Fighting Mr. X

Competition can be used in the classroom to enhance motivation, excitement and involvement of learners in their activity. However, research has shown the possible negative effects of competition on human interactions including less effective communication within the cooperative team and decrease of overall performance gains as well as interpersonal relationships (Johnson, Johnson and Maruyama, 1983).

This paper (Yu, 2003) explores the possibility of educational video games (in this case a Monopoly-like video game named “Joice”) to offer anonymity or physical separation while interacting within a networking system and their effects on classroom atmosphere and group processes. Pairs of students were set to compete either face-to-face, separated by at least 15 feet but aware of the name of their competitors or in an complete anonymous setting where the pairs of students did not know the names of the competing pair. After the game, they were asked to answer a survey exploring their perceptions of the classroom climate and the group process. The results of the survey showed that anonymity and reduced proximity minimized in-group process losses associated with face-to-face competition and increased teammate interactions and good communication within the group.

The implications of these results are particularly important for educational game designers as it suggests that anonymity is a useful feature in the design of the games. It also underlines the positive and negative aspects of competitive environment in education as well as the effect of anonymity on students communication in a social networking environment.


References:

Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., and Maruyama, G. (1983). Interdependence and interpersonal attraction among heterogeneous and homogeneous individuals: A theoretical formulation and a meta-analysis of the research. Review of Educational Research, 53, 5-54.

Yu, F.Y. (2003). The mediating effects of anonymity and proximity in an online synchronized competitive learning environment. J.Educational Computing Research, Vol. 29(2) pp153-167.