Analysing gamification effects on students' emotions

• Grant number: 24/22489-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2025
• End date: May 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Computer Science - Computer Systems
• Principal Investigator: Leonardo Tórtoro Pereira
• Grantee: Alexandre Jun Hayasaka
• Host Institution: Instituto de Geociências e Ciências Exatas (IGCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Gamification is defined as the transformation of systems, services, and activities to provide motivational benefits, similar to what games typically achieve. In this way, it can be used in the field of education to obtain these benefits, thereby positively influencing students' learning experience. However, there is a gap in studies that aim to analyze the effects of gamification on students' emotions. To address this gap, this project will analyze the effects of gamification on students' emotions (i.e., fear, disgust, anger, surprise, happiness, and sadness) as part of a partnership with an international project, using data already collected from a gamified educational platform. The experiment that generated the data compared students' emotions in a gamified system with those of students using a version of the system containing the same educational activities but without gamification. To analyze these data, statistical analyses, such as hypothesis testing, visualizations, and machine learning algorithms (i.e., classification and clustering) will be conducted. The aim is to gain insights into the effects of gamification on students' emotions, generating new knowledge on how gamification impacts students' different emotional states. The results of this project will be disseminated through the production of scientific papers presented at international conferences or journals, as well as through workshops and lectures at the university. (AU)