1 Department of Kinesiology, Michigan State University , East Lansing, Michigan.
2 Department of Psychology, University of Kent , Canterbury, England.
Games Health J. 2018 Aug;7(4):240-245. doi: 10.1089/g4h.2017.0122. Epub 2018 Jun 29.
We examined how competing with a software-generated partner (SGP) against another human/virtual partner team, in an exercise video game (exergame), affects individual motivation as measured by effort.
Participants (n = 90; 49 female; Mage = 19.93 ± 1.48) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: individual control (IC); conjunctive partner, no competition (PNC); or conjunctive partner, with competition (PWC). Participants performed the first series of exercises alone. After resting, those in the partnered conditions performed the remaining trials with a same-sex SGP. Those in the PWC condition were told that they and their virtual partner would be competing against another human-virtual partner team.
A significant motivation gain was observed in both partnered conditions compared to control (P < 0.001), but the partnered groups did not differ significantly. However, participants in the PWC condition enjoyed the task significantly (P < 0.05) more than those in the PNC and IC conditions and the PWC participants identified more with the SGP as a teammate than the PNC participants.
Altogether, intergroup competition with an SGP may be an enjoyable way to enhance motivation and performance while exercising.
我们研究了在运动视频游戏（健身游戏）中与软件生成的伙伴（SGP）竞争对抗另一个人类/虚拟伙伴团队如何影响个体动机，用努力程度来衡量。
参与者（n=90；49 名女性；平均年龄=19.93±1.48 岁）被随机分配到以下三个条件之一：个体控制（IC）；无竞争的联合伙伴（PNC）；或有竞争的联合伙伴（PWC）。参与者先单独完成第一系列练习。休息后，处于伙伴关系条件下的参与者与同性别的 SGP 一起完成其余的试验。在 PWC 条件下，参与者被告知他们和他们的虚拟伙伴将与另一个人类-虚拟伙伴团队竞争。
与对照组相比，两个伙伴条件下的动机都显著提高（P<0.001），但伙伴组之间没有显著差异。然而，与 PNC 和 IC 条件相比，PWC 条件下的参与者明显更喜欢任务（P<0.05），并且 PWC 参与者比 PNC 参与者更认同 SGP 是他们的团队伙伴。
总的来说，与 SGP 的团体竞争可能是一种愉快的方式，可以在锻炼时提高动机和表现。
