Comparative effects of cooperative and competitive social models on motivation and physiological engagement in VR exergaming

Gao, Gan, Lynch, George, Finnegan, Daniel Joseph ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1169-2842, Verdezoto Dias, Nervo ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5006-4262 and Barathi, Soumya 2026. Comparative effects of cooperative and competitive social models on motivation and physiological engagement in VR exergaming. Frontiers in Virtual Reality 7 , 1897543. 10.3389/frvir.2026.1897543

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Abstract

Many virtual reality (VR) exergames incorporate social elements, yet it remains unclear how different social configurations shape exercise motivation and performance. We conducted a mixed-methods within-subject study with 30 participants comparing three VR cycling implementations: a self-paced Solo baseline, a Cooperative-framed pacing condition using a replay-based self- or friend-modelled virtual partner, and an adaptive AI-Competitive condition. Participants completed three 20-min sessions. Mean power output, heart rate, electrodermal activity, perceived exertion, and standardized motivation measures were analysed using repeated-measures methods, while post-session open-ended responses were analysed thematically. The Solo baseline was administered first to generate the replay profile, and the order of the two social conditions was counterbalanced. The Cooperative-framed condition produced the highest IMI enjoyment, whereas the adaptive AI-Competitive condition produced the highest mean power output. Both social conditions had lower post-session perceived-exertion ratings than Solo. Participants described the Cooperative-framed condition primarily in terms of companionship, shared pacing, and reduced isolation, while the AI-Competitive condition was described in terms of challenge, comparison, and goal pursuit. Because the AI-Competitive implementation combined competitive framing with heart-rate-responsive pacing, its higher output cannot be attributed to competition alone. These findings show that complete social-exercise implementations can be associated with distinct short-term motivational and performance profiles. Cooperative social framing may support enjoyment and perceived relatedness, whereas adaptive competitive pacing may support short-term performance challenge. Longitudinal and better-matched control designs are required to isolate the effects of social framing from pacing adaptation and to determine whether these patterns support sustained exercise engagement.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Computational & Mathematical Sciences Schools > Computer Science & Informatics
Publisher:	Frontiers Media
ISSN:	2673-4192
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	3 September 2026
Date of Acceptance:	27 July 2026
Last Modified:	03 Sep 2026 13:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/189371

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