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Running Head: SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY ON GAMING MOTIVATION 1

Research Article Critique 2

Melissa Zajicek

RIT

Graduate Writing Strategies

Dr. Poteat

October 6th, 2013

SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY ON GAMING MOTIVATION 2

Summary

When looking for research on gamification or video games in general, the majority of the

literature available focuses on the negative effects of video games. Ryan, Rigby, & Przybylski

(2006) study the positive side of video games, focusing on what motivates individuals in video

games and the psychological factors of motivation in video games. The authors use the self-

determination theory as their theoretical lens in video game motivation, which is a common

theory that appears among many scholarly articles discussing motivation and gaming.

Ryan, Rigby, & Przybylski (2006) discuss different types of players, and the different

psychological needs these players are trying to satisfy through gaming. Killers, achievers,

socializers, and explorers are all types of players looking for very different things in video

games, and are motivated to play games differently. Video games need to appeal to all of these

players to be successful. The cognitive evaluation theory (a theory of the self-determination

theory) helps to explain different psychological factors for how players become intrinsically

motivated through playing a game which are autonomy, competence, presence, and intuitive

controls. The authors hypothesize that both in-game autonomy and in-game competence would

be associated with a) heightened feelings of presence and the sense that controls are intuitive;

and b) greater enjoyment and preference for future play (Ryan, Rigby, & Przybylski, 2006,

p.352).

The authors did four studies in a linear fashion. The fourth study was unique since it

analyzed a different sample, a different type of game, and some different factors. Psychological

results were concluded by the end of the study and the hypothesis was supported, but many more

factors appeared to motivate game-players than the researchers had originally predicted (Ryan,

Rigby, & Przybylski, 2006).


Analysis

Ryan, Rigby, & Przybylski (2006) clearly stated the theories used in their research. They

used self-determination theory as their theoretical lens, and used cognitive evaluation theory and

basic psychological theory to further explain their results. They also state their purpose in the

introduction as two pieces: 1) how well self-determination theory applies to motivation in

gaming, and 2) to investigate short-term effects on psychological well-being and the basic

psychological needs gaming satisfies (Ryan, Rigby, & Przybylski, 2006, p.348). The authors also

clearly explain what their hypothesis is for the entire study, as well as their predictions for each

individual study.

There are four different quantitative studies done to identify what motivates individuals

to play video games. The first three studies focus on college undergraduates with a sample

approximately 70 students (the number varies slightly between studies), who are offered a course

credit to participate in the study. The students play different games and fill out a survey before

and after playing which measure the players competence, autonomy, presence, intuitive

controls, subjective vitality, self-esteem, mood, game enjoyment, continued play behavior, and

preference for future play. The data is collected and analyzed from these surveys (Ryan, Rigby,

& Przybylski, 2006).

There are some possible biases in these studies such as that the individuals being tested

may or may not have had prior experience with these games which would affect the outcome of

the data, and these individuals were all in a laboratory setting. Therefore, to remove bias, Ryan,

Rigby, & Przybylski (2006) decided to study an online community of 730 individuals to measure

the motivational factors of massive-multiplayer online environments (MMOs). The hypothesis

for this study was that in addition to in-game feelings of autonomy and competence, motivation


to play MMOs would be associated with relatedness (Ryan, Rigby, & Przybylski, 2006, p.

358). The results for the first three studies seemed to support the hypothesis, though there were

more factors than originally predicted to support the hypothesis. The fourth study presented the

idea that relatedness was a motivating factor; however the motivation depended on the context

and was influenced by many other factors other than relatedness (Ryan, Rigby, & Przybylski,

2006).

The common themes of the studies were that females had a harder time with the interface

of the games than males did, intuitive controls caused more game enjoyment, and that video

games satisfied psychological needs (though these needs were different for different individuals).

Though the data was incredibly in-depth and the researchers presented all of their information

clearly, there are still some troublesome aspects to the article. Ryan, Rigby, & Przybylski (2006)

note that their studies are not sufficient to explain motivational factors and psychological needs

due to biases and factors that were not taken into account, and future studies should be done that

focus on other factors such as using players with no past gaming experience and individuals who

do have prior video game experience. The sample for the first three studies all consist of

voluntary involvement and self-selected gameplay, which assumes the sample is not unbiased or

randomly selected. Also, the games selected to test might bias the results, since every game is

different, the games studied here alone would not be sufficient to explain motivational factors for

all types of games. The researchers also acknowledge that different games may fulfill different

psychological needs. The studies in the article only study the well-being of individuals in the

short term, as opposed the common research of individuals well-being in the long-term (Ryan,

Rigby, & Przybylski, 2006).

Reflection


I chose this article because I am going to be studying motivation in gamification on

young adults (generation Y in particular). This article uses the self-determination theory which I

will be using as my theoretical lens, and focuses on the motivational side of video games instead

of the negative effects. Ryan, Rigby, & Przybylski (2006) explained each individual

psychological factor and how it related to their hypothesis which helped me decide what I

needed and didnt need from the study. The researchers found important information that I would

use to guide my research such as that the interface and controls of a video game has implications

on motivation, mood, and self-esteem. Since the product I hope to create would affect both

people who play games and those who do not play games, this article helped to understand the

problems that those who do not play games face, and how they are or are not motivated by them.

The key findings are very relevant to me and show things I previously hadnt thought

about. This article would defiantly need other studies to back up the research since there were

quite a bit of factors that were not taken into consideration, but the article gives me ideas on what

to look for next and what types of research I should be looking into for my own research and

literature review. Studies that take individual preferences into consideration and studies of game-

players who did not have previous experience with these games would be valuable to look into to

support this article or prove it wrong. I also would like to look at studies of motivation in

gameplay that is more relevant to the game I would like to help create, since most of the games

in this study are very different. However, what drew me to this article was study 4 on the

multiplayer environment which was very helpful and insightful. This article set me on a path of

what I should be looking for next as well as explored and defined the theoretical lens I plan to

use in my research and how it relates to my topic.


References

Ryan, R. M., Rigby, C. S., & Przybylski, A. (2006). The motivational pull of video games: A

self-determination theory approach. Motivation and Emotion, 30(4), 344-360. doi:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11031-006-9051-8

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