Enjoying the possibility of defeat: Outcome uncertainty, suspense, and intrinsic motivation

• Published in: Motivation and emotion Vol. 39; no. 1; pp. 1 - 10
• Main Authors: Abuhamdeh, Sami, Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly, Jalal, Baland
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.02.2015; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Behavioral Science and Psychology; Clinical Psychology; Computer & video games; Motivation; Original Paper; Personality and Social Psychology; Psychology; Sports; Perceived competence; Intrinsic motivation; Suspense; Outcome uncertainty

In two studies, the relevance of outcome uncertainty and suspense for intrinsic motivation was examined. In Study 1, participants played a competitive zero-sum video game in which outcome uncertainty during the game (operationalized as the degree of parity between player–opponent scores) was manipul...