The Motivational Pull of Video Games: A Self-Determination Theory

Motiv Emot

DOI 10.1007/s11031-006-9051-8

ORIGINAL PAPER

The Motivational Pull of Video Games: A Self-Determination

Theory Approach

Richard M. Ryan · C. Scott Rigby · Andrew Przybylski



Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2006

Abstract Four studies apply self-determination theory

(SDT; Ryan & Deci, 2000) in investigating motivation for

computer game play, and the effects of game play on well-

being. Studies 1–3 examine individuals playing 1, 2 and 4

games, respectively and show that perceived in-game auton-

omy and competence are associated with game enjoyment,

preferences, and changes in well-being pre- to post-play.

Competence and autonomy perceptions are also related to the

intuitive nature of game controls, and the sense of presence

or immersion in participants’ game play experiences. Study

4 surveys an on-line community with experience in multi-

player games. Results show that SDT’s theorized needs for

autonomy, competence, and relatedness independently pre-

dict enjoyment and future game play. The SDT model is

also compared with Yee’s (2005) motivation taxonomy of

game play motivations. Results are discussed in terms of the

relatively unexplored landscape of human motivation within

virtual worlds.

Keywords Computer games

Motivation

Self-determination theory

Over the last decade, technology has made possible increas-

ingly sophisticated simulated environments and the ability

to use these environments for entertainment, education, and

social interaction. The exponential increase in computing

R. M. Ryan (



) · A. Przybylski

Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology,

University of Rochester,

355 Meliora Hall, Rochester, NY 14627-0266, USA

e-mail: [email protected].edu

C. S. Rigby

Immersyve Inc.,

Celebration, FL, USA

power, coupled with the integration of the Internet into main-

stream society, has given birth to numerous gaming environ-

ments and “virtual worlds,” that are increasingly complex,

immersive, engaging, and enabling of a wide range of activ-

ities, goals, and social behavior.

Of particular relevance to the research we present in

this article are those computer environments associated with

gaming. Participation in video games has become the fastest

growing form of human recreation. Attesting to this, an-

nual revenues from video games have surpassed those of

Hollywood (Yi, 2004), making them the world’s largest en-

tertainment medium. Moreover, participation in gaming is

commonplace across a variety of demographic groups, cap-

turing an ever-increasing proportion of both youth and adult

leisure time. Whether they take the form of traditional video

games, online communities, or “massively multiplayer on-

line” (MMO) adventures, computer games comprise a large

and growing share of people’s time and energy.

This increased participation in games is not, however, oc-

curring without controversy (Kirsch, 2006). Some scholars

have argued that participation in computer games may fos-

ter a number of negative effects, including increased ten-

dencies toward violence, lower psychological and physi-

cal well-being, lower achievement and productivity, and

more impoverished personal and familial relationships (e.g.,

Anderson & Bushman, 2001; Healy, 1990; Gentile &

Anderson, 2003; Setzer & Duckett, 2000). In contrast, other

scholars have argued that psychological beneﬁts can be de-

rived from game experiences, including a sense of efﬁcacy

and power over one’s environment (e.g., Jones, 2002), as well

as improvements in learning (Gee, 2003; Johnson, 2005).

Given the variety and complexity of computer game activi-

ties, it seems evident that games have the potential to yield

both psychological harms and beneﬁts to players.

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Motiv Emot

Regardless of such debates, it is clear that gaming envi-

ronments have tremendous appeal, and players are highly

motivated to engage in them. Outside of laboratory settings,

involvement in gaming environments is largely voluntary,

and as game developer Bartle (2004) points out, “the play-

ers must expect to get something out of their experience”

(p. 128). It would thus seem that, whatever the concerns of

critics, players themselves ﬁnd games gratifying and plea-

surable. Interestingly, although several scholars have dis-

cussed the motivational “pull” of video games, few formal

theories of motivation have been applied to games, the mo-

tivations of players, and the well-being outcomes of play.

Yet, as emerging games are increasingly providing deeper

and more long-lasting experiences for players, their poten-

tial for psychological impact is increasing proportionately.

This has prompted game developers themselves to opine that

game designs “need(s) to integrate more variables ... such

as human psychology” (Koster, 2005).

Our purpose in the current article is twofold. First, we

investigate the question of how well an existing theory

of human motivation, namely self-determination theory

(SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2000b) applies

to and accounts for player motivation in gaming contexts.

Secondly, we investigate the short-term impact of game

play on psychological well being, as a function of the basic

psychological needs we presume games satisfy. More specif-

ically, we hypothesize that games are primarily motivating

to the extent that players experience autonomy, competence

and relatedness while playing. Need satisfactions should

thus predict subsequent motivation to play, whereas need

frustration should predict a lack of persistence. We further

hypothesize that any short-term well-being players may

experience within these virtual worlds will be a function

of these need-related experiences. Finally we look at other

motives that have been used to account for game play, and

the outcomes they predict.

To explicate these hypotheses and introduce this program-

matic research we begin with a brief introduction to the sur-

prisingly scant literature on gaming motivation, and a brief

review of the SDT framework that we will apply to an anal-

ysis of varied gaming environments. We then present four

studies examining properties of gaming environments and

their associations with psychological need satisfactions and

short-term well-being outcomes that, for some players, result

from participation. In our view it is these immediate psycho-

logical satisfactions that provide the proximal psychological

determinants of game play, and perhaps point to a more dif-

ferentiated understanding of what makes games “fun.”

Gaming motivation

As we noted above, the thrust of psychological research on

computer gaming has focused on its potential ill effects, es-

pecially the potential impact of games on human aggression.

Yet to date there has been little basic research on game mo-

tivation per se, and those theories that do exist have largely

been launched from outside the mainstream empirical liter-

ature, instead based, perhaps appropriately, on the ideas of

game developers and advocates.

Several writers have speciﬁcally looked at multiplayer

games and approached the question of motivation by clas-

sifying patterns of player behavior. Bartle, a pioneer devel-

oper of multiplayer computer games, proposed a widely-

discussed typology of player types in his paper Hearts,

Clubs, Diamonds, Spades: Players Who Suit MUDs (1996),

which he revisited in his more recent book Designing Virtual

Worlds (2004). Originally, Bartle extrapolated from discus-

sions amongst experienced players, postulating that players

are of four types: Killers, Achievers, Socializers and Explor-

ers. He subsequently placed these player types into each of

four quadrants deﬁned by twodimensions of player behavior:

(a) acting (on) versus interacting (with) the game elements,

and (b) focusing on other players versus the virtual world

itself in one’s actions. Thus: Killers wish to act on (i.e. kill)

players; Socializers wish to interact with players; Achievers

wish to act on (i.e. achieve within) the virtual world; and

Explorers wish to interact with (i.e. explore and manipulate)

the virtual world. Bartle (1996, 2004) theorizes that highly

commercially successful games must provide gratiﬁcations

for all four player types.

Building on Bartle’s theoretical model of player types,

Yee (2005; in press) has presented several studies of play-

ers’ behavior, focusing on Massively Multiplayer Online

(MMO) games, which involve multiple players interacting

within a virtual environment through their on-line characters

or avatars

. Most recently, Yee (in press) sought to identify

different player motivations via factor analysis. He identiﬁed

three overarching, non-exclusive, motives. Players focused

on achievement seek game mastery, competition and gaining

power within the game. Social players want to interact with

others and develop in-game relationships. Immersion players

desire to escape real life problems, engage in role-play and

“be part of the story.” Yee’s work is among the ﬁrst to bring

a statistical methodology to the exploration of how players

may differentially value virtual worlds.

As a starting point for empirical work on player mo-

tivation, both Bartle and Yee have provided a descriptive

foundation that highlights varied goals players may have in

gaming contexts. Nonetheless, in a conceptual paper on mo-

tivation in virtual environments that supplied the inspiration

for our current research program, Rigby (2004) suggested

that, as largely individual difference frameworks, these cate-

gories or typologies largely reﬂect the structure and content

of current games, rather than the fundamental or underlying

motives and satisfactions that can spark and sustain partici-

pation across all potential players and game types. As we are

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Motiv Emot

merely in the beginning stages of virtual world designs, new

kinds of behavior and player types will undoubtedly emerge

that correspond to newly designed opportunities. By contrast,

Rigby argued that a true theory of motivation should not fo-

cus on behavioral classiﬁcation constrained by the structure

of a particular games, but instead address the factors asso-

ciated with enjoyment and persistence across players and

genres, and how games that differ in controllability, struc-

ture, and content might appeal to basic human motivational

propensities and psychological needs.

Following that suggestion, our intent in this set of studies

is both to articulate and empirically test a theory-grounded

approach to gaming involvement, based on the idea that

players of all types seek to satisfy psychological needs in

the context of play. To do so we employ a new measure of

need satisfaction in play, the Player Experience of Need Sat-

isfaction (PENS), elaborated from self-determination the-

ory (SDT), a widely researched theory of motivation that

addresses both intrinsic and extrinsic motives for acting,

and the relation of motivation to growth and well-being

(Deci & Ryan, 1985; 2000). SDT seems particularly apt

for investigating gaming motivation as the theory has been

applied to other recreational contexts such as sport (e.g.

Frederick & Ryan, 1995; Hagger, Chatzisarantis,

Culverhouse, & Biddle, 2003) and puzzle play (Deci, 1975),

as well as studies of how any activity relates to well-being as

a function of psychological need satisfactions (e.g. Ryan &

Deci, 2001). Moreover, SDT can be used to investigate both

the player’s motivation to play a game, as well as factors

that may motivate the player’s character, or avatar, who acts

within the game. That is, SDT has speciﬁc hypotheses that

can be applied both at the level of the player making choices

between gaming products, and the motivation of a player

while “in character” within a particular gaming context.

Self-determination theory

Self-determination theory addresses factors that either facil-

itate or undermine motivation, both intrinsic and extrinsic.

In its early development the focus of SDT was on intrinsic

motivation, or motivation based in the inherent satisfactions

derived from action (Ryan & Deci, 2000a). According to

SDT, intrinsic motivation is the core type of motivation un-

derlying play and sport (Frederick & Ryan, 1993, 1995),

and clearly it is a type of motivation relevant to computer

game participation for which, like sport, most players do not

derive extra-game rewards or approval. Indeed, most com-

puter game players pay to be involved, and some even face

disapproval for participating. Thus we suggest that people

typically play these games because they are intrinsically sat-

isfying (Malone & Lepper, 1987) or, as Bartle (2004) puts it,

because they are seeking “fun.”

Autonomy and competence

One mini-theory of SDT, cognitive evaluation theory (CET;

Deci & Ryan, 1980; 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2000a), is speciﬁ-

cally concerned with contextual factors that support or thwart

intrinsic motivation. CET proposes that events and condi-

tions that enhance a person’s sense of autonomy and com-

petence support intrinsic motivation, whereas factors that

diminish perceived autonomy or competence undermine in-

trinsic motivation.

Autonomy within SDT concerns a sense of volition or

willingness when doing a task (Deci & Ryan, 1980; 2000).

When activities are done for interest or personal value, per-

ceived autonomy is high. Provisions for choice, use of re-

wards as informational feedback (rather than to control be-

havior), and non-controlling instructions have all been shown

to enhance autonomy and, in turn, intrinsic motivation. Con-

versely, events or conditions that diminish a sense of choice,

control or freedom for either the means or ends of action in-

terfere with perceived autonomy, and can undermine intrinsic

motivation (Deci, Koestner, & Ryan, 1999). That is, when

one feels controlled either in pursuing an activity or in how

one accomplishes it, one’s sense of autonomy is diminished

and subsequent motivation wanes.

Because participation in games outside experimental set-

tings is nearly always voluntary (Bartle, 2004), player auton-

omy for play would typically be high. Nonetheless, people’s

willingness to play any particular game will vary as a func-

tion of its personal appeal, design and content. Game designs

also differ in the autonomy afforded within the game, such

as the degree of choice one has over the sequence of actions,

or the tasks and goals undertaken. Speciﬁcally, we expect

autonomy to be enhanced by game designs that provide con-

siderable ﬂexibility over movement and strategies, choice

over tasks and goals, and those where rewards are structured

so as to provide feedback rather than to control the player’s

behavior. In the gaming industry, this is reﬂected in the more

recent movement towards a “procedural” structure, which

is championed by a leading game developer, Will Wright,

and is deﬁned by a game’s ability to respond dynamically to

an individual’s choices without constraining or anticipating

them.

A second psychological need discussed within CET is

that for competence, a need for challenge and feelings of

effectance (White, 1959; Deci, 1975). CET proposes that

factors that enhance the experience of competence, such as

opportunities to acquire new skills or abilities, to be op-

timally challenged, or to receive positive feedback enhance

perceived competence, and, in turn, intrinsic motivation. Per-

ceived competence would thus be enhanced in gaming con-

texts where game controls are intuitive and readily mastered,

and tasks within the game provide ongoing optimal chal-

lenges and opportunities for positive feedback. Indeed, we

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hypothesize that perceived competence is among the most

important satisfactions provided by games, as they repre-

sent arenas in which a person can feel accomplishment and

control.

CET has been tested in well over a hundred experimental

studies (see, e.g., Deci et al., 1999), and it has been applied

to domains such as school and sport (Ryan & Brown, 2005;

Vallerand & Reid, 1984). In the contexts of computer games,

we similarly expect variables associated with autonomy and

competence to inﬂuence motivation for game play and its

effects, and have developed subscales speciﬁc to gaming

based upon CET as part of our PENS measures.

Presence

In addition to autonomy and competence factors we believe

intrinsic motivation in gaming contexts is associated with

presence (Lombard & Ditton, 1997; Rigby, 2004), or the

sense that one is within the game world, as opposed to ex-

periencing oneself as a person outside the game, manipulat-

ing controls or characters. Concepts of presence are widely

discussed by game designers, who attempt to make the ex-

perience of virtual worlds feel real and authentic, both by

creating a compelling story line and graphic environment,

and by making controls as “intuitive” or user-friendly as

possible. Accordingly, Lombard and Ditton (2000) deﬁned

presence as the illusion of non-mediation, meaning that a

person perceives and responds to the content of a particu-

lar medium as if the medium were not there. Lombard and

Ditton related the experience of presence to Csikszentmiha-

lyi’s (1990) concept of ﬂow, an experience that is associated

with intrinsic motivation, but as Rigby (2004) noted, they

stopped short of specifying either the psychological com-

ponents or facilitators of presence. In the present studies

we develop an assessment of presence, and we expect pres-

ence to be fostered by perceived autonomy and competence,

and the nature of computer controls that mediate in-game

activities.

Intuitive controls

Another variable of interest to us in assessing need satisfac-

tion in game play is the degree to which game controls are

“intuitive;” that is, whether they make sense, are easily mas-

tered, and do not interfere with once sense of being in the

game. We thus develop a measure of intuitive controls (IC)

as a subscale of the PENS that assesses the interface between

the player and the action taking place within the game. Intu-

itive controls can contribute to game motivation because they

are associated with a greater sense of freedom and control,

and they enhance a sense of competence. Therefore, insofar

as IC predicts motivational outcomes of games we expect it

to be mediated by perceived autonomy and competence.

Gaming and well-being: The impact of basic psychological

need satisfaction

Beyond predicting motivation and persistence, SDT ad-

dresses factors associated with the enhancement of well-

being. Speciﬁcally, another mini-theory within SDT, basic

psychological need theory (BPN; Deci & Ryan, 2000; Ryan,

1995), speciﬁes that the impact of any activity on well-being

is a function of the person’s experience of need satisfac-

tion. SDT further argues that there are three primary or basic

needs underlying psychological wellness, namely autonomy,

competence, and relatedness. Put differently, to the extent

any activity affords experiences of volition, effectiveness,

and social connection, it should yield enhancements in well-

being. It is our contention that the psychological “pull” of

games is largely due to their capacity to engender feelings

of autonomy, competence and relatedness, and that to the

extent they do so they not only motivate further play, but

also can be experienced as enhancing psychological well-

ness (e.g., subjective vitality, self-esteem, positive affect), at

least short-term.

We previously described factors that conduce to the satis-

faction of needs for autonomy and competence during game

experiences. Within SDT, however, relatedness represents a

third psychological need that enhances motivation and well-

ness. Relatedness is experienced when a person feels con-

nected with others (La Guardia, Ryan, Couchman, & Deci,

2000; Ryan & Deci, 2001). Although we are intrigued by how

needs for relatedness may be met by “computer generated”

personalities and artiﬁcial intelligence, within today’s gam-

ing environments it is particularly within multiplayer games,

which allow for interactions between real players, that we

expect feelings of relatedness to be relevant. In study 4, we

therefore look at the extent to which games allow for social

interaction can produce feelings of relatedness, and the mo-

tivational and well-being enhancements associated with it.

Summary and overview

Video games provide virtual environments in which oppor-

tunities for action are manifold. The growth of participation

in these environments suggests that they can be highly mo-

tivating, though little empirical research has explained this

phenomenon, or accounted for why some games are more

popular than others. In the current studies, we apply a newly

developed measure of need satisfaction in play based upon

SDT (and particularly the mini-theories of CET and BPN) to

the understanding of gaming motivation, both in general and

comparatively across different gaming contexts. We specif-

ically predict that game features that conduce to increased

perceptions of autonomy, competence, and relatedness en-

hance motivation to play. Moreover, the experience of these

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psychological need satisfactions is expected, in turn, to be

associated with feelings of presence while playing, and short-

term changes in well-being.

We present four studies concerning these hypotheses. In

study 1, using a simple “platform” computer game (a game

involving jumping to and from suspended platforms), we

apply CET to examine how experiences of autonomy and

competence predict game experience and subsequent moti-

vation to play. Study 2 supplies a comparative test of two

games, speciﬁcally chosen because of their presumed differ-

ences in popularity, to show how SDT-based variables can

account for differential preferences. Study 3 uses multilevel

modeling to look at between- and within-person variation in

psychological need satisfaction in accounting for game pref-

erences and motivation across four distinct games. Finally,

study 4 surveys an on-line community of MMO game play-

ers concerning motivational factors, including relatedness, as

they relate to persistence. We conclude with a discussion of

future directions for the study of gaming and of involvement

in virtual worlds.

Study 1

Study 1 investigates propositions derived from CET concern-

ing the relations of perceived autonomy and competence to

game characteristics, players’ enjoyment and preference for

future play, and any changes in well-being associated with

game play.

Several hypotheses are tested using speciﬁc subscales of

the PENS. We hypothesize ﬁrst that the experience of user-

friendly tools for play, or intuitive controls (IC), will facili-

tate experiences of autonomy and competence in game play.

Rigby (2004) suggested that learning the controls of a game

constituted the game’s “price of admission,” and here, in

this 20-minute game play we expect that greater IC will be

particularly associated with an enhanced sense of compe-

tence. We also develop a measure of presence, or a sense of

immersion in the gaming world, which we expect to be as-

sociated with perceived in-game autonomy and competence.

We further suggest that it is the in-game satisfactions of au-

tonomy and competence that facilitate players’ motivation

for play, as assessed by preferences for future play and rated

enjoyment. Moreover, we assess changes in well being from

before to after game play, expecting that those who ﬁnd need

satisfactions of autonomy and competence in play will show

enhanced wellness.

This initial study employs a simple yet popular platform

game, Mario 64, which affords relatively limited choices

over actions and environments compared to more elaborate

MMO formats, and that focuses mainly on progressive chal-

lenges within a linear format. Thus, we expect the principle

satisfaction of game play to be that of competence, and to

a lesser extent autonomy. The game does not afford inter-

actions between players, ruling out in-game relatedness as

a relevant variable. As we proceed with different game for-

mats, we expect these other psychological needs to be more

predictive of outcomes.

Methods

Participants and procedure

Undergraduates (23 male; 66 female) from a private north-

eastern university received extra course credit for partic-

ipating. They reported to a video laboratory where they

completed questionnaires administered through a hypertext

markup language form on a computer before and after a

20-minute play session.

Target Game. In this study we used a commercially avail-

able “platform” game from Nintendo 64 titled Super Mario

64. In the game, the character (avatar) is activated through

game-pad controls to pursue point-related goals and to avoid

various obstacles and dangers.

Measures

Survey measures were delivered in a hypertext format ti-

tled “Game Play Questionnaire” (GPQ) that was adminis-

tered both pre- and post-play. Post-play assessment included

our PENS variables containing subscales for in-game auton-

omy, in-game competence, presence, and the intuitiveness

of controls. Both pre- and post-GPQs also assessed well-

being variables so that change scores could be calculated.

The questionnaire employed a uniform 7-point Likert-type

scale, with anchors appropriate to each question. Speciﬁc

subscales are described below.

PENS: In-Game Competence. A 5-item competence scale

measured participants’ perception that the game provided a

challenging but not overwhelmingly difﬁcult experience and

enhanced efﬁcacy. Items included: “I felt very capable and

effective” and “The game kept me on my toes but did not

overwhelm me.” Items were averaged to create a total score

(alpha = .79).

PENS: In-Game Autonomy. This 5-item scale assessed

the degree to which participants felt free, and perceived op-

portunities to do activities that interest them. Sample items

included: “I did things in the game because they interested

me” and “I felt controlled and pressured to be a certain way”

(reversed). Items were averaged to create an in-game auton-

omy score (alpha = .66).

PENS: Presence. This scale was developed to assess a

sense of immersion in the gaming environment. Three items

each assessed physical presence (e.g., When moving through

the game world I feel as if I am actually there); emotional

presence (e.g., I experience feelings as deeply in the game

as I have in real life); and narrative presence (e.g., When

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playing the game I feel as if I am an important participant in

the story). For present purposes we combined across these

subscales by averaging the 9 items (alpha = .85).

PENS: Intuitive Controls (IC). Three items assessed how

participants experienced the interface that controlled their

character’s actions in the virtual environment. Items in-

cluded: “When I wanted to do something in the game it was

easy to remember the corresponding control.” Items were

averaged to create the IC score (alpha = .85).

Subjective Vitality. This “state” measure, developed by

Ryan and Frederick (1997) to assess the experiences of en-

ergy and aliveness, was assessed both pre- and post-play.

We used the six items identiﬁed by Bostic, Rubio, and Hood

(2000) as the best ﬁtting (e.g., “I feel energized right now”).

The alpha, averaged across the pre- and post-assessments,

was .85.

Self-Esteem. The 10-item general subscale of the Multidi-

mensional Self-esteem Inventory (MSEI; O-Brien & Epstein,

1988) was modiﬁed to assess state self-esteem pre- and post-

play. Items were reworded to reﬂect how participants felt at

that moment (e.g., “You feel very good about yourself”) on

a 1 to 7 rating scale (average alpha = .82).

Mood Rating Scale (Diener & Emmons, 1984)isa

widely used 9-item adjective checklist, used herein to assess

mood state pre- and post-play. Adjectives include: “wor-

ried/blue” and “depressed/anxious” (negative affect); “joy-

ful” and “pleased” (positive affect). After reverse scoring

negative items, items were averaged to create an overall

mood score (alpha = .89).

Game enjoyment was assessed with 4-items adapted from

the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI; Ryan, Mims, &

Koestner, 1983) for example, “I enjoyed playing the game

very much” and “I thought the game was boring (reversed)”

with a high alpha of .95.

Preference for future play was assessed with 4 items, for

example, “Given the chance I would play this game in my

free time,” with an alpha of .94.

Continued Play Behavior. This was assessed with a di-

chotomous behavioral choice variable. Following the ex-

perimental play period, participants were given a choice to

continue in a free choice format with either the target game,

or an alternative popular game for which they were given

the Amazon.com product description. Of the 88 participants,

54 chose the alternate game, 31 the target game, 2 withdrew

from play, and 1 participant’s data was not recorded.

Results

Preliminary analyses

We ﬁrst explored for main and interactive effects of gender

on the primary study variables. Results revealed a signiﬁ-

cant difference only for intuitive controls (F(1, 87) = 5.60,

p < .05), with women scoring lower than men. Gender

did not interact with IC in the prediction of other variables.

Accordingly, we collapsed across gender in subsequent anal-

yses.

Next, correlations between the dependent measures were

examined (see Table 1). To assess well being changes pre-

to post-play we calculated residual scores by regressing time

2 onto time 1 assessments for state self-esteem, mood and

vitality. Paired sample t-tests also examined the direction of

change across the sample by comparing pre- to post-play

scores. Participants felt, on average, less vitality after the

play session than at baseline (t = 3.13, p < .01), but there

were no pre- to post-play differences evident in either mood

or state self-esteem.

Primary analyses

Our primary hypotheses was that both in-game autonomy

and in-game competence would be associated with a) height-

ened feelings of presence and the sense that controls are in-

tuitive; and b) greater enjoyment and preference for future

play. In addition we expected that those who experienced

competence and autonomy while playing would show more

positive difference scores on the well being outcomes of

vitality, mood and state self-esteem. Table 2 presents the

regression model in which each of these outcomes was re-

gressed onto in-game autonomy and competence simultane-

ously. As the table reveals, both autonomy and competence

were each uniquely associated with IC, whereas only compe-

tence related to presence. In terms of motivation, both game

enjoyment and preference for future play were associated

signiﬁcantly with both autonomy and competence, but only

competence predicted whether people chose to continue with

the target versus alternate game. Finally, although on average

participants had neither increased nor decreased well-being

after exposure to play, those who experienced competence

showed higher state self-esteem and more positive mood pre-

to post-play.

We speciﬁcally expected that intuitive controls would

facilitate feelings of competence and autonomy, as they

would relate to a sense of control and effectiveness. In turn,

autonomy and competence were expected to predict the

behavioral measure of continued motivation, rated game

preference, game enjoyment and presence. We tested this

mediation model in a series of regressions as outlined by

Baron and Kenny (1986). These four regression models are

depicted in Table 3. Speciﬁcally, in step 1 we regressed each

DV onto IC. In step 2 we regressed competence and auton-

omy (the proposed mediators) onto IC. In step 3 when au-

tonomy and competence (both signiﬁcantly associated with

outcomes) were entered into the predictive model, the rela-

tions between outcomes and intuitive controls was reduced

to non-signiﬁcance.

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Table 1 Zero-order correlations of dependent variables (Study 1)

Free choice Preference for

Presence continued play future play Enjoyment  Vitality  Self-esteem  Mood/affect

M = 2.74 M = 1.38 M = 3.60 M = 4.50 M = 0 M = 0 M = 0

SD = 1.15 SD = .49 SD = 1.99 SD = 1.93 SD = 1 SD = 1 SD = 1

Presence –

Free choice continued play .25

∗

–

Preference for future play .60

∗∗

.41

∗∗

–

Enjoyment .62

∗∗

.46

∗∗

.85

∗∗

–

 Vitality .34

∗∗

.24

∗∗

.30

∗∗

.35

∗∗

–

 Self-Esteem .28

∗∗

.30

∗∗

.23

∗∗

.34

∗∗

.30

∗∗

–

 Mood/Affect M = 0;

SD = 1

.34

∗∗

.37

∗∗

.44

∗∗

.50

∗∗

.53

∗∗

.41

∗∗

–

Note. n = 89.

∗

p < .05,

∗∗

p < 01.

In an experimental setting not all participants represent

“players” in the sense usually observed in the real world

ecology of gaming—namely persons who self-select and

play on a voluntary basis. Similarly, on our behavioral mea-

sure of motivation, only a subset of participants chose to

continue with the target task. To further examine how voli-

tional motivation to play is associated with well being we

ran a MANOVA in which those who chose to continue the

target game (n = 31) were contrasted with those who chose

the alternative (n = 54). The overall MANOVA was sig-

niﬁcant (F(10, 74) = 3.04, p < .01). Follow-up univariate

results revealed that persons who continued play had higher

scores on IC (F(1, 83) = 6.42, p < .05), in-game autonomy

(F(1, 83) = 4.77, p < .05) and in-game competence (F(1,

83) = 10.58, p < .001). Further, players who continued also

experienced more positive pre- to post-play differences in af-

fect (F(1, 83) = 12.38, p < .001), vitality (F(1, 83) = 4.32,

p < .05), and state self-esteem (F(1, 83) = 7.32, p < .01).

Table 2 Standardized beta weights from simultaneous multiple re-

gression of game variables,motivationoutcomes and well-being change

scores onto in-game autonomy and competence

Autonomy Competence

Game variables

Intuitive controls .37

∗∗

.40

∗∗

Presence .19 .39

∗

Motivation

Enjoyment .49

∗∗

.34

∗∗

Preference for continued play .38

∗∗

.39

∗∗

Free choice continued play −.04 .41

∗

Change in well-being

Vitality .14 .30

Self-esteem −.12 .52

∗∗

Mood/affect .26

∗

.25

∗

Note. n = 89.

∗

p < .05.

∗∗

p < 01.

This result underscores that those who ﬁnd a game motivat-

ing may do so because game play satisﬁes needs for them,

and enhances feelings of well-being.

Brief discussion

This initial study used a single “platform game” to test the

CET model as applied to motivation for a video game. Re-

sults conﬁrmed our principle hypotheses that gaming moti-

vation and enjoyment can be accounted for by experiences

of competence and autonomy while playing.

In this experimental setting persons were “assigned” to

play a game, and not all participants preferred the target game

Table 3 Analyses showing the relations between intuitive controls

and motivational outcomes as mediated by in-game experiences of

autonomy and competence (Study 1)

Dependent variables Independent variables β

Preference for continued

play

Step 1 Intuitive controls .57

∗∗

Step 2 In-game autonomy .66

∗∗

In-game competence .67

∗∗

Step 3 Intuitive controls .13

In-game autonomy .33

∗∗

In-game competence .33

∗∗

Enjoyment Step 1 Intuitive controls .64

∗∗

Step 2 Same as step 2 above

Step 3 Intuitive controls .18

In-game autonomy .38

∗∗

In-game competence .31

∗∗

Free choice continued play Step 1 Intuitive controls .27

∗

Step 2 Same as step 2 above

Step 3 Intuitive controls .12

In-game autonomy −.08

In-game competence .36

∗

Note. n = 89. n = 83 for Free Choice Continued Play.

∗

p < .05,

∗∗

p < 01.

Springer

Motiv Emot

or found it satisfying. Results showed, however, that those

who chose to continue this game following this mandatory

exposurewere those who experienced a sense of competence,

and these players also evidenced more positive difference

scores on well-being. Indeed, examination of pre- and post-

play scores showed that on an absolute level, mood, vitality

and state self-esteem dropped for non-continuers, whereas

both mood and self-esteem rose for those who continued.

It seems clear that, at least for a subset of those exposed to

this game, the play experience had a positive effect on their

well-being, at least short-term.

The study also explored two widely discussed aspects of

game play, namely intuitive controls and immersion or pres-

ence. Intuitive controls were related to both competence and

autonomy, which mediated the relations of IC to outcomes.

In this platform game, it was mainly competence that pre-

dicted presence.

Among the limitations of this study is the single, relatively

linear, platform genre game used. Thus in study 2 we expand

to a design in which participants play two different games to

better test the general model and the extent to which it can

predict differential game preferences.

Study 2

In study 2 we selected two commercial games from the

same genre–3D adventure games. These games were specif-

ically selected because one appeared near the top of pop-

ularity in game ranking surveys, whereas the second fell

in the bottom end of rankings. We thus anticipated that

participants would ﬁnd the games differentially engag-

ing, a difference we hypothesized could be explained by

the experiences of autonomy and competence each game

afforded.

Methods

Participants and procedure

Participants were 50 undergraduates (36 female, 14 male)

who reported to a video lab setting in return for extra course

credit. All participants came on two occasions, 2 to 7 days

apart, playing a different game on each visit, except for one

participant who missed session two. Based on a randomized

assignment, half of the participants played Zelda: The Oca-

rina of Time (1998) ﬁrst, the other half played A Bug’s Life

(1999). Zelda had received a top rating in its genre on gam-

erankings.com of 97.8% favorability; A Bug’s life received

a rating of 56.6%. Questionnaires were again administered

through hypertext markup language form on a computer be-

fore and after a 40-minute play session on the Nintendo 64.

Measures

As in study 1, all subscales of the PENS, including in-game-

autonomy, in-game competence, intuitive controls, prefer-

ence for future play, game enjoyment, and presence were

administered, as well as well-being outcomes of vitality,

state self-esteem and mood. As in study 1, well-being mea-

sures were taken pre-and post-play, and all other measures

were taken post-play. Alphas, calculated separately for each

game, ranged from .68 to .94, and were comparable to those

obtained in study 1.

Results

Preliminary analyses

We examined for gender effects and found only one main

effect on IC, which was in evidence for only one of the

games. Females found the controls for Zelda less intuitive

than did males [F(1, 48) = 6.22, p < .05]. Subsequent

analyses thus collapse across gender.

Primary analyses

To test our expectation that Zelda would, on average, be

preferred to A Bugs Life, we ran a repeated measures ANOVA

with the Greenhouse-Geiser adjustment on game enjoyment

[Zelda M = 4.56, Bugs M = 3.60; F(1, 48) = 25.11,

p < .001], preference for future play [Zelda M = 3.21,

Bugs M = 2. 24; F(1, 48) = 24.75, p < .001], and presence

[Zelda M = 2.82; Bugs = 2.40; F(1, 48) = 6.96, p < .05].

As expected, these differences all indicated that participants

enjoyed, were more motivated for, and were more immersed

in Zelda relative to A Bugs Life. However, IC did not differ

[F(1, 48) = 0.32, ns]. This null ﬁnding makes sense in

retrospect due to the simple controls involved in both games.

A second repeated measure ANOVA tested the hypothesis

that these games would differ in perceived in-game compe-

tence and autonomy. In line with CET, results were signif-

icant for both autonomy [F(1, 48) = 8.89, p < .01] and

competence [F(1, 48) = 8.52, p < .01].

As a further analysis we calculated a difference score by

subtracting game 1 (A Bug’s Life)fromGame2(Zelda)

scores on preference for future play, enjoyment and pres-

ence. We then regressed each of these difference scores onto

autonomy and competence ratings simultaneously. For future

play both autonomy (standardized B = .41, p < . 01) and

competence B = .54, p < .01) were signiﬁcant predictors of

this difference score. Similar results occurred for enjoyment

and presence, with both autonomy (B = .35 and .45, re-

spectively) and competence (B = .54 and .40, respectively)

retaining signiﬁcant (p < .01) relations.

Springer

Motiv Emot

Table 4 Multiple regressions of game variables, motivation outcomes and well-being change scores onto

in-game autonomy and competence, separately by game (Study 2)

Zelda A Bug’s Life

Autonomy Competence Autonomy Competence

Game variables

Intuitive controls .20 .52

∗∗

−.02 .43

∗∗

Presence .23 .29

∗

.09 .53

∗∗

Motivation

Enjoyment .27 .46

∗∗

.22 .33

∗∗

Preference for

future play

.07 .63

∗∗

.28

∗

.35

∗∗

Change in well-being

Vitality .17 .30

∗∗

−.07 .49

∗∗

Self-esteem −.11 .43

∗

.05 .24

Mood/affect .02 .69

∗∗

.42

∗∗

.33

∗∗

Note. n = 49.

∗

p < .05,

∗∗

p < 01.

Although the differences between games in terms of pref-

erence for future play, enjoyment and presence can be ac-

counted for in terms the experience of in-game autonomy

and competence, a further question was how, within each

game considered separately, these factors account for out-

comes. Table 3 displays regressions of both enjoyment and

preference for future play variables onto in-game autonomy

and competence. As the table reveals, there were moderate

to strong relations between autonomy and competence and

the dependent measures.

Interestingly, correlations revealed that our “price of ad-

mission” variable, intuitive controls, was positively related

to motivation only in the preferred game, Zelda. This sup-

ports our earlier suggestion of game controls as “the gate-

keeper to experience, and not the experience itself” (Rigby,

2004). That is, our ﬁndings indicate that even when controls

are clear, they only facilitate motivation in a context where

autonomy and competence are potentially experienced. In-

deed, a mediation analysis similar to that applied in study

1 revealed that the impact relations of IC to preference for

future play and enjoyment within Zelda was fully mediated

by the inclusion of perceived autonomy and competence,

with the variance largely accounted for by competence (see

Table 4). No parallel analysis was run regarding A Bug’s Life

because presence was not signiﬁcantly associated with IC

within that game experience (Table 5).

Paired sample t-tests showed that, on average, people’s

vitality dropped from baseline to post-game assessments for

both games (t =−2.33, p < .05; and t =−4.96, p < .01

for Zelda and A Bugs Life, respectively). Yet, there was also

an average increase in state self-esteem when participants

played Zelda (t = 2.69, p < .01). There was no average

change in mood associated with play of either game. Further,

the regression analyses reported in Table 3 show positive

associations of competence satisfaction with all three well

being change scores within Zelda, and for both vitality and

mood within A Bug’s Life. Autonomy was also signiﬁcantly

associated with mood change while playing A Bug’s Life.

Brief discussion

Study 2 provided a comparative analysis of two games from

the 3D adventure genre pre-selected for differences in their

attractiveness to participants. Results showed that perceived

in-game competence and autonomy accounted for differ-

ences in preference for future play, enjoyment and presence.

In addition, for the more interesting game, intuitive controls

(IC) were associated with these outcomes, a relation medi-

ated by in-game experiences of competence. The fact that IC

did not predict outcomes in the less preferred game suggests

that merely having a low “price of admission” or ease of con-

trol is not enough to motivate players or provide enjoyment,

supporting the idea that motivational models of the game

experience distinguish between game mechanics and game

Table 5 Analyses showing the relations between IC and motiva-

tional outcomes as mediated by in-game experiences of autonomy and

competence for Zelda (Study 2)

Dependent variables Independent variables

Preference for future play Step 1 Intuitive controls .50

∗∗

Step 2 Intuitive controls .12

In-game autonomy .05

In-game competence .57

∗∗

Enjoyment Step 1 Intuitive controls .42

∗∗

Step 2 Intuitive controls −.01

In-game autonomy .27

In-game competence .46

∗∗

Note. n = 49 (Legend of Zelda).

∗

p < .05,

∗∗

p < 01.

Springer

Motiv Emot

play (Rigby, 2004). It appears that game play must afford

opportunities for need satisfaction in order for controls to be

associated with positive effects.

Study 3

The experimental design of study 2 allowed us to compare

two games thought apriorito differ in the motivation they

would inspire. However, in the real world of consumers, peo-

ple differ in their game choices, presumably because they ﬁnd

certain games more ﬁtting with their personal interests and

competences. Thus, in study 3 we expanded our experimen-

tal design to have participants sample four different games

so that we could examine both the main effects of individual

differences in game autonomy and competence on game mo-

tivation generally, and how within-person variations in game

preferences could be explained by our SDT-based model. In

short, we moved to a multi-level model in which different

game experiences are nested with persons, to assess the mo-

tivation model at both a between- and within-persons levels

of analysis.

Method

Participants and procedures

Fifty-eight undergraduates (46 female, 12 male) reported

to a lab setting in return for extra course credit on four

occasions, 2 to 7 days apart, playing a different game on each

visit. Forty-one came in for all sessions, four came in three

times, nine came in twice and ﬁve came for only one visit.

Which game participants played on each visit was based on a

randomized assignment. Questionnaires were administered

through a hypertext markup language form presented before

and after a 40-minute play session on a Nintendo 64 game

console.

Target Games. The four games in study 3 were selected

because they all received high favorability ratings in their

respective genres for the Nintendo 64 console as recorded

on gamerankings.com. A “platform” title, Super Mario 64

(98.5%, 1996) was the same game used in study one. A

“ﬁghting” game, Super Smash Brothers (79.0%, 1999) puts

the player into a series of one-on-one brawls that increase in

difﬁculty, using animated Nintendo avatars. The third game,

a “rail-shooter” title: Star Fox 64 (89.9%, 1997) requires par-

ticipants to pilot a space ship around obstacles and combat

computer controlled ﬁghters in terrestrial and space environ-

ments. A fourth title: San Francisco Rush (82.8%, 1997) is

an “arcade-racing” game that places the player in a succes-

sion of challenges against computer controlled cars, with an

explicit goal to win increasingly fast cars and enter more

challenging race courses.

Measures

Assessments of in-game-autonomy, in-game competence, in-

tuitive controls, preference for future play, game enjoyment,

presence and the well-being outcomes of vitality, state self-

esteem and mood were all the same as in study 1 and 2. Sim-

ilar to study 1 and 2 well-being measures were taken both

pre-and post-play, and all other measures were taken post-

play. Alphas, calculated separately for each game, ranged

from .65 to .94, and were comparable to those obtained in

study 1 and 2.

Value for Play. A short ad-hoc 5-item scale was adminis-

tered after each play period to assess the value the participant

ascribed to play of the target game (e.g., “I will play this game

because it could be of some value to me”). The 5 items were

averaged (alpha = .89).

Results

Preliminary analyses

Gender and age effects were examined at a randomly se-

lected session, session 2. Females found the controls for the

games played less intuitive than did males (F(1, 50) = 4.40,

p < .05); no other effects were signiﬁcant (p’s > .05).

Subsequent analyses collapse across gender and age.

Paired sample t-tests, run separately for each game, com-

pared pre- and post-game scores on the three well being

variables. As in the prior studies, across participants there

were drops in vitality for three of the four games. Interest-

ingly, in this study effects on self-esteem were also negative,

with signiﬁcant decreases in state self-esteem across all four

games (all p < .001). There were no changes in mood.

Our subsequent primary analyses concerning vitality, self-

esteem, and mood use change scores from before to after

playing.

Primary analyses

The primary hypotheses were tested using Hierarchical Lin-

ear Modeling (HLM) analyses (Bryk & Raudenbush,

1992;

Raudenbush, 2000). HLM applies well given the nested na-

ture of our data, and allowed us to simultaneously assess the

effects of different games as well as individual differences

on outcomes.

We ﬁrst conducted unconditional models to examine the

within and between-person variability in game experience,

motivation, and well-being outcomes. Results are reported

in Table 6, and support the premise that there is sufﬁ-

cient variability in outcomes to warrant the nested analy-

ses. We thus conducted 2-level models to examine the game

and individual predictors of interest. The level 1 within-

person model used group-level centering recommended

Springer

Motiv Emot

Table 6 Between and within person variability on game-related vari-

ables across the four game sessions (Study 3)

1: Unconditional

coefﬁcient

2: Full

coefﬁcient

Enjoyment

Within-person variability 2.80 .85

Between-person variability .59 .36

Preference for future play

Within-person variability 2.87 .95

Between-person variability .99 .82

Presence

Within-person variability .70 .36

Between-person variability .82 .69

Value for play

Within-person variability 1.22 .47

Between-person variability 1.32 .53

Change in vitality

Within-person variability .65 .33

Between-person variability 1.48 1.05

Change in self-esteem

Within-person variability .14 .07

Between-person variability .75 .49

Change in mood/affect

Within-person variability .32 .20

Between-person variability 1.07 .60

by Bryk and Raudenbush (1992) and can be written as

follows:

= β

+β

1ij

+β

2ij

where β

reﬂects the intercept of the well-being or game

enjoyment outcome; β

reﬂects the estimated population

slope of (within-person) game competence, β

reﬂects the

estimated slope of (within-person) game autonomy, and e

represents level 1 error.

The level 2 (between-person) model can be written as

follows:

= G

+ G

1 j

+ G

2 j

+ G

3 j

0 j

where G

reﬂects the game-level intercept for an average

person; G

refers to the effect of gender on outcome, G

the average in-game competence experienced across games,

refers to the average in-game autonomy experienced

across games, and u

is error at level 2. Although gender is

not discussed below, the results for gender are presented in

Table 6.

As the person-level analyses presented in Table 7 reveal,

individual differences in overall enjoyment of game play

across games was predicted by both perceived autonomy

(β = .55, p < .01) and competence (β = .35, p < .01).

Overall preference for future play (β = .66, p < .01), and

pre-post increases in value for play (β = .85, p < .01)

were, however, predicted only by between-person autonomy,

whereas overall competence was the unique predictor of

between person differences in presence (β = .46, p < .05).

Changes in mood and self-esteem at the between person

level were associated with autonomy (β = .43, p < .05)

and (β = .60, p < .01), whereas vitality changes were

positively associated only with perceived competence.

(β = .57, p < .01)

The most central analyses concerned the level-1 predic-

tors, which reﬂect variations between games and within indi-

viduals. These ﬁndings show that games that elicited greater

experiences of autonomy and competence resulted in more

enjoyment (respectively, β = .76, p < .01 and β = .76,

p < .01), greater preference for future play (respectively,

β = .96, p < .01 and β = .65, p < .01), experience

of presence (respectively, β = .35, p <

.01 and β = .21,

p < .05), and change in value for play (respectively, β = .38,

p < .01 and β = .50, p < .01). In contrast within person

variations in well being were largely a function of com-

petence (change in vitality, β = .37, p < .01; change in

self-esteem, β = .07, p < .05; change in mood, β = .20,

p < .01).

Brief discussion

Study 3 showed ﬁrst that there is considerable variance

between individuals in their overall experience of and

motivation for computer games, and just as importantly,

considerable variation within individuals as to speciﬁc game

preferences. Moreover, this study showed that variance at

both levels of analyses can be accounted for by in-game need

satisfactions. At both levels, satisfaction of autonomy and

competence predicted greater enjoyment and sense of pres-

ence and increased preference for future play. When individ-

uals played games where they experienced competence satis-

factions they also experienced increased vitality, self-esteem,

and positive affect, whereas individuals who were generally

more autonomous in their playing experienced overall higher

self-esteem and positive mood, and more value for the

game.

Studies 1–3 were all laboratory designs in which the re-

cruited participants may or may not have had interests in

video games. This experimental approach is useful in mod-

eling factors that lead people exposed to games to con-

tinue play, and any changes in well being that may occur

as a function of play. Yet also of interest is applying our

SDT model to people actively involved in computer gam-

ing outside the laboratory, where participation is voluntary

and the population self-selected. In addition studies 1–3 fo-

cused on single player games, and thus did not examine

the utility of SDT in understanding a fast growing genre

of games, namely Massively Multiplayer Online games, or

MMOs.

Springer

Motiv Emot

Table 7 Within-person (L1) and between-person (L2) effects of in-game perceived autonomy and competence and gender on game-related

outcomes (Study 3)

L1 competence L1 autonomy Gender L2 competence L2 autonomy

(DV) β SE β SE β SE β SE β SE

Enjoyment .76

∗∗

.18 .76

∗∗

.17 .04 .27 .35

∗∗

.13 .55

∗∗

.14

Future play pref. .65

∗∗

.13 .96

∗∗

.13 .66 .43 .05 .19 .66

∗∗

.13

Presence .21

∗

.09 .35

∗∗

.07 −.16 .22 .46

∗

.20 −.04 .19

Value for play .50

∗∗

.11 .38

∗∗

.12 .26 .24 .16 .20 .85

∗∗

.18

 Vitality .37

∗∗

.10 −.02 .08 −.33 .21 .57

∗∗

.21 .23 .22

 Self-Esteem .07

∗

.04 .01 .04 .43

∗∗

.19 −.16 .13 .60

∗∗

.12

 Mood/Affect .20

∗∗

.08 .05 .06 .08 .28 .28 .21 .43

∗

.21

Note.

∗

p < .05,

∗∗

p < 01.

Study 4

A major purpose of study 4 was to assess persons ac-

tively involved in MMO gaming, the fastest growing seg-

ment of the computer gaming industry. Because MMO’s

typically involve interactions between players within a rich

virtual environment, they bring with them consideration

of SDT’s third basic psychological need, the need for re-

latedness. We hypothesized that in addition to in-game

feelings of autonomy and competence, motivation to play

MMO’s would be associated with relatedness. In addition,

the MMO context also allowed us to meaningfully apply

the most well known of existing measures of player motiva-

tion, namely Yee’s (in press) assessments of social, immer-

sion and achievement motives, both to explore its descrip-

tive utility, and to provide some comparisons with the SDT

framework.

Method

Participants and procedure

The sample consisted of 730 members (51 females; 679

males) of an online community selected because it actively

discusses games and other Internet-based activities. They

ranged in age from 16 to 44, with a mean of 22.1 years.

Members were invited to complete a survey intended for

persons who had any past experience in MMO environments.

As incentive, those who completed surveys were entered into

a rafﬂe to win a 6-month subscription to an online game of

their choosing (approximately a $75 value). Surveys were

linked to the community’s online forum, and were available

over a 2-week period. We checked for duplicate responders

by examining IP addresses in completed forms, but no such

duplicates were identiﬁed.

Measures

A shortened version of the “Game Play Questionnaire”

(GPQ) was administered to participants. As in study 1, 2 and

3 the GPQ employed a uniform 7-point Likert-type scale,

with anchors appropriate to each type of question, but due to

the survey format of this study the competence and autonomy

scales are three instead of ﬁve items in length. The speciﬁc

measures and PENS subscales contained in this version of

the GPQ are described below.

PENS: In-Game Competence and Autonomy. Three item

versions of the competence and autonomy scales measured

participants’ perception that the game was optimally chal-

lenging and that players experienced choice, freedom and

activities that interested them. Items were averaged to create

autonomy and competence scores (alphas = .63 and .71).

PENS: In-Game Relatedness. Three items assessed how

connected participants felt to other players in the game (e.g.,

“I ﬁnd the relationships I form in the game fulﬁlling”). The

three items were averaged to create an in-game relatedness

score (alpha = .72).

PENS: Intuitive Controls (IC). As in the previous studies,

three items assessed the interface that controlled participants’

actions in the game (alpha = .63).

Game Enjoyment. This variable was assessed with 4-

items adapted from the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (Ryan,

Mims, & Koestner, 1983), for example, “I thought the game

was boring (reversed)” with an alpha of .86.

Game Play Behavior. We assessed this with two open

ended items. Intended future play was measured by ask-

ing “How many months do plan on playing this game in

the future?” Similarly, the item: “How many hours on aver-

age do you play this game each week?” assessed weekly

hours of play. Participants reported an average of 9.22

(SD = 9.71) planned future months of play of their target

game and an average of 19.2 hours (SD = 14.38) of play per

week.

Post Play Mood. This was measured using an ad-hoc

8-item measure based on the Mood Rating Scale (Diener

& Emmons, 1984). Participants rated how frequently they

had experienced different moods following play. Items in-

cluded both positive (e.g., “joyful,” “pleased”) and negative

(e.g., “angry” “unhappy worried”) adjectives. The items were

Springer

Motiv Emot

averaged, and reversed appropriately, to create a summary

post-play mood score (alpha = .67).

PENS: Physical/Emotional/Narrative Presence Scale.

This method was implemented to assess a sense of immer-

sion in the gaming environment. As in studies one, two and

three we combined across these subscales by averaging the

9 items (alpha = .83).

Motivation Components Measure (Yee, 2005, in press).

This measure was administered to assess additional game

play motives and for comparative purposes. The Achieve-

ment Component consisted of 14 items measuring partici-

pants’ desire to gain power, compete against others and mas-

ter the mechanics of the game. Items included: “I like to feel

powerful in the game.” The items were averaged to create a

score (alpha = .84). The Social Component was made up of

11-items assessing participants’ desires to be part of a group

effort, chat with other players, and form relationships with

others in the game. Items included: “I have made some good

friends in the game” (alpha = .66). The Immersion Compo-

nent entailed 14-items tapping the desire to escape real life,

discover virtual locales, role-play, and become involved in

the game narrative. Items included: “I like feeling like part

of a story” (alpha = .81).

Results

Preliminary analyses

There were no signiﬁcant effects of age on study vari-

ables with one exception, namely Yee’s achievement mo-

tive (r =−.15, p < .01). Given the small magnitude of

this one result, we collapsed across age in subsequent anal-

yses. We tested for gender using ANOVA. There were no

gender effects on the SDT-related variables of in-game au-

tonomy, competence or relatedness. Consistent with Yee’s

(in press) ﬁndings, however, men were higher in achieve-

ment (F(1,729) = 16.53) and lower in social motives

(F(1,729) = 7.19), all p < .01. Men were also higher in

immersion (F(1,729) = 16.25). In any analyses using these

variables we control for gender.

Primary analyses

First we examined the relations between all of the predic-

tor variables in this study, namely our PENS measures of

in-game autonomy, competence and relatedness, intuitive

controls and presence, and Yee’s assessments of player mo-

tivational types (Table 8). Of note here are the generally

modest correlations between these measures, with the ex-

ceptions of the strong relations between the SDT-derived

relatedness construct and Yee’s social motive (r = .66), re-

lations that support the construct validity of each. Similarly

there is a strong relation between Yee’s immersion construct

and our new measure of presence (r = .57). Noteworthy too

is the absence of any relation between autonomy satisfaction

and Yee’s achievement motive.

Next we related these six predictor variables to our pri-

mary dependent or target variables of intentions for future

play, game enjoyment, hours per week of play, the ex-

perience of presence and perceived post play mood (see

Table 8). Speciﬁcally, the table presents the regression of

each DV onto the six predictors simultaneously. As the table

reveals, for game enjoyment, autonomy, competence and re-

latedness all accounted for signiﬁcant independent variance,

whereas achievement, social and immersion did not reach

signiﬁcance. Post-play mood was positively associated with

autonomy and competence, negatively associated with Yee’s

achievement and immersion, and other variables did not con-

tribute. For intended future play

, autonomy, competence and

relatedness all showed independent positive contributions,

whereas none of the Yee variables related signiﬁcantly. Fi-

nally, for hours per week, competence and relatedness, as

well as Yee’s achievement construct all accounted for unique

variance (Table 9).

Brief discussion

The survey of MMO players extends some of the observa-

tions made in our three experimental to the MMO gaming

context. Speciﬁcally autonomy and competence continue to

provide signiﬁcant accounts of player motivation and enjoy-

ment. In addition, because MMOs tend to be rich in content

and provide opportunities for interaction between players,

the psychological need for relatedness also emerges as an

important satisfaction that promotes a sense of presence,

game enjoyment, and an intention for future play.

Regression analyses provided support for the incremen-

tal validity of our SDT framework as speciﬁcally assessed

by the PENS. In most cases the need-related variables con-

tributed unique variance to outcomes even when controlling

for Yee’s (in press) motives, especially concerning future

play and enjoyment outcomes. Interestingly Yee’s achieve-

ment variable added variance by negatively predicting post-

play mood, which suggests that the competitive tendency

this construct taps may engender some pressure and stress.

At the same time, it does positively predict hours per week,

but not intentions for future play, suggesting that the achieve-

ment motive exerts a psychological pull on players high on

this variable. Competence and relatedness motives also are

associated with more hours per week played.

General discussion

The four studies presented in this paper represent an em-

pirical application of self-determination theory to computer

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Motiv Emot

Table 8 Zero-order correlations of SDT-based variables and Yee’s three motive factors (Study 4)

Autonomy Competence Relatedness Yee achievement Yee social Yee immersion Intuitive controls Presence

M = 5.28 M = 5.16 M = 4.27 M = 4.21 M = 4.27 M = 3.83 M = 5.64 M = 3.16

SD = 1.01 SD = .99 SD = 1.38 SD = 1.06 SD = .73 SD = .96 SD = .99 SD = 1.0

Autonomy –

Competence .45

∗∗

–

Relatedness .25

∗∗

.45

∗∗

–

Yee achievement .03 .20

∗∗

.37

∗∗

–

Yee social .21

∗∗

.27

∗∗

.66

∗∗

.21

∗∗

–

Yee immersion .24

∗∗

.20

∗∗

.24

∗∗

.10

∗∗

.40

∗∗

–

Intuitive controls .23

∗∗

.28

∗∗

.12

∗∗

.12

∗∗

.06 .10

∗∗

–

Presence .26

∗∗

.36

∗∗

.45

∗∗

.20

∗∗

.37

∗∗

.57

∗∗

.11

∗∗

–

Note. n = 730.

∗

p < .05,

∗∗

p < 01.

games, the fastest growing form of human recreation. Our

intent was to move beyond prior research that has been

primarily focused on potential negative effects of gaming

(see Kirsch, 2006), to instead focus on what motivates game

play, how that varies from game to game, and how in-game

satisfactions can impact positively or negatively people’s

short term well-being. In addition, given that the arena of

electronic entertainment is a creative, quickly evolving, and

widely variable area, we believe that the most practical mo-

tivational models (from an applied standpoint) will be those

that address fundamental psychological and motivational

dynamics rather than deconstructing speciﬁc instances of

games or genres. To this end, we applied SDT by assessing

player need satisfaction, speciﬁcally focusing on psycholog-

ical needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness, which

we assumed might, in part, account for the psychological

Table 9 Multiple regression

of motivation outcomes and

post-play mood scores onto the

six motivation variables derived

from both the SDT and Yee

models, controlling for gender

Independent

Dependent variables variables β

Future play (F = 10.91, R

= .10) Step 1 Gender −.06

Step 2 Competence .14

∗∗

Autonomy .15

∗∗

Relatedness .12

∗∗

Yee – ACH −.05

Yee – Social .01

Yee – I MM −.14

Hours per week (F = 15.06

∗∗

, R

= .11) Step 1 Gender .06

Step2 Competence .09

∗

Autonomy −.03

Relatedness .18

∗∗

Yee – ACH .19

∗∗

Yee – Social −.02

Yee – I MM .02

Enjoyment (F = 97.37

∗∗

, R

= .45) Step 1 Gender −.04

Step2 Competence .24

∗∗

Autonomy .49

∗∗

Relatedness .12

∗∗

Yee – ACH −.06

Yee – Social −.07

Yee – I MM .01

Mood (F = 32.06

∗∗

, R

= .21) Step 1 Gender .01

Step2 Competence .12

∗∗

Autonomy .36

∗∗

Relatedness .03

Yee – ACH −.21

∗∗

Yee – Social .08

Yee – I MM −.08

∗

Note. n = 730.

∗

p < . 05,

∗∗

= p < .01.

Springer

Motiv Emot

attractiveness or “pull” of games, regardless of speciﬁc genre

or individual preferences.

Results largely supported our hypotheses concerning the

relations between autonomy and competence satisfactions in

solitary game play, and of all three needs in multi-player en-

vironments. In experimental contexts, using participants who

may or may not have been experienced computer game play-

ers, we found that both game enjoyment and preference for

future play were signiﬁcantly accounted for by psycholog-

ical need satisfactions. Moreover, intuitive controls appear

to enhance game enjoyment and preferences by facilitating

players’ experiences of in-game competence, and in some

game contexts, in-game autonomy.

Study 4, which focused on MMO contexts, was the only

one of our four studies that examined the motives of regular

game players. In it we applied both the SDT framework, and

Yee’s three-factor measure of game motivation. When all of

the motive measures competed for variance, game enjoyment

and intentions for future play were both signiﬁcantly related

to the SDT-derived measures of autonomy, competence, and

relatedness need satisfactions, suggesting the unique rele-

vance of each within MMO gaming contexts. Autonomy

and competence satisfactions also were positively related to

post-play mood. In contrast, Yee’s achievement motive was

negatively related to mood, suggesting that the desire for

power and mastery in a game can be associated with negative

aftereffects. Another interesting ﬁnding concerned hours per

week, which was positively associated with achievement and

relatedness, suggesting that these factors might lead to more

intense involvement among those high in these motives.

Many authors have been concerned with the impact of

computer game play on people’s well being. This study did

not attempt to address this question broadly, but instead fo-

cused only on short-term effects, particularly pre- to post-

game changes in vitality, state self-esteem and mood. In our

experimental studies, in which we exposed people who may

or may not already be game consumers to speciﬁc games, the

short-term effects on well-being were mixed. Thre was little

or no positive or negative mood changes due to exposure,

but we did identify some mixed effects for state self-esteem.

Game exposure also appeared on average to be somewhat

draining or fatiguing, as evidenced by the largely negative

effects on vitality. Yet these effects were qualiﬁed by need

satisfaction: People who experienced autonomy and com-

petence in playing showed more positive outcomes, helping

again to explain why, for some people, games may provide

a source of pleasure and perhaps restoration. Again, we only

examined short-term outcomes and not long-term effects or

the effects of issues such as aggression or game “addiction.”

But these results suggest that it may be premature to con-

clude that computer gaming is negatively related to well

being, and instead that short-term effects concern whether

or not the individual player can satisfy psychological needs

when engaged in the game. Thus frameworks such as ours

may be useful in understanding in more precise detail when

and how games impact well being, both positively and neg-

atively.

A widely valued and discussed construct in the gaming

industry is that of presence, or providing the player with

a sense of non-mediated “immersion” in a game environ-

ment. Yet, to date little theoretical or empirical work had

been done to describe the psychological components of this

valued construct. Through SDT and our PENS measures,

we sought to explore this issue both theoretically and em-

pirically, with several notable results. We found a positive

association between our measures of intuitive controls and

the experience of presence. Moreover, presence was associ-

ated with need satisfaction, such that in games where people

felt greater autonomy to pursue in-game goals and interests

and the competence to carry out effective actions, feelings

of presence were heightened. Simply put, our results suggest

that presence is experienced when games achieve two goals.

First, games must allow players to focus their energy on game

play rather than game mechanics (i.e. intuitive controls). But

perhaps more importantly, presence is directly related to how

game play itself satisﬁes psychological needs.

There were many limitations to these studies. Most no-

tably, the work presented here is largely experimental (i.e.,

studies 1–3 involved participants who were assigned to var-

ious game play conditions). In contrast, outside the labora-

tory game play is self-selected, and involvement voluntary.

Although experimental studies artiﬁcially induce people to

engage in games, this does have the advantage of helping to

ascertain what features of games pull people into play, and

keep them engaged. Future studies might focus more on reg-

ular game players and the satisfactions they derive, while still

applying a rigorous experimental framework. Such studies

might also more fully assess prior video game experience as

a potential inﬂuence on results. Second, our PENS and Pres-

ence measures are new, and could beneﬁt from further re-

ﬁnement and more extensive construct validation. Third, al-

though the models and measurements described herein were

designed to be broadly applicable, more work is needed to

apply this approach beyond the games and genres sampled

here. We drew from several genres to show the generality of

the model, but we assume different genres, game contents

and interfaces will have different effects on, and relate dif-

ferently to, the motivational variables we assessed and the

needs that players can satisfy. For instance, a life-simulation

game like “The Sims,” which allows people to build houses

and to design and nurture in-game families without adopt-

ing an in-game avatar no doubt satisﬁes different needs than

“ﬁrst-person shooter” games such as “Halo,” puzzle games

such as “Tetris,” or action games such as “Grand Theft Auto.”

Springer

Motiv Emot

Also needed is more research on individual differences in

the appeal of games that differ in theme, content, and styles

of play. Thus although we have described a model that we

believe may have broad theoretical and practical value for

those who either study or develop games and virtual worlds,

it represents merely a starting point for our understanding of

these environments and the psychological needs that can be

satisﬁed within them.

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