The Influence of Gamification on University Students’ Learning Outcomes in India and Malaysia Integration of Self-Determination and Social Learning Theory

Abstract

Gamification emerged as a new learning strategy to encourage students to learn in colleges. The paper investigates the effects of gamification, user experience, and environmental aspects on the cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects of perceived motivation. According to the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Social Learning Theory (SLT), the interactions between social modeling and psychological needs are proposed to be analyzed within the framework of a dual-theoretical model in the context of gamified learning. A cross-sectional quantitative survey was utilized, with a five-point Likert scale questionnaire. The questionnaire included seven sections, three for the endogenous factors (gamification tools, user experiences, and environmental factors), and four for assessing exogenous variables (cognitive factors, affective factors, behavioral factors, and motivational features). Data were gathered through 172 respondents from Malaysia and India. The construct reliability and validity were validated using SmartPLS. Findings indicate that gamification tools are positively associated with cognitive impacts, user experience strongly predicts both cognitive and affective engagement, while environmental factors have a significant influence on behavior. The cognitive processes were more closely related to behavioral engagement than to affective state. The study brings together SDT and SLT under one unified framework and provides practical suggestions for gamified learning environment designers to promote continued engagement and academic performance, while contributing to SDG 4: Quality Education.