Examining the role of personality traits and perceived need satisfaction in gamified learning

Abstract

Grounded in self-determination theory, our study explored how personality traits interacted with perceived need satisfaction, influencing students’ enjoyment and future participation intention in a leaderboard-based gamified learning context. A sample of 109 undergraduate students participated in a leaderboard-based math activity and completed surveys measuring their personality traits, perceived need satisfaction, enjoyment, and intention for future participation. The results indicated that the trait of emotional stability was a crucial moderator of the relationships between perceived need satisfaction and enjoyment. Additionally, the trait of agreeableness moderated the relationship between perceived autonomy and future participation intention. The study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanism of leaderboards and highlights the importance of theory-based investigation into the influence of personality traits in gamified environments.

https://doi.org/10.34105/j.kmel.2026.18.011