Performance, motivation and immersion within a suite of working memory games

Abstract

Almost 20% of Norwegian children and youth struggle with behavioural and cognitive disability. Working memory deficiency is especially common among children with ADHD. Recent advances in developmental psychology suggest that people with ADHD might benefit from games designed to train working memory abilities. The motivating factor from computer games can be especially strong to those with ADHD, as they respond strongly to motivational reinforcement. This thesis investigates performance, motivation and immersion within a suite of working memory games. A user study was conducted with a group of 27 Norwegian children. The participants played a game with a suite of working memory training minigames and answered a questionnaire about the game experience. Observations, game event data and questionnaire results were analysed in order to explore performance, motivation and immersion in game experience. The analysis showed that participants improved as they played the games and that the new skills appeared to transfer to the other minigames as well. There is a significant correlation between immersion and wanting to play the game again. Participants who had higher immersion rates were more likely to want to play the game again. The positive findings in improvement and immersion support the idea of using games as a source of motivation in a serious context.