Gamification as a Tool of Political Socialization of Youth: A Field Experiment Comparing Motivational Systems
( Pp. 36-48)
More about authors
Fedotov Daniil A.
postgraduate student, Faculty of Political Science, leading specialist, Office of the Chairman; Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg, director of Science and Development; ANO “DIMADI Laboratory”
Saint Petersburg State University
Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
Saint Petersburg State University
Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
Abstract:
The article presents an experimental comparison of the effectiveness of different motivational systems in a gamified political environment. A controlled field experiment was conducted: 120 participants of the All-Russian “Gvardeysk” Forum (August 2025) were randomly assigned to six parallel groups of 20, each operating under a specific motivational condition (creative, competitive, high/moderate material incentives, team-based, collective responsibility). Groups with creative motivation (8.7 points) and individual competitiveness (8.2 points) substantially outperformed materially incentivized groups (5.9–7.1 points). An inverse relationship between material reward size and work quality was observed. The study is exploratory and requires replication.
How to Cite:
Fedotov, D.A. (2026). Gamification as a tool of political socialization of youth: A field experiment comparing motivational systems. Sociopolitical Sciences, 16(3), 36–48. DOI: 10.33693/2223-0092-2026-16-3-36-48. EDN: TANDRK
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Gorshkov M.K., Sheregi F.E. The youth of Russia under the lens of sociology: Results of years of research. Moscow: Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FCTAS RAS), 2020. 688 p. ISBN: 978-5-89697-325-6. DOI: 10.19181/monogr.978-5-89697-325-6.2020. EDN: BNSNDA.
Zubok Yu.A., Aleksandrova O.A., Chuprov V.I. et al. Self-regulation among youth: Typology and modeling. Yu.A. Zubok (ed.). Belgorod: Epicenter, 2022. 360 p. DOI: 10.19181/monogr.978-5-89697-382-9.2022. EDN: TENQIH.
Koryakovtseva O.A. The state and youth: Problems of civil interaction. Social and Political Researches. 2022. No. 3 (16). Pp. 20–32. (In Rus.). DOI: 10.20323/2658-428X-2022-3-16-20-32. EDN: NXAOUG.
Leontiev D.A. Leontiev’s concept of motive and the issue of the quality of motivation. The Moscow University Herald. Series 14: Psychology, 2016. No. 2. Pp. 3–18. (In Rus.). EDN: XHOHDP.
Youth political leadership in Russian Regions O.V. Popova, Ya.Yu. Shashkova (eds.). St. Petersburg: Skifiya-Print, 2020. 216 p. ISBN: 978-5-98620-492-5. EDN: CFTJVC.
North D.C. Institutions, institutional change and economic performance. Moscow: Nachala, 1997. 180 p. ISBN: 5-88581-006-0. EDN: YQDVYE.
Popova O.V., Grishin N.V. Political trust of the Russian youth through the prism of Communication strategies choice. Galactica Media: Journal of Media Studies. 2023. No. 3. Pp. 79–101. (In Rus.). DOI: 10.46539/gmd.v5i3.362. EDN: XJPCNE.
Popova O.V., Negrov E.O. Youth policy through the eyes of youth: Is the problem in PR? Central Russian Journal of Social Sciences. 2019. Vol. 14. No. 6. Pp. 37–58. (In Rus.). DOI: 10.22394/2071-2367-2019-14-6-37-58. EDN: IWPYCJ.
Pyrma R.V. The influence of digital communications on political participation. Humanities and Social Sciences. Bulletin of the Financial University. 2019. Vol. 9. No. 4 (40). Pp. 63–69. (In Rus.). DOI: 10.26794/2226-7867-2019-9-4-63-69. EDN: VJZTNM.
Rastorguev S.V. The values of Russian youth as an element of the political culture of society. Vlast. 2022. Vol. 30. No. 4. Pp. 105–110. (In Rus.). DOI: 10.31171/vlast.v30i4.9134. EDN: JIZILV.
Selezneva A.V. Youth in modern Russia: Political values and preferences. Moscow: ARGAMAK-MEDIA, 2014. 276 p. ISBN: 9875000240267. EDN: THIIQL.
Shashkova Ya.Yu., Aseev S.Yu. Motives and factors of students’ political activity in the border territories of Siberia and the Far East. Tomsk State University Journal of Philosophy, Sociology and Political Science. 2022. No. 67. Pp. 231–242. (In Rus.). DOI: 10.17223/1998863X/67/20. EDN: EDIVST.
Bernaerts K., Blanckaert B., Caluwaerts D. Institutional design and polarization: Do consensus democracies fare better in fighting polarization than majoritarian democracies? Democratization. 2023. Vol. 30. No. 3. Pp. 485–507. DOI: 10.1080/13510347.2022.2117300. EDN: DUBJTX.
Costa P.T., Freitag M.B. Personality and political participation: The role of internal motivation. Political Behavior. 2017. Vol. 48. Pp. 28–32. DOI: 10.1007/s11109-016-9365-2.
Deci E.L., Ryan R.M. Self-determination theory: A macrotheory of human motivation, development, and health. Canadian Psychology. 2008. Vol. 49. Pp. 182–185. DOI: 10.1037/a0012801.
Hassan L., Hamari J. Gameful Civic engagement: A review of the literature on gamification of e-participation. Government Information Quarterly. 2020. Vol. 37. No. 3. Pp. 21–34. DOI: 10.1016/j.giq.2020.101461. EDN: PQMGVM.
Hodgson G.M. What are institutions? Journal of Economic Issues. 2006. Vol. 40. No. 1. Pp. 1–25. DOI: 10.1080/00213624.2006.11506879.
Lilleker D.G., Koc-Michalska K. What drives political participation? Motivations and mobilization in a Digital Age. Political Communication. 2017. Vol. 34. No. 1. Pp. 21–43. DOI: 10.1080/10584609.2016.1225235.
Loh W. The gamification of political participation. Moral Philosophy and Politics. 2019. Vol. 6. No. 2. Pp. 261–280. DOI: 10.1515/mopp-2018-0037.
North D.C. Institutions. Journal of Economic Perspectives. 1991. Vol. 5. No. 1. Pp. 97–112. DOI: 10.1257/jep.5.1.97. EDN: BIYCPT.
Romano M., Díaz P., Aedo I. Gamification-less: May gamification really foster civic participation? A controlled field experiment. Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanized Computing. 2022. Vol. 13. No. 9. Pp. 4451–4465. DOI: 10.1007/s12652-021-03322-6. EDN: BFUFVG.
Stattin H., Amnå E., Russo S. Setting societal engagement goals during adolescence amplifies the impacts of political interest on political activities during young adulthood. International Journal of Behavioral Development. 2023. Vol. 47. No. 2. Pp. 135–145. DOI: 10.1177/01650254221113465. EDN: QEBGYE.
Steiner P.M., Shadish W.R., Sullivan K.J. Frameworks for causal inference in psychological science. In: APA handbook of research methods in psychology. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2023. Vol. 1. Pp. 23–56. DOI: 10.1037/0000318-002.
Van den Hout J.J., Davis O.C., Weggeman M.C. The conceptualization of team flow. Journal of Psychology. 2018. Vol. 152. No. 6. Pp. 388–423. DOI: 10.1080/00223980.2018.1449729.
Winsvold M., Torfing J. How institutional designs condition perceived local political leadership. Local Government Studies. 2021. Vol. 47. No. 5. Pp. 720–742. DOI: 10.1080/03003930.2020.1821664.
Keywords:
gamification, motivational systems, youth policy, field experiment, political socialization, intrinsic motivation.
