Exploratory Study of the Relationship Between HEXAD Player Types and Cognitive Learning Objectives

This exploratory study examines whether the six player types of the HEXAD gamification model relate to success at different cognitive levels of the Anderson and Krathwohl taxonomy, a link the author argues has been largely unexamined in prior research, which has focused mainly on motivational and affective outcomes. The work uses an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design: a gamified online test completed by 12 bachelor-level students at a German university, followed by seven semi-structured interviews analyzed through qualitative content analysis. The instructional content covered process optimization and the Customer Journey, with learning levels spanning Remember through Evaluate.

The quantitative findings indicate that player types appear to perform differently depending on cognitive complexity rather than excelling uniformly. Players were most represented among successful participants at the procedural application level, while Philanthropists led at analytical and evaluative levels. Performance for Players declined as complexity increased, Achievers responded positively to escalating difficulty, and Socialisers showed a marked drop at the evaluative level. Qualitative data suggested that extrinsic rewards were more effective at lower complexity, while intrinsic relevance and meaning became more important at higher levels, and that the absence of collaborative features and instructional scaffolding may have contributed to these patterns.

The study is subject to substantial limitations, which the author acknowledges. The sample of 12 participants precludes inferential statistics and generalization, and the cohort was predominantly male and drawn largely from game-related study programs. The short, online format offers limited ecological validity, and the 75% attainment threshold was set a priori without sensitivity testing. The author therefore frames the findings as preliminary indications warranting confirmation through larger, longer-term studies embedded in real university modules.