Internal motivation in Gamification : An intervention study in an exercise context

In this paper Gamification have been explored in the context of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations through an empirical intervention study. Gamification have got the criticism that it does not aim itself towards people’s intrinsic motivation and instead focus on external motivators that doesn’t mean anything to the user. This paper aims to try that out by answering the question, how can a more personalized and internally motivating approach influence people’s engagement in a Gamification process? To do this, two groups of five were formed and everyone got a Fitbit (step counter) to wear for thirty days. One of the groups got a personalized gamification process aimed at reaching a more internal motivation. The study concluded in tendencies toward more engagement and a more positive attitude towards the process with successful participants leaning on their own internal motivators. This study has further demonstrated the need for further research in this area