Virtual game Changers: how avatars and virtual coaches influence exergame outcomes through enactive and vicarious learning: Behaviour & Information Technology

Virtual game Changers: how avatars and virtual coaches influence exergame outcomes through enactive and vicarious learning: Behaviour & Information Technology

Virtual game Changers: how avatars and virtual coaches influence exergame outcomes through enactive and vicarious learning: Behaviour & Information Technology

Benjamin J. Li, Rabindra Ratan & May O. Lwin

Abstract

“Exergames offer both enactive and vicarious learning through the graphical representations of the self and virtual coach. This study established and tested a model of exergame motivation with Social Cognitive Theory as the foundation. A 2 (User Avatar: Absent versus Present) × 2 (Virtual Coach: Absent versus Present) between-subjects experiment was conducted with 137 high school students. Results supported a model in which the user avatar led to identification, with the relationship mediated by self-presence. Playing with a virtual coach increased social presence. Both identification and social presence were significantly related to future exercise intention, with the relationships mediated by in-game competence. These findings suggest notable theoretical and practical implications of using self-presence with avatars and social presence with virtual agents to enhance exergame outcomes through enactive and vicarious learning”.

Reference

Li, B. J., Ratan, R., & Lwin, M. O. (2021). Virtual game Changers: how avatars and virtual coaches influence exergame outcomes through enactive and vicarious learning. Behaviour & Information Technology, 1-15. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0144929X.2021.1884290

Keywords 

Exergames, enactive learning, vicarious learning