How game features give rise to altruism and collective action? Implications for cultivating cooperation by gamification

Riar M, Morschheuser B, Hamari J, Zarnekow R (2020)

Publication Language: English

Publication Type: Conference contribution, Conference Contribution

Publication year: 2020

Pages Range: 695−704

Conference Proceedings Title: Proceedings of the 53rd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences

Event location: Maui, HI US

ISBN: 9780998133133

URI: https://hdl.handle.net/10125/63825

DOI: 10.24251/hicss.2020.086

Open Access Link: https://hdl.handle.net/10125/63825

Abstract

Due to the general gamification of our culture and society as well as the proliferation of games in our everyday activities, people are increasingly looking at games and gamification as a source for cooperation and other prosocial behaviors. However, not all game features lead to increased cohesion, cooperation or collaboration between people. While some games indeed are geared for cooperation, majority of games also aim toward competition or just non-social activity. Therefore, a prominent research problem exists in understanding how different game and gamification design may lead to altruistic sentiment and collective action. In this study, we investigated how the engagement with cooperative game features relates to the emergence of altruism and whether altruism leads to the formation of we-intentions in a gaming context. We employed data gathered among players of the augmented reality game Ingress (N = 206) and analyzed the data using PLS-SEM. The results show that game features can give rise to altruism and that altruism can invoke we-intentions via cooperative goal structures (we-goals) of individuals. In addition to providing important insights regarding how cooperation emerges within games, this study provides implications for cultivating cooperation by gamification.

Authors with CRIS profile

Benedikt Morschheuser

Additional Organisation(s)

Assistant Professorship of Information Systems (Gamification) - endowed by adidas

Involved external institutions

Technische Universität Berlin DE Germany (DE) University of Tampere (UTA) / Tampereen yliopisto (Tay) FI Finland (FI) Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Riar, M., Morschheuser, B., Hamari, J., & Zarnekow, R. (2020). How game features give rise to altruism and collective action? Implications for cultivating cooperation by gamification. In Tung X. Bui (Eds.), Proceedings of the 53rd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (pp. 695−704). Maui, HI, US.

MLA:

Riar, Marc, et al. "How game features give rise to altruism and collective action? Implications for cultivating cooperation by gamification." Proceedings of the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences 2020 (HICSS 2020), Maui, HI Ed. Tung X. Bui, 2020. 695−704.

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