Learning from Myself: Avatars and Educational Video Games

This research explores which conditions for video game play are more effective in producing outcomes such as knowledge retained, involvement, behavioral intention, enjoyment, and self-efficacy. Additionally, given that identification with a model increases positive learning results and given the history of avatar use showing that people tend to idealize themselves in avatar form, expectations are that an ideal-self avatar would yield the greatest learning outcomes, followed by real-self avatar (both conditions that offer extreme identification), and lastly the third-party avatar. Self-efficacy was higher in the enactive condition. The ideal self condition resulted in the highest levels of involvement and enjoyment of game, learning, and avatar, indicating that the ideal-self avatar may have the stronger relationship with these variables