Motivations in Sports and Fitness Gamification : A study to understand what motivates the users of sports and fitness gamification services

Abstract: Sports and fitness is a trending theme in the field of gamification, which in turn is a trending theme in cross media. Underlying the concept of gamification is motivation. Sports and fitness seems to be an area where people have a hard time of motivating themselves in. Even though sports and fitness is popular, most research has been made in other settings. The research that has been made so far on motivation in gamification stands on two different sides on how gamification should be used to motivate users. One advocates the work on the user’s external motivation while the other focuses on internal motivation. By asking users of sports and fitness gamification services I seek to find out what motivates them. This thesis shows that by working on the user’s external motivation, the internal motivation can increase over time. Based on the findings I suggest a new implication for design in gamification which better suits the area of sports and fitness and will hopefully help gamification designers and researchers alike.