10/11/2026
Points go up. Learning does not follow.
Deci, Koestner and Ryan pooled 128 experiments: tangible rewards undermined intrinsic motivation. Hanus and Fox gamified a course for a semester and got lower motivation, lower satisfaction and lower exam scores. Mekler and colleagues got more output, with no gain in motivation or quality.
The effect has a name: overjustification. Reward someone for something they already wanted to do, and you replace their reason for doing it.
Gamification is not the enemy. But every badge, streak and leaderboard should have to justify what it does to the learner's motivation, not just to the dashboard.
https://elqn.org/gamification-problems-elearning-motivation/