This study examines the impact of gamification on education using a novel gamified digital learning platform and a randomized controlled trial (RCT) protocol. Following established research guidelines (CONSORT, Cochrane Collaboration, EVAT©), we assessed the individual and combined effects of points, badges, and challenges against a control group without gamification. The RCT evaluated participant characteristics (sociodemographics, game habits, player traits) and outcomes in cognition (learning, engagement, webcam-based eye-tracking for visual attention, cognitive load), emotions (affective states, webcam-based facial emotion recognition), and motivation (intrinsic motivation). Results showed significantly higher learning for participants using all game elements versus the control group, while badges alone increased cognitive load compared to the other gamification groups. These findings suggest that gamification is more effective when thoughtfully integrating game elements rather than applying elements in isolation, aligning goal-setting with feedback, and combining intrinsic and extrinsic motivational cues. The absence of significant results in other variables may reflect the novelty effect, emphasizing the importance of aligning gamification with pedagogical goals, considering individual and contextual factors, and designing systems that address usability and long-term impact. Educational implications and design recommendations are provided.

Phubbing is defined as ignoring other individuals by using a mobile phone during a face-to-face conversation. The Phubbing Scale (PS) was developed to assess this practice. In this study, we analyze the psychometric properties of the 8-item version of the PS (PS-8) in the Portuguese population, providing validity evidence based on internal structure and on relationships with other variables, and examining item properties, reliability, and measurement invariance across gender. Participants were 391 Portuguese adults (132 men, 259 women) who completed a battery of questionnaires. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded satisfactory goodness-of-fit indices for the two-factor structure (communication disturbance and phone obsession), which was invariant across gender. Item homogeneity and reliability of factor scores (McDonald’s omega) were satisfactory. Validity evidence based on relationships with other variables was provided by positive associations with time spent on the Internet on weekdays and at the weekend, time spent on social networking sites, number of social networks used, Internet addiction, problematic mobile phone use, Facebook intrusion, fear of missing out, and depression. These associations show the addictive component of phubbing and its relationship with mental health. The PS-8 is a short and easy-to-administer scale with adequate psychometric properties for measuring phubbing in the Portuguese population.

Based on the embodiment theory of action and the shared neural networks between action execution and action observation, we investigate how an acute bout of exercise and action observation might differently modulate proneness for exercise. We used a visual analog scale to assess proneness for exercise and collected salivary cortisol pre and post conditions to investigate if cortisol secretion subtends proneness for exercise derived from seeing and doing. Thirty University students (16 Active and 14 Sedentary) volunteered to participate in all 3 conditions (Control; Action Execution; and Action Observation). Crucially, we find that the mere observation of action leads to a greater enhancement of proneness for exercise when compared to action execution. Increased proneness for exercise, however, is not associated with higher cortisol secretion linked to cortical motor activity brought about by embodiment. We suggest that the decisional motivation process is cognitive and top-down and not bottom-up as embodiment theories would suggest. Moreover, we did not find any difference between active and sedentary participants in cortisol secretion across conditions, suggesting a complex interaction between intensity and chronicity on perceived exertion and cortisol secretion. Crucially, our findings contribute to further our understanding of the mechanisms of exercise engagement.