How to be a Successful Student: An Intervention Study using a Gaming Method

Rozainee Khairudin, Nur Syafiqa Hazira Yusri

Abstract


Will a quest game improve participants' mindset and increase their competitiveness? There is a great interest in leveraging quest games to improve the participants' growth mindset since little is known whether a quest game can affect mindset and competitiveness. This study investigates the effects of a quest-based intervention on students’ psychological beliefs, specifically targeting growth mindset, fixed mindset, and competitiveness. A total of 64 UKM students participated, with 32 in the experimental group and 32 in the control group. The participants were required to play a game, which is a quest game for the experimental group and Tetris for the control group. At Weeks 1, 4, 8, and 12, participants completed a questionnaire battery comprising two instruments: the Implicit Theory of Intelligence Scale, which includes 6 items rated on a 6-point Likert scale to assess mindset orientation, and the Competitiveness Index, which consists of 14 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale to measure individual competitiveness. Findings revealed a significant increase in growth mindset over time within the experimental group, supporting the intervention’s effectiveness in promoting adaptive beliefs through gamified learning. Fixed mindset and competitiveness remained stable across the 12-week period, suggesting that these constructs may be more resistant to short-term change or were not directly activated by the intervention design. The study underscores the potential of quest-based environments to influence mindset through lived experience, while also highlighting the limitations of indirect influence on more trait-like psychological dimensions.


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