Neurophysiological prediction of competitive orientation via EEG during outcome evaluation in gamified learning.

Overview

1. Center for Information and Neural Networks, Advanced ICT Research Institute, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, and Osaka University, 651-2492 Kobe, Japan

Abstract

Gamification often employs competition-based mechanics to enhance motivation; however, their effectiveness varies depending on an individual’s competitive orientation. This study proposes a method to assess competitive orientation using EEG data in a gamified learning environment. Twenty-eight participants completed a gamified mental arithmetic task under two conditions: competing against an opponent (competitive condition) and attempting to surpass their best score (self-referential condition). Event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to outcome feedback—P300, feedback-related negativity, and reward positivity (RewP)—were analyzed. Results showed that RewP amplitude in the competitive condition was significantly correlated with competitive orientation scores. P300 amplitude was associated with the scores regardless of condition. Furthermore, a support vector regression model trained on ERP and behavioral features from the competitive condition predicted competitive orientation scores (r = 0.468). These findings suggest that ERP responses provide objective information for estimating competitive orientation, highlighting a neurophysiological approach to personalized gamification design.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Code

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Code availability

The code used in this study is not publicly available but is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request to qualified researchers.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

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Data

No dataset and no data link were found in the paper.

Data availability

The dataset used in this study is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Only data for which participants have provided consent for public sharing can be made available.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Versions

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Version 1, 29 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, issue, pages, dates, 4 authors, 2 keywords, 1 funder, 27 references.

Cite

This paper

Watanabe, H., Tabata, A., Ishii, C., & Naruse, Y. (2026). Neurophysiological prediction of competitive orientation via EEG during outcome evaluation in gamified learning. NPJ science of learning, 11(1), 34. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-026-00420-y

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