Choosing to Learn: Achievement Goals, Immersion, and Competition in Non-Educational Gaming Contexts

Game-based learning environments are increasingly recognized for their potential to promote strategic thinking and adaptive problem-solving, yet little is known about learning processes and motivation within non-educational gaming contexts where meaningful learning still occurs and where goal adoption is optional. This study investigates how achievement goal orientations, immersion, competitive signaling via leaderboards, and dynamic challenges through randomized collectible placements influence player performance (i.e., learning) over time within a non-educational racing game. In this study, optimizing in-game performance represents a goal players may or may not choose to pursue, as it is not explicitly required for game completion. Participants completed multiple game play trials in varied experimental conditions, with performance tracked and analyzed using linear regression and mixed-effects modeling. Results revealed that performance-avoidance goal orientation consistently predicted lower overall performance, whereas performance-approach orientation facilitated significant performance improvements across attempts. Interestingly, higher immersion levels negatively impacted performance and this inverse relationship was amplified by the presence of leaderboards. These findings underscore the importance of accounting for motivational profiles and the effects of competitive elements and immersion in game designs aiming to foster performance-related learning behaviors in game-based environments, especially in scenarios where certain learning goals are not made explicit.