[RESEARCH PAPER] The Adoption of Students' Hedonic Motivation System Model to Gamified Learning Environment

Abstract:

The acceptance of gamified learning environment is rapidly becoming inevitable in educational learning environment. This gives a widespread popularity by deploying Gamification in to present day curriculum as part of a new educational technology tool. This study addresses perception and usage of gamified learning environment from hedonic motivation perspective through incorporating the Hedonic-Motivation System Adoption Model to Gamified Learning Environment. In this study, a model was developed and tested using a Structure Equation Modeling technique. The results show that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, enjoyment and control all have a significant positive relationship with behavioral intention of use and focused immersion which indicates that the acceptance of Gamified Learning Environment could serve as a new educational tool to expedite the improvement of pedagogical and instructional technology. Also, increases students' motivation and engagement in learning. On the contrary, we also found a negative relationship exists between enjoyment and focused Immersion. Possible research on the effect of enjoyment on focused immersion in gamification could be another area of ​​concentration. In this study, apart from the introduction, the literature explains the adoption of the gamified learning environment and the hedonic motivation model at the end, the analysis and interpretation of our methodology were discussed.

https://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0718-18762019000300109&script=sci_arttext

Keywords:  Educational technology; Gamified learning environment; Gamification; Hedonic motivation; Motivation; Learning outcomes

Summary of the Paper

The paper, The Adoption of Students’ Hedonic Motivation System Model to Gamified Learning Environment, explores the integration of the Hedonic-Motivation System Adoption Model (HMSAM) into Gamified Learning Environments (GLEs). The study assesses students' behavioral intention and immersion when using a gamified educational tool, specifically the Gametize platform, for learning.

The key findings include:

• Perceived usefulness, ease of use, joy, and control positively influence students' behavioral intention and focused immersion in a GLE.
• Curiosity had a negative impact on focused immersion, which was an unexpected finding.
• The study confirmed that gamification increases engagement, motivation, and effectiveness in education.
• The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is insufficient for evaluating gamified learning, making HMSAM a better fit for assessing hedonic motivations (joy, curiosity, and control).
• Gametize was used as the gamification platform, providing interactive challenges, quizzes, storytelling, and competition through leaderboards, points, and badges.

The research was conducted using 150 undergraduate students at Cyprus International University over a five-week gamification training program. Afterward, students answered a questionnaire based on HMSAM constructs.

Effectiveness of Gametize

The study demonstrated that Gametize is an effective tool for gamified learning:

1. User-Friendly – Students found Gametize easy to use, supporting positive behavioral intention.
2. Engaging & Enjoyable – Students reported high levels of enjoyment and motivation, indicating that gamification enhances learning experiences.
3. Encourages Competition & Collaboration – Through leaderboards, points, and rewards, students engaged more deeply.
4. Improves Learning Outcomes – Students acknowledged that Gametize enhanced their learning, effectiveness, and productivity.
5. Some Limitations – Curiosity negatively impacted immersion, possibly because some students felt overwhelmed or disengaged from the gamified process.

Conclusion

The study confirms that gamification, especially through platforms like Gametize, effectively enhances student engagement, motivation, and learning outcomes. However, further research is needed to explore the role of curiosity in immersion and long-term impacts of gamification in education​