The Mediational Role of Identification in the Relationship between Experience Mode and Self-Efficacy: Enactive Role-Playing versus Passive Observation

Abstract

Based on Social Cognitive Theory, this study proposes a new concept—mediated enactive experience to understand game playing effects on self-efficacy in the context of a health promotion role-playing game. An experiment demonstrated that a mediated enactive experience afforded by game playing was more effective than a mediated observational experience provided by game watching in influencing self-efficacy. It was found that identification with the game character partially mediated the relationship between experience mode and self-efficacy.