The Psychological Effects of Playing Exergames: A Systematic Review

Successful exergames should lead players not only to achieve enough level of energy expenditure but also to engage in the play itself. The aim of this study is to review studies that explored the psychological effects of playing exergames, from the viewpoint of player engagement. Peer-reviewed journal articles in English collected via database search (Science Direct, Web of Science, ACM Digital Library) from 2011 to 2015 were considered, and 45 experimental studies were selected out of 911 studies. The results show that a variety of psychological effects of engagement including enjoyment, immersion, and flow were measured in the exergame studies. In addition, physiological variables (e.g., energy expenditure), feedback modality (e.g., auditory and tactile), and play modes (e.g., solitary or group play mode) are related to psychological effects of playing exergames. Finally, salient methodological issues (e.g., validated measurement, sample size calculation) in the studies are identified and discussed.