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Difficulty and self-efficacy: an exploratory study
Date
2020
Abstract
Serious games are becoming increasingly popular due to their association with increased learning outcomes when compared to traditional selfâregulated learning activities. However, the majority of research examining the outcomes of serious games has focused almost exclusively on learning outcomes. This has resulted in a lack of research examining why these types of games result in increased positive outcomes, such as engagement or performance. This study seeks to address this gap in existing research by examining the relationship between game difficulty and participantsâ engagement, performance and selfâefficacy in a Pacman style maze navigation game. This required the use of hidden difficulty variations which participants were randomly assigned. Participants engaged with the game over a 5âdays practice period. Results from this study suggest that difficulty plays a considerable role in influencing participantsâ selfâefficacy for the task. Selfâefficacy has been consistently linked to positive outcomes such as increased engagement and performance. This highlights the importance of difficulty as a game design factor as well as providing an insight into the manner in which serious games could be further refined in order to increase userâs selfâefficacy and associated positive outcomes. Implications for future serious games and selfâefficacy research are discussed.
Supervisor
Description
peer-reviewed
Publisher
Taylor & Francis - Routledge
Citation
British Journal of Educational Technology;51 (1), pp 281-296
Collections
Files
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McGarr_2020_Difficulty.pdf
Adobe PDF, 1.2 MB
Funding code
Funding Information
Sustainable Development Goals
External Link
Type
Article
Rights
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/