Introduction
Mental rotation is an ability that usually displays robust and large gender differences in favor of boys and men. When participants are told that males outperform females, it can result ...in worse performance for females (stereotype threat effect) and better performance for males (stereotype lift effect). Because various studies show different results for the effect of stereotype activation, the present study aimed to investigate whether adolescents’ self-concept would moderate stereotype activation effects.
Methods
127 adolescents (61 male, 66 female) between 10 and 18 years (
M
= 13.54,
SD
= 1.99) solved the mental rotation test and filled out a questionnaire about their perceived performance, stereotype beliefs, and self-concept.
Results
Results showed that self-concept and stereotype activation affected male and female adolescents’ actual and perceived performance differently. For males, a better self-concept was associated with better performance in adolescents with stereotype activation and with lower performance in those without the activation. This interaction was only marginally significant. For females, an increasing self-concept was associated with worse performance in adolescents with stereotype activation and with better performance in those without activation. Furthermore, a better self-concept was associated with higher perceived performance in male adolescents with stereotype activation and with lower perceived performance without the activation.
Discussion
Reasons for these results could be the (in)congruence between males’ own perception of their abilities (self-concept) and the instruction of the activation.
Based on self-determination theory, we investigated whether examinees are classifiable into profiles based on basic need strength and perceived need support that differ in stress parameters and ...achievement in the context of a standardized oral exam.
92 students reported their basic need strength before and perceived need support provided by the examiner once after the exam. Students indicated their emotions and stress perception at four measurement points and we measured their saliva cortisol concurrently, analyzing stress-related changes over time.
Latent class analyses revealed two higher-quality (low/high, high/high) and two lower-quality (low/low, high/low) need strength/need support classes. Physio-affective stress development was typical of exam situations. Higher-quality classes that met or exceeded the needs displayed more beneficial stress and emotion response patterns than lower-quality classes. Gain-related emotions mediated achievement in the higher-quality classes.
Need-supportive examiners can promote student well-being and achievement when they succeed in providing high need satisfaction.
Motivation for school generally declines over the years. At the same time, self-determined motivation is most beneficial for learning, achievement, and well-being. Therefore, it is crucial to support ...and maintain student motivation in the school context. This holds especially for science, where motivation is often low. Out-of-school learning settings may support self-determined motivational regulation. However, not every out-of-school learning setting motivates in the same way, and additional factors like gender and prior knowledge might interact with the way a learning setting motivates. We investigated differences in self-reported motivational regulation and predictors of intrinsic motivation between N=88 German secondary school biology major students (M=17.71 years, SD=0.74, n=60 women) at a biological-ecological out-of-school learning setting and during regular biology classes. We found complex main and interaction effects of the learning setting and gender on motivation. Differences in higher- and lower-achieving males’ intrinsic motivation were leveled in the out-of-school learning setting. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in light of self-determination theory.
Digital badges are debated as a possible motivator in higher education, but their impact on basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration still requires research. Particularly need ...frustration has not been addressed systematically yet, specifically in relation to gender. Investigating whether and how badges affect both need satisfaction and need frustration, this study extends existing research on badges, motivation, and gender and discusses implications for theory and practice. During a digital seminar lasting for 8 weeks, we conducted a mixed-method experiment with N = 64 (32 women) undergraduates (M = 22.95 years, SD = 4.06). Participants were divided into an experimental (badges) and a control condition (no badges). We measured need satisfaction and frustration with pre-post online questionnaires. Univariate two-way analyses of variance revealed no effects of condition or gender. In the badge condition only, we used repeated-measurement analyses of variance and qualitative content analyses. Females and males estimated the seminar as equally need-satisfying, but males perceived working with badges as less need-satisfying than working for the seminar overall. Need frustration was not affected. Qualitative data implied that the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness could be better supported by underlining the value, ease of use, and social aspects of badges. Gender effects might exist because of a male preference for competitive game elements or ease of use. Conclusively, digital badges, even if not perceived as particularly need-supportive, can be a motivator in digital learning without frustrating the basic needs. This work adds empirical evidence from the perspective of need frustration to existing research on motivation and gamification. It can be conducive to an optimal promotion of female and male students’ motivation in digital learning.
•We examined badge and gender impact on basic need satisfaction and frustration.•Digital badge usage did not affect undergraduates' need frustration at all.•Male badge users' need satisfaction was negatively affected focusing on badge usage.•Qualitative data stress the importance of social badge aspects and ease of use.•The real-life value of badges should be made clear for badges to support the needs.
Despite increasing scientific interest in explaining how gamification supports positive affect and motivation, behavior change and learning, there is still a lack of an overview of the current ...theoretical understanding of the psychological mechanisms of gamification. Previous research has adopted several different angles and remains fragmented. Taking both an observational and explanatory perspective, we examined the theoretical foundations used in research on gamification, serious games and game-based learning through a systematic literature review and then discussed the commonalities of their core assumptions. The overview shows that scientists have used a variety of 118 different theories. Most of them share explicitly formulated or conceptual connections. From their interrelations, we derived basic principles that help explain how gamification works: Gamification can illustrate goals and their relevance, nudge users through guided paths, give users immediate feedback, reinforce good performance and simplify content to manageable tasks. Gamification mechanics can allow users to pursue individual goals and choose between different progress paths, while the system can adapt complexity to the user's abilities. Social gamification elements may enable social comparison and connect users to support each other and work towards a common goal.
•We performed a systematic meta-review of theoretical foundations in gamification, serious games and GBL research.•We identified 118 theories in the areas of motivation and affect, behavior, and learning used to explain gamification.•Self-determination theory, flow theory, experiential learning theory and constructivist learning theory are most popular.•The theories can be connected and interrelated in a theoretical landscape.•We derived ten theoretical principles that help explain how gamification works.
Preservice teachers should learn about motivation theory during their university studies in order to be able to motivate their students in their future job. Thus, this study had two objectives. ...First, it explored whether experience in education sciences and a motivation theory seminar were related to preservice teachers’ perceived experience with motivation theory, their perceived and actual knowledge about it, and the relevance they assigned to it. Second, it investigated whether there were differences to practicing teachers. We administered a questionnaire on three motivational theories to
N
= 322 to preservice and practicing teachers. We asked for the participants’ experience with the topics, the relevance they assigned to them in the school context, and their perceived knowledge about them. Overall, preservice teachers rated motivation theory as relevant but displayed low experience with and knowledge about it. Visiting a seminar on motivation theory was connected to the highest values for all variables. Practicing teachers appeared more critical of motivation theory than preservice teachers. They assigned less relevance to it, although they displayed higher levels in perceived knowledge than preservice teachers without a motivation theory seminar background. Results suggest that there is a difference between the preservice and the practicing phase of teaching regarding motivation theory. Preservice teachers viewed the topic differently than practicing teachers. However, preservice teachers should know and be able to use motivation theory once they finish their university studies. Therefore, integrating motivation theory more into both preservice and practicing teacher training appears to be important.
Gamification has become one of the main areas in information systems and human–computer interaction research related to users’ motivations and behaviors. Within this context, a significant research ...gap is the lack of understanding of how users’ characteristics, especially in terms of their preferences for gameful interaction (i.e., user typologies), moderate the effects of gamification and, furthermore, how gamification could be tailored to individual needs. Despite their prominence in classifying users, current typologies and their use in research and practice have received severe criticism regarding validity and reliability, as well as the application and interpretation of their results. Therefore, it is essential to reconsider the relationships and foundations of common user typologies and establish a sound empirical basis to critically discuss their value and limits for personalized gamification. To address this research gap, this study investigated the psychometric properties of the most popular player types within tailored gamification literature (i.e., Bartle’s player types, Yee’s motivations to play, BrainHex, and HEXAD) through a survey study (n=877) using their respective measurement instruments, followed by a correlation analysis to understand their empirical relations and an exploratory factor analysis to identify the underlying factors. The results confirm that user typologies, despite their different origins, show considerable overlap, some being consistent whereas others contradicted theoretically assumed relationships. Furthermore, we show that these four user typologies overall factor into five underlying and fundamental dimensions of Socialization, Escapism, Achievement, Reward Pursuit, and Independence, which could be considered common concepts that may essentially reflect key determinants of user motivation in gamification. Our findings imply that future research and practice in tailored gamification design should shift the focus from developing and applying ever more nuanced typologies to understanding and measuring the key underlying determinants of user motivation in gameful systems. Moreover, given the considerable interrelationships between these determinants, we also argue that researchers should favor continuous representations of users’ motivations in specific situations instead of a dichotomous operationalization of user types as static manifestations of their preferences.
•We empirically analyzed the most common user typologies in gamification research.•Several types from different typologies are related, partly contradicting theory.•The types converge on five factors that could represent vital user motivations.•We discuss implications on the understanding and operationalization of user types.
Males outperform females in mental-rotation for various reasons, e.g. stimuli characteristics. This study tested the hypothesis that girls and boys solve mental-rotation tests with female- or ...respectively male-stereotyped objects faster and more correctly. 116 fourth-graders solved a chronometric mental-rotation test with either female- or male-stereotyped action-based objects as stimulus material and reported their solution strategies and familiarity with handling the objects in real life. Boys reacted faster than girls only in the male-stimuli condition, while gender differences were inversed in the female-stimuli condition. All children were faster with gender-congruent material, probably provoked by gender-schematic processing or stereotype lift effects. Furthermore, analytic solving strategies appeared as efficient as holistic strategies in gender-congruent conditions, while holistic strategies were more advantageous only in gender-incongruent conditions. The congruence of stimulus material and gender best predicted children's reaction time. Practical implications are considered regarding the importance of diverse and gender-equalised material to assess mental-rotation skills.
Gender differences favouring males are often found in mental-rotation tests and are usually smaller in chronometric than in psychometric test. The individual feedback in the chronometric test could ...be an explanation for the comparable performance of males and females. To test this hypothesis, 102 undergraduate students (60 females, 42 males) participated in a chronometric mental-rotation study with or without feedback. A subsample of 41 participants was asked to report their confidence about their performance in the test. In reaction time, males outperformed females and participants in the feedback condition reacted faster than participants without feedback. A significant interaction of gender and condition was found. Only females had an advantage in the feedback condition in reaction time while there was no difference for males. Males reported higher scores of confidence. Feedback seemed to help females especially to react faster. Confidence levels are discussed as reasons for differences between conditions and genders.
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