The dual-path mechanism underlying the influence of gamification categories on continuous use intention toward MOOCs

Although previous studies have corroborated the pivotal role of gamification in shaping learners’ continuous use intention toward to massive open online courses (MOOCs), the underlying psychological mechanisms remain underexplored. Grounded in the cognitive-affective personality system (CAPS) theory, this study advances a dual-path mediating model to elucidate how distinct gamification categories are associated with the continuous use intention toward MOOCs (CUIM). By combining offline and online questionnaire surveys, we collected a total of 416 valid samples, which were subsequently analyzed via partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

The results demonstrate that this proposed model accounts for most of the variance in CUIM. Furthermore, gamification categories are shown to exert a positive relationship with CUIM. More importantly, this relationship is mediated by two key factors: goal commitment and perceived enjoyment.

Collectively, these findings provides robust empirical evidence in support of all research hypotheses, thereby consolidating the theoretical foundation for CUIM, and providing practical insights for designing more engaging gamified MOOCs aimed at boosting learner retention. This work was supported by the China Association of Higher Education [grant number 23XXK0405], Scientific Research Foundation for the Introduction of Talents, Suqian University, Jiangsu Province Innovative and Entrepreneurial Talent Project [grant number JSSCBS20221478]. Hubei University Of Economics, Wuhan, China The authors declare no competing interests.

All procedures of this study adhere to the Declaration of Helsinki and the Measures for the Ethical Review of Life Science and Medical Research Involving Human (https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2023-02/28/content_5743658.htm) promulgated by China. Specifically, this study is not medical research and does not involve human experimentation as defined in the Declaration of Helsinki, and the questions in the questionnaire have no adverse effect on the mental health status of the respondents. This study uses anonymized data to conduct research, causing no harm to the human body and involving neither sensitive personal information nor commercial interests.

According to the regulations of the Ethics Committee of Suqian University, ethical approval is not required for this questionnaire-based study. The ethical approval was exempted on December 25, 2024. All participants provided informed consent, which was obtained from January 1 to 20, 2025.

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