GAMIFYING PROSOCIAL GOALS: THE ROLE OF COMPETITIVE AND COOPERATIVE DYNAMICS
Extensive research has explored the impact of social interactions, namely competition and cooperation, on goal pursuit. However, there is a dearth of studies examining these dynamics within the context of prosocial goal settings. Addressing this gap, we investigated the influence of gamified interactions on individuals' pursuit of prosocial goals, as well as their enjoyment and overall well-being. Our research involved two correlational studies: one with 499 users across 116 apps, and another with 440 users of Alipay Ant Forest. Surprisingly, in the prosocial goal setting, characterized by cooperative and altruistic intentions, competition emerged as a significant positive and dominant predictor across almost all examined variables, while cooperation displayed more varied effects. Additionally, the findings from Study 2 underscore the distinction between perceived competition/cooperation and actual competitive/cooperative behaviors. Marketers can leverage gamification, particularly gamified competition, to foster user engagement, continued engagement intention, performance, enjoyment, and overall well-being in prosocial goal contexts.