Development and Validation of the Attitudes Towards Gamification Scale (GAMA): Measuring Attitudes Towards Gamified Learning Across Two Studies

Authors

Sorina Lucretia Florea, Petru Lucian Curșeu, Cătălina Oțoiu*, Elena Manole

Department of Psychology, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Abstract

Gamification’s educational effectiveness depends on learner attitudes, yet no existing instrument captures attitudes toward gamified learning as a unified construct. This paper reports the development and validation of the Attitudes Towards Gamification Scale (GAMA) scale, a 9-item measure grounded in nine core gamification functions across two independent studies. Study 1 (N = 1,835) identified a single-factor structure explaining 69.91% of variance (α = .95). Positive attitudes correlated with self-regulated learning (r = .35, p<.001), perceived ease of use (r = .79, p<.001), and subjective norms (r = .72, p<.001), but not with recreational gaming hours (r = .02, p=.22), establishing attitudes towards gamification as distinct from general gaming engagement. Study 2 (N = 158) used a pre-post design to test a serial mediation model: gamified exposure increased perceived utility, which drove positive attitude change, in turn predicting greater intention to use gamification and perceived learning benefits. All indirect effects were significant, and the scale demonstrated both sensitivity to change and temporal stability. The GAMA scale offers a psychometrically sound tool for diagnosing learner receptiveness and evaluating the impact of gamified instruction.

Keywords: gamification, scale validation, self-determination theory, theory of planned behavior.

PAGES:253-272

doi:10.24193/cbb.2026.30.13

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