typologies to video games.Two card-sorting activities were then undertaken to test the applicability of the existing and revised video game reward typologies. This indicated that the revised video game reward typology was a more useful tool for classifying video game rewards.A purpose-built video game was then developed to determine the impact of eight video game reward conditions on the player experience in an online experiment. While we did not find a distinct difference between individual reward types, we did find that the diversity of video game reward types present in the experiment affected enjoymentbeing exposed to the full range of video game reward types led to greater enjoyment than exposure to only one individual reward type or to no rewards. This confirms that video game developers should aim to include a breadth of video game rewards in their game designs to maximise player enjoyment. Beyond this, we also found that reward responsiveness plays an important role in facilitating enjoyment-participants with higher levels of trait reward responsiveness enjoyed all versions of the game more than participants with lower levels of trait reward responsiveness. This result indicates that player experience investigations should consider player traits to gain a holistic understanding of how relevant constructs impact the player experience.This thesis has resulted in the development of a video game reward typology that can be used to accelerate understanding of video game rewards; it has also contributed to knowledge of how video game reward types impact the player experience. The contributions of this work thus have implications for both video game researchers and video game development practitioners.

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Section: Common Video Game Rewardssupporting

confidence: 72%

Section: Common Video Game Rewardsmentioning

confidence: 53%

Section: The Role Of Reward Responsivenessmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Common Video Game Rewardsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Video Game Reward Types and The Player Experience

Phillips¹

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“…This happens by way of a gain in points and an advancement in terms of level/difficulty of the game. Therefore, using rewards can increase motivation and the drive to succeed in a game (Mekler, Brühlmann, Tuch, & Opwis, 2017). One significant feature design of the app includes the utilization of a reward system in which points are attained for correct responses.…”

Section: Perceived Challengementioning

confidence: 99%

A Proposed Framework to Understand the Intrinsic Motivation Factors on University Students’ Behavioral Intention to Use a Mobile Application for Learning

Shroff

Keyes

2017

JITE:Research

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Aim/Purpose: By integrating a motivational perspective into the Technology Acceptance Model, the goal of this study is to empirically test the causal relationship of intrinsic motivational factors on students’ behavioral intention to use (BIU) a mobile application for learning. Background: Although the Technology Acceptance Model is a significant model, it largely remains incomplete as it does not take into consideration the motivation factors and/or outside influences in the adoption of new technology. Methodology: A Mobile Application Motivation Instrument (MAMI) was developed from a comprehensive review of literature on intrinsic motivation and verified using a formalized card sorting procedure. Four intrinsic motivation scales were developed: perceived competence (COM), perceived challenge (CHA), perceived choice (CHO), and perceived interest (INT). Consequently, a scale to assess students’ behavioral intention (BIU) to use mobile applications was developed using existing scales from prior TAM instruments. Contribution: Incorporating the motivational factors into TAM may provide better explanation and prediction of student acceptance and usage of mobile applications. A potential contribution of this study is the development of a reliable and valid instrument that could be further used by a growing community of researchers, instructional designers, and instructors. Findings: Data were collected from 193 participants to test the causal relationship of perceived competence (COM), perceived challenge (CHA), perceived choice (CHO), and perceived interest (INT) on students’ behavioral intention to use (BIU) a mobile application, using a structural equation modeling approach. The structural path model indicated that perceived competence (COM), perceived challenge (CHA), perceived choice (CHO), and perceived interest (INT) had a significant influence on students’ behavioral intention to use (BIU) a mobile application for learning. Implications of this study are important for researchers and educational practitioners. Future Research: One environmental dimension, understudied but with likely implications for intrinsic motivation, is the social environment.

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Gamification through leaderboards: An empirical study in engineering education

Ortiz‐Rojas

Chiluiza

Valcke

2019

Comp Applic In Engineering

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Universities are looking for solutions to engage more students in STEM domains and enhance their learning performance (LP). In this context, gamification is put forward as a solution to achieve this aim. The present study examined the effect of gamification – building on leaderboards ‐ on LP. Furthermore, mediating variables, such as intrinsic motivation, self‐efficacy, engagement, and background variables, such as sex, previous gaming experience, and undergraduate major, were considered. A pretest‐posttest quasi‐experimental design with an experimental and a control condition was set up (n = 89) in an Introductory Computer Programming course. We observed a significant improvement in the LP of students in the gamified condition. However, no interaction effect was detected, due to mediating and background variables. The high learning gain is a favorable indicator that gamification might be a promising approach to promote STEM programs.

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Towards understanding the effects of individual gamification elements on intrinsic motivation and performance

Cited by 587 publications

References 28 publications

Video Game Reward Types and The Player Experience

Video Game Reward Types and The Player Experience

A Proposed Framework to Understand the Intrinsic Motivation Factors on University Students’ Behavioral Intention to Use a Mobile Application for Learning

Gamification through leaderboards: An empirical study in engineering education

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