A concept paper on the impacts of individual gamification elements on user's intrinsic motivation and performance

Abstract

Gamification is a growing trend that has the potential to improve user's motivation and performance in e-learning. However, it is still heavily debated as there is an ongoing discussion within the gamification community whether individual gamification elements may actually weaken or improve intrinsic motivation and performance. To date, research on individual gamification elements is still yet underexplored making it difficult to understand whether individual gamification elements may prove beneficial or harmful to user's intrinsic motivation and performance. Therefore, this concept paper is intended to explore the effects of three commonly employed game elements namely points, leaderboard, and badges on intrinsic motivations and performances in a flow experience perspective. It is to hope that through this study, a clear understanding of individual gamification elements can be achieved and more in-depth work can be done in the future.