Abstract
ABSTRACTGamification refers to the introduction of gaming elements such as scores and leaderboards in non-gaming contexts. While there is growing evidence that gamification has positive effects on intrinsic motivation and engagement, it is largely unknown whether these effects translate to improved cognitive performance. Here, we examine whether gamification affects performance on a visual working memory (VWM) task. In Experiment 1, we gamified a standard delayed-estimation task by introducing scores and a leveling system. On each trial, the subject’s estimation error was mapped to a score between −100 and +100 and added to their total score. Subjects started at a set size of 1 and “leveled up” to the next set size each time they had accumulated 1,500 points. Post-experiment questionnaire data confirmed that subjects who performed the gamified version of the task were more motivated than control subjects. However, we found no difference in VWM performance between these two groups, nor between below-median and above-median motivated subjects. In Experiment 2, we tested for effects of trial-by-trial manipulations of motivation on VWM performance, by varying the scoring function across trials. Three scoring functions were used, with maxima of 7, 21, and 101 points. At the beginning of each trial, the subject was informed whether the potential reward was “low”, “medium”, or “high”. Post-questionnaire data showed that subjects were more motivated on high-reward trials. However, we found no evidence for a difference in performance between the three reward levels. Our results suggest that gamification increases people’s motivation to carry out visual working memory tasks, but it does not necessarily increase their performance.
Publisher
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Reference49 articles.
1. Aarts, A. A. , Anderson, J. E. , Anderson, C. J. , Attridge, P. R. , Attwood, A. , Axt, J. , … Zuni, K. (2015). Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science. Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac4716
2. Reducing failures of working memory with performance feedback;Psychonomic Bulletin & Review,2016
3. Arnsten, A. F. T. (1998). Catecholamine modulation of prefrontal cortical cognitive function. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(98)01240-6
4. Ashby, F. G. , & Valentin, V. V. (2017). Multiple systems of perceptual category learning: Theory and cognitive tests. In Handbook of categorization in cognitive science, 2nd ed. (pp. 157–188). https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-101107-2.00007-5
5. An energy budget for signaling in the grey matter of the brain;Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism: Official Journal of the International Society of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism,2001
Cited by
1 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献