According to the passage, the "overjustification effect" occurs when:

users are given too many choices, reducing their overall sense of autonomy.

the introduction of external rewards diminishes a user's internal drive to complete a task.

educational platforms focus more on game mechanics than on the underlying curriculum.

the novelty of points and badges wears off, causing a short-term spike in user activity.

It can be inferred from the passage that a gamified system relying solely on leaderboards will most likely:

fail to provide users with any sense of autonomy or competence.

experience a steady decline in user engagement immediately after implementation.

struggle to maintain high levels of user engagement over a long period.

completely eliminate the users' desire to perform the mundane tasks.

The author mentions "autonomy, competence, and relatedness" primarily in order to:

provide examples of the external rewards that drive the overjustification effect.

identify the core psychological needs that successful gamification must target.

criticize the approaches currently used in corporate training programs.

prove that self-determination theory is applicable exclusively to educational platforms.

Based on the self-determination theory described in the passage, which of the following features would best enhance a user's sense of "competence"?

A forum where users can discuss strategies and share their achievements.

An avatar customization system that allows users to pick their own character design.

An adaptive difficulty algorithm that makes puzzles harder as the user gets better.

A daily login bonus that rewards users with virtual currency.

The author's attitude toward the use of points, badges, and ranks in gamified systems can best be described as:

enthusiastic endorsement of their ability to drive long-term behavior.

cautious skepticism regarding their long-term efficacy.

outright dismissal of their utility in any context.

neutral observation with no underlying critique.

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The Psychology of Gamification

PRACTICE

100:00+4 −1MCQ Single Answer

Reading Passage

Gamification is the strategic attempt to enhance systems, services, organizations, and activities by creating similar experiences to those experienced when playing games. It involves elements such as scoring systems, leaderboards, and immediate feedback loops to motivate user engagement. Originally confined to marketing campaigns and consumer applications, this approach is now heavily utilized in educational platforms and corporate training programs, where administrators seek to transform mundane tasks into compelling challenges. However, behavioral psychologists caution that the efficacy of gamification depends heavily on the type of motivation it fosters. Most gamified systems rely primarily on extrinsic motivation—driving behavior through external rewards like points, badges, or ranks. While these elements can yield a short-term spike in user activity, they frequently fall victim to the "overjustification effect." This psychological phenomenon occurs when the introduction of an expected external incentive decreases a person's intrinsic motivation to perform a task. Consequently, once the novelty of the external rewards wears off, users may actually become less engaged with the underlying activity than they were before the gamified elements were introduced. To achieve sustained engagement, theorists argue that gamification must transcend superficial reward systems and address core psychological needs. According to self-determination theory, individuals are intrinsically motivated when they feel a sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Successful gamification designs integrate these elements by allowing users to make meaningful choices about their progression (autonomy), providing challenges that dynamically match their evolving skill levels (competence), and fostering communities of shared interest (relatedness). By designing systems with these needs in mind, creators ensure that external game mechanics support, rather than supplant, the internal drive to succeed.

The primary purpose of the passage is to: