The Impact of Game Elements on Learner Motivation: Influence of Initial Motivation and Player Profile
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Several studies have been conducted in recent years into the effects of gamification on learner motivation. However, little is known about how learner profiles affect the impact of specific game elements. This research analyzes the effect of a gamified mathematic learning environment on the motivation and the motivated behaviors of 258 learners in secondary schools in France. Overall, results indicate that randomly assigned game elements generally demotivate learners. A more thorough analysis revealed that gamification has a positive impact on the most amotivated learners to do mathematic, although different effects were observed on learners. In particular, we noticed significant influences of their initial level of motivation and their player type on the variation in motivation during the study. We show that these influences vary according to the game element they used. These findings suggest that to increase efficiency, gamification should be tailored not only to the player profile but also to their level of initial motivation for the learning task.
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Within Self-Determination Theory, most studies found increases in both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, but two studies reported declines in both types, and one found high motivational levels but no significant gains compared with a control group.
“Within the SDT framework, most studies found increases in both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (Khalid & Zainuddin, 2020;Kickmeier-Rust & Niggli, 2023;Ooge et al., 2024;Robinson et al., 2023).However, two studies reported declines in both types of motivation (Reyssier et al., 2022;Vandercruysse et al., 2015), and one found high motivational levels, but no significant gains compared with a”
From Gamification on Mathematics Engagement and Motivation in Secondary School and Higher Education: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2026) · cites this paper as Reyssier et al., 2022
Competitive elements increased amotivation among already motivated learners (Reyssier et al., 2022).
“or competitive elements increased amotivation among already motivated learners (Reyssier et al., 2022).”
From Gamification on Mathematics Engagement and Motivation in Secondary School and Higher Education: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2026) · cites this paper as Reyssier et al., 2022
Overall, the majority of the 45 studies reported positive effects of gamification on motivation and engagement in mathematics; only four studies reported negative effects, relating to intrinsic/extrinsic motivation or engagement.
“Overall, the majority of the 45 studies included in this review reported positive effects of gamification on motivation and engagement in mathematics.Only four studies reported negative effects, relating to intrinsic/extrinsic motivation (Reyssier et al., 2022;Vandercruysse et al., 2015) or engagement (Lee et al., 2023).”
From Gamification on Mathematics Engagement and Motivation in Secondary School and Higher Education: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2026) · cites this paper as Reyssier et al., 2022
Cooperative mechanics appear beneficial, as they foster relatedness while balancing competition.
“Similarly, cooperative mechanics appear beneficial, as they foster relatedness while balancing competition (García-López et al., 2023;Lee et al., 2023;Reyssier et al., 2022;Vandercruysse et al., 2015).”
From Gamification on Mathematics Engagement and Motivation in Secondary School and Higher Education: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2026) · cites this paper as Reyssier et al., 2022
Timer/time pressure can be experienced as challenging/competence by learners with high initial amotivation and extrinsic motivation students.
“| Timer/Time Pressure | Learners with high | Learners high in intrinsic | Lee et al. (2023); |”
From Gamification on Mathematics Engagement and Motivation in Secondary School and Higher Education: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2026) · cites this paper as Reyssier et al. (2022)
Timer/time pressure can be demotivating to learners high in intrinsic motivation, possibly increasing anxiety or undermining autonomy.
“| | initial amotivation; | motivation (may increase | Reyssier et al. |”
From Gamification on Mathematics Engagement and Motivation in Secondary School and Higher Education: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2026) · cites this paper as Reyssier et al. (2022)
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References 53 · Cited by 48
- Authors
- Reyssier, S., Hallifax, S., Serna, A., Marty, J.-C., Simonian, S., & Lavoue, E.
- Affiliations
- University of Lyon, Lyon, France
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Lyon 1 Université (FR)
- Iaelyon School of Management, CNRS, LIRIS, University of Lyon, University Jean Moulin Lyon 3, Lyon, France
- ORCID
- Venue
- IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies
- Published
- 2022-02-01
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 42-54
- ISSN
- 1939-1382 (ISSN-L)
- 2372-0050
- OpenAlex
- W4213427484
- Cited by
- 48
- References
- 53
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 2
- FWCI
- 15.23
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hal.univ-lyon2.fr
- Licence
- Locations
- IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies (publishedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- OpenEdition (OpenEdition) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- OpenEdition (OpenEdition)
- Funders
- LudiMoodle project financed by the e-FRAN Programme dinvestissement davenir
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Educational Games and Gamification
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Games and Media
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Science Applications › Online Learning and Analytics
- Keywords
- gamification, game elements, student motivation, mathematics learning, player profiles, initial motivation, learner types, high school students, motivation maintenance, personalized gamification
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