Investigating the Impact of Video Games on Achievement Emotions and Academic Motivation with the Mediating Role of Cognitive Strategies in Male Middle School Students in Tehran
Keywords:
computer games, middle school students, cognitive strategies, achievement emotions, academic motivationAbstract
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the impact of computer games on achievement emotions and academic motivation among male middle school students in Tehran, with the mediating role of cognitive strategies.
Methodology: The research was applied in nature and employed a descriptive-correlational design using path analysis. The study population included male students in the first cycle of secondary schools in Tehran during the 2020–2021 academic year. A multi-stage cluster random sampling method was used to select 356 students from four randomly chosen schools in District 6 of Tehran. After data screening, 315 valid responses were analyzed. Four instruments were administered online: Harter’s Academic Motivation Scale, Pekrun’s Achievement Emotions Questionnaire, the Cognitive Strategies Questionnaire by Dawson and McInerney, and a researcher-made measure of daily gaming time. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation, regression analysis, and Hayes’ bootstrapping method for mediation testing.
Findings: Computer game usage showed significant negative correlations with positive emotions (r = -0.18), intrinsic motivation (r = -0.23), extrinsic motivation (r = -0.17), organization strategies (r = -0.25), and semantic elaboration (r = -0.27). It had a significant positive correlation with negative emotions (r = 0.22). Regression results showed that gaming negatively predicted intrinsic motivation (β = -0.097, p = 0.041) and positively predicted negative emotions (β = 0.158, p = 0.004). Organization strategies significantly mediated the effects of gaming on positive emotions (indirect effect = -0.13, p = 0.02), negative emotions (0.06, p = 0.04), and intrinsic motivation (-0.14, p = 0.02), but not on extrinsic motivation (p = 0.12).
Conclusion: The findings suggest that excessive computer game use adversely affects students’ emotional and motivational states, both directly and indirectly through reduced use of cognitive strategies.
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