Aresi Giovanni, Chiavegatti Benedetta, Marta Elena
Psychology Department, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Gemelli 1, 20123, Milano, Italy.
CERISVICO Research Centre on Community Development and Organisational Quality of Life, via Trieste 17, 25121, Brescia, Italy.
J Prev (2022). 2025 Apr;46(2):299-316. doi: 10.1007/s10935-024-00820-z. Epub 2024 Dec 18.
Gamified interventions consist of a combination of game elements designed to motivate and engage users, thus addressing issues of participant low participation and enthusiasm in interventions. Gamification does not work well in all situations and its success depends on the context and target users. However, there is a lack of research on analog health interventions. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected in parallel to examine participants' experiences with Food Game, an analog gamified intervention designed to promote healthier and more sustainable food choices among high school students. Teams of students compete to complete peer-led thematic challenges. Sixty-four students from the 2022/23 edition participated in focus group interviews (N = 11), and 119 completed a survey (56.1% response rate) with indicators of responsiveness and perceived motivational impact of the program's five game elements. Results indicate a relatively high level of engagement with the program. Students valued Food Game because it gave them the opportunity to demonstrate their sense of agency and autonomy and to work in a group with their peers, thus addressing basic needs for competence, relatedness, and autonomy as described by Self-Determination Theory and providing an empowering experience. The least motivating game element in the Food Game was the leaderboard and inter-team competition. Focus group data confirmed students' ambivalence about the competition embedded in the program and pointed to potential unintended consequences, including inter-team conflict, stress, and reduced intrinsic motivation to play. The strengths and weaknesses of Food Game approach to gamification are discussed, along with implications for prevention research and practice.
游戏化干预由一系列旨在激励和吸引用户的游戏元素组合而成，从而解决干预中参与者参与度低和积极性不高的问题。游戏化并非在所有情况下都能发挥良好作用，其成功取决于具体情境和目标用户。然而，目前缺乏关于模拟健康干预的研究。我们同时收集了定性和定量数据，以考察参与者对“食物游戏”的体验，这是一种模拟游戏化干预，旨在促进高中生做出更健康、更具可持续性的食物选择。学生团队相互竞争，以完成同伴主导的主题挑战。来自2022/23版的64名学生参加了焦点小组访谈（N = 11），119名学生完成了一项调查（回复率为56.1%），调查内容包括该项目五个游戏元素的反应性指标和感知激励影响。结果表明，学生对该项目的参与度相对较高。学生们重视“食物游戏”，因为它让他们有机会展示自己的能动性和自主性，并与同龄人一起团队合作，从而满足了自我决定理论所描述的对能力、归属感和自主性的基本需求，并提供了一种赋能体验。“食物游戏”中最缺乏激励作用的游戏元素是排行榜和团队间竞争。焦点小组数据证实了学生们对该项目中竞争的矛盾态度，并指出了潜在的意外后果，包括团队间冲突、压力以及玩游戏的内在动机降低。我们讨论了“食物游戏”这种游戏化方法的优缺点，以及对预防研究和实践的启示。
