Category: Motivation

A number of contemporary motivational theories were examined in the previous articles in the present  Understanding Motivation in Games  series. The current article will focus on Goal-Orientation Theory and its application in examining motivation in games. Goal-Orientation Theory Goal-orientation theory posits achievement goal orientations influence individuals’ cognitive self-regulation processes toward goal accomplishments (Covington, 2000). Goal orientations are defined as situated orientations or overarching purposes of actions and behaviors. Goal orientations influence interpretation of events, which elicits different cognitive, affective and behavioral consequences. Goal orientations vary across situations and individuals. Two major and contrasting types of achievement goal orientations were identified,…Continue readingUnderstanding Motivation in Games – Goal-Orientation Theory

Attribution Theory, Self-Efficacy Theory and Expectancy-Value Theory were examined in the previous articles in this Understanding Motivation in Games series. The current article will focus on Self-Determination Theory and its empirical applications. Self-Determination Theory Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000) investigates social-contextual factors and conditions that sustain and foster self-motivation to facilitate human’s inherent growth tendencies and psychological well-being. Self-Determination Theory hypothesizes three innate psychological needs, the needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness are essential in determining the effectiveness of human functioning and development, and psychological health. Competence refers to the experience of mastery through completing challenges and achieving desired…Continue readingUnderstanding Motivation in Games – Self-Determination Theory

Attribution Theory and Self-Efficacy Theory were examined in the previous articles in this Understanding Motivation in Games series. The current article will focus on Expectancy-Value Theory and how it applies in game research. Expectancy-Value Theory Expectancy-Value Theory of motivation (Wigfield & Eccles, 2000) is derived from Atkinson’s (1964) expectancy-value model, where individual’s ability beliefs, expectancies for success and subjective task values are crucial in determining individual’s choices, effort, persistence, and performance. Ability beliefs are defined as individuals’ perception of current competence in a given domain. Expectancies for success are defined as individuals’ perception of success on future tasks. Expectancies for…Continue readingUnderstanding Motivation in Games – Expectancy-Value Theory

Attribution Theory was examined in the previous article in this Understanding Motivation in Games series. The current article will focus on Self-Efficacy Theory and its application in game research. Self-Efficacy Theory Self-Efficacy Theory (Bandura, 1977) hypothesizes individuals expectations of personal efficacy influences their choices of activities and settings, amount of effort to be invested and level of persistence in the activities. Expectations of efficacy can be distinguished between outcome expectations and efficacy expectations. Outcome expectations are individual’s beliefs of certain behaviors which will lead to expected outcomes, whereas efficacy expectations are beliefs that an individual’s ability to execute certain actions…Continue readingUnderstanding Motivation in Games – Self-Efficacy Theory

This the first article of the Understanding Motivation in Games series. The current article will focus on Attribution Theory. Attribution Theory Attribution Theory (Weiner, 1985) posits that individuals have innate needs to understand and strive for mastery. The process of attribution allows individuals to establish and understand the causal relationships between causes and event outcomes (successes and failures), which influences and guides their subsequent actions to achieve the desired outcomes. According to Attribution Theory, ability, effort, task difficulty and luck are identified as four essential causes for successes and failures. These attributions are further divided into three causal dimensions, locus…Continue readingUnderstanding Motivation in Games – Attribution Theory

Understanding Motivation in Games series focuses on investigating and understanding game motivation from the perspectives of various contemporary motivational theories. Game researchers seek to examine and explain the appeal and reasons for playing games by applying motivational theories to understand player experience and motivation in games. Contemporary motivational theories such as attribution theory, self-efficacy theory, expectancy-value theory, interest theory, goal-orientation theory and self-determination theory provide a theory-grounded approach for investigating the motivational affordance of games. Each of these contemporary theories will be examined individually. 1. Attribution Theory 2. Self-Efficacy Theory 3. Expectancy-Value Theory 4. Interest Theory 5. Goal-Orientation Theory 6.…Continue readingUnderstanding Motivation in Games