Spent

To investigate whether a persuasive game may serve as a way to increase affective learning about homelessness, this study examined the effects of procedural rhetoric and ethos in a video game designed to put the player in the shoes of an almost-homeless person. Data were collected from 5139 students across four states. Examination revealed that playing the game or doing the reading significantly increased the affective learning score after treatment with the game group scoring 1.57 points higher and the reading group scoring .66 points higher out of a score of 6. Findings indicate that students who played Spent sustained significantly higher scores after three weeks. Overall, findings suggest that when students play a video game that is designed using persuasive mechanics an affective change can be measured empirically.