Investigating the effect of gaming habits on extrinsic motivation in gamification environment through structural equation modeling.

Gamification is encouraged in educational environments to improve students' learning behaviors. However, most of the studies in the gamification literature seek its impact on intrinsic motivation while extrinsic motivation is usually ignored. Also, despite multiple attempts to understand gamification in the context of education, gaming habits of students are seldom considered. To address this gap, this research investigates the effect of gamification on different types of extrinsic motivation (external, introjected, identified, and integrated) while keeping their gaming habits in view. The method includes an exploration of difference of extrinsic motivation in gamification environment among students having different gaming habits; a longitudinal comparison of students having different gaming habits over time; and quantification of the impact of gaming habits over extrinsic motivation through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The analysis recommends that varying gaming habits pose different impacts on students' behavior in the gamification environment over time. The results are useful in deciding the optimal gaming exposure provided to children and adults to enhance their learning behaviors.