Feedback
By Chuck Corbin, professor emeritus of the College of Health Solutions at Arizona State University
“We have to protect our kids from excessive use of social media.” We have all seen headlines like this. It is well known that kids spend hours playing games, watching videos, and socializing with friends using social media apps. To be sure, many of the concerns about excessive screen time are warranted. However, the question asked here is not about whether to set limits on screen time but rather about why playing computer games is so attractive.
Companies have made good use of psychological and educational theory to produce computer games that attract young people. They tap into Bandura’s social learning theory, prioritizing self-efficacy and self-confidence to boost intrinsic motivation. As the theory indicates, to build positive self-perception, it is essential that there be optimal challenges. Optimal challenge refers to a challenge that is not too hard and not too easy. If the challenge is too easy, it can lead to boredom and lack of effort. If it is too hard, it leads to frustration and feelings of failure that result in lack of effort. As illustrated in the figure, if the challenge is optimal, success is possible, and students try hard (intrinsic motivation).
Optimal Challenge
From Corbin, C.B. Fitness for Life (7th ed.). Human Kinetics. Copyright C.B. Corbin.
Computer games catch the interest of young people by starting at an appropriate challenge level. As performance improves, the challenge level is adjusted upward. Intrinsic motivation increases, resulting in the desire to continue playing the game. A similar strategy—providing optimal challenge--can be used to increase the intrinsic motivation to perform physical activity, to improve skills, and to improve fitness.
Computer games have an advantage over activities performed in physical education classes because the challenge can be set specifically for one person. In group classes, in which students represent many levels of skill and fitness, offering optimal challenge is more difficult. However, steps can be taken to implement optimal challenge and individualize instruction, even in group settings, as seen in the following examples.
· Skill and fitness. Teachers often use physical activity stations to foster optimal challenge. In this approach, each station has physical activities requiring different levels of skill and fitness. At the stations, students can choose activities commensurate with their abilities and interests.
· Physical activity. Students can be taught self-management skills, especially at the middle and high school level, that allow them to plan physical activity programs that are personalized based on self-assessments and personalized goals. As performance improves, the program is adjusted. The effectiveness of this is approach is well documented (Corbin, 2021).
We, as physical educators, can learn from those who design computer games and take advantage of the concept of optimal challenge to help students of all ability levels develop intrinsic motivation—and the desire to continue to participate in physical activities of all kinds.
Reference
Corbin, C.B. (2021). Conceptual physical education: A course for the future. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 10, 308-322.
Charles B. (“Chuck”) Corbin, PhD, is a professor emeritus of the College of Health Solutions at Arizona State University. He is internationally recognized as an expert in physical activity, health, and wellness promotion and in youth physical fitness. Dr. Corbin has authored or coauthored more than 100 books, including Fitness for Life, Corbin’s Fitness for Life Middle School, Fitness for Life Elementary School, and Concepts of Fitness and Wellness, all of which have earned excellence awards from the Text and Academic Authors Association. He has also published more than 200 journal articles on fitness, health, wellness, and physical activity. Learn more about his most recent text, Corbin's Fitness for Life Middle School, Third Edition.