Abstract: This dissertation aims to generate knowledge that can advance the practice of higher educational gamification. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory, the dissertation emphasizes the importance of designing gamification in ways that support students’ basic psychological needs for autonomy and competence.
Three studies are included, focusing on how design decisions taken about gamification affect these two needs. Together, the articles provide empirically grounded and theoretically informed implications for the practice of higher educational gamification. Specifically, they highlight concrete design decisions that matter in designing gamification that facilitates high-quality student motivation.
Opponents: Professor Sylvester Arnab, Coventry University, England, and Professor Anne Marit Valle, Faculty of Education and Arts
Supervisors: Associate Professor Robin Isfold Munkvold, Faculty of Social Sciences (main supervisor), Associate Professor Adam Palmquist, Faculty of Social Sciences, and Associate Professor Marina Prilutskaya, Faculty of Education and Arts
Date and time for final seminar: 23 February 2026, 13.30 - 16.30
Place: Online via Teams: Join the meeting