Gamifying a web survey among adolescents: effects on understanding of risk, risk calculation, and ratio-bias

Abstract

We measured if a gamified design of a web survey can improve accuracy in understanding of risk and risk calculation among adolescents aged 11–15 years. We collected data from 213 respondents. They were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions: a traditional web survey and a gamified web survey (gamified design). The gamified design increased risk understanding and accuracy in risk calculation in cognitively demanding questions. A positive effect of the gamified design varied depending on the risk literacy of the participants. In addition, the gamified design increased perception of risk as more serious and at the same time slightly decreased the ratio-bias effect (the effect with a larger denominator producing higher risk evaluation than a smaller denominator).

Keywords:

• Risk communication
• gamification
• adolescents
• risk calculation
• understanding of risk

Acknowledgments

The article was prepared within the framework of the Basic Research Program at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE) and supported within the framework of a subsidy by the Russian Academic Excellence Project ‘5-100.’

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The article is supported by The Russian Science Foundation (Grant No. 17-78-20172).