Performance Effects of Immersion Game Elements

We randomly assign participants to four experimental conditions: 1) ranking only, 2) immersion only, 3) ranking and immersion, 4) control.

1) In the ranking only condition, before the start of the experiment, participants will be made aware that the number of decoded letters each participant reports, will be displayed in a public ranking at the end of each round. After each round, participants will be asked to report the number of decoded letters to the instructor. The instructor will then display a sorted public ranking on a large screen with the ranking position, name, and score of each participant.
2) In the immersion only condition, before the start of the experiment, participants will select an avatar from 40 pre-configured portrait busts. The avatar of each participant will then be prominently visible for the respective participant during the entire experiment. Also before the start of the experiment, participants will receive a text with a narrative and complementary pictures to frame the task in the experiment. During the break, participants will be asked to note the number of decoded letters in a table next to their avatar. The table will not be visible to other participants. Also during the breaks, participants will receive short texts with complementary pictures that continue the narrative.
3) In the ranking and immersion condition, participants will select their avatars, receive the narrative and their performance will be displayed in the public ranking. Contrary to the immersion only condition, participants’ avatars will also be displayed next to their score and name on the public ranking.
4) In the control condition no ranking and no immersion game elements will be used. During the break, participants will be asked to note the number of decoded letters in a table on their desk.
To ensure comparability, the duration of the introduction and breaks will be kept constant across conditions.

2025-02-15

2025-04-25

Reported performance

Reported performance = the number of decoded letters the participants report

Identification with the avatar, degree of immersion, enjoyment, trait competitiveness, personality traits, perceived effort, gaming frequency and type, demographics

Identification with the avatar, i.e. extend the participants identify with their avatar
Degree of immersion, i.e. how much the participants feel immersed in the experience of the experiment
Enjoyment, i.e. how much the participants enjoy the task and the experiment
Trait competitiveness, i.e. the degree to which participants are driven by their relative social status (interpersonal competitiveness) versus mastering the task (goal competitiveness)
Personality traits, i.e. consistent patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that distinguish individuals (big five personality traits)
Perceived effort, i.e. participants’ perception of how much effort they put into the task
Gaming frequency and type, i.e. how much participants play video games (currently and in their teens) and what types (action, sports, ...)
Demographics, i.e. education, gender, age, work experience

Our experiment uses a 2x2 between-subjects design.

Our experiment uses a 2x2 between-subjects design. We complete the experiment in separate sessions in groups of 8. Each session will last roughly 45 minutes. Participants are randomly assigned to one of four conditions, based on the session they attend.

Participants privately perform a task in individual cubicles. The task involves 8 rounds of decoding numbers into letters using a decoding grid, with each round lasting 2 minutes followed by a 2 minute break.

After the task, participants complete a questionnaire.

Participants are randomly assigned to one of four conditions, based on the session they attend.
The sessions were randomly assigned to the four conditions before the start of the first trial using a computer.

experimental sessions (groups of 8)

Yes

24 experimental sessions

192 participants

48 participants per experimental condition