- Badges positively affect users' behavior in the carefulness of their performance by increasing attempts and submission rates.
- Leaderboards lead to better academic performance.

Performance and Game Elements

- Badges motivate most participants in a study, but in the long term, participants become less motivated.
- Badges do not have a significant impact on intrinsic motivation.
- Personalized feedback to participants increase motivation.

Motivation and Game Elements

- Peer review increases engagement.
- Game elements with social aspects (ex: competition, feedback, ranking system) increase engagement.

Engagement and Game Elements

- Gamified groups do show positive responses and attitudes. 

Attitude Towards Gamification and Game Elements

- Gamified online discussions that allow participants to "like" or "unlike" comments and earn rewards for participating showed increased communication and collaboration.
- Dividing participants into gamified teams create competition and collaboration.

Collaboration and Game Elements

- Teams allow users to become aware of each other, and smaller teams make communication easier.
- Male vs. female leaderboards resulted in more social comparisons than stereotype threats.

Social Awareness and Game Elements

- Males are more influenced by game elements than females.
- In a part-time working population, game elements were more favorable by part-time female students.
- Extroverts prefer badges, rewards, and points, while introverts prefer offline leaderboards.

Additional Behavior Results and Game Elements

- Performance
- Motivation
- Engagement
- Attitude Towards Gamification
- Collaboration
- Social Awareness
- Other Behavior Results

Rutgers University

An overview of the most used game elements in online learning (including MOOCs) and the current valid effects of gamification on user behavior.

The Effects of Gamification in Online Learning Environments: A Systematic Literature Review

Antonaci, A., Klemke, R., & Specht, M. (2019). The Effects of Gamification in Online Learning Environments: A Systematic Literature Review. Informatics, 6(3), 32.

Badges and rewards are the most common game elements in online learning.
The elements have positive effects on performance and can be used to set goals and for social comparison, but they vary across gender and personality. Both elements can have negatively affect motivation if the user views badges as restrictive.

Effects of Badges/Rewards in Online Learning

Leaderboards are the second most common game element in online learning, and it has positive effects on performance, but the effects vary across personality. Leaderboards show scores and points, and as a result, increases social comparison and competition, which also increases engagement and participation.

Effects of Leaderboards in Online Learning

Points are the third most used game element in online learning, and it increases engagement, and users are motivated to take on challenges to have the highest amount of points, but the effects vary across gender and personality. Points also encourage social comparison and, therefore, performance too.

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