Games have been used for centuries as a tool to
foster the learning process. When designed well, they have
demonstrated an ability to motivate people to improve their skills
and capabilities. Scoring mechanisms in games involve different
strategies to improve a participant’s motivation to perform well.
Is the most conducive scoring method for learning providing
points for good decisions, or is a scoring method that rewards
points for good decisions and deducts points for poor decisions
more effective? We conduct an empirical study where entry-level
human resources workers (N=42) from 6 countries learn to
model the behavior of experts and rate résumés on a 10-point
scale. We find that a reward-only scoring mechanism benefits
the learning process over one that both rewards and punishes.
The reward-only scoring mechanism also provides more
variability in the ratings assigned, meaning participants are more
open to taking risks with their selections.
