Abstract This study primarily examined whether belief generation had effects on indicators of cross-cultural competence measured within a game-based social simulation. Participants (N = 433) played a game simulating an artificial culture with norms embodying two cultural concepts: hierarchy and collectivism. Participants were randomized into one of three conditions and completed three game quests: (1) Beliefs All (entered their beliefs about the culture after each quest), (2) Beliefs at End (entered their beliefs at the end of the game), or (3) No Beliefs (never entered their beliefs). We evaluated the degree to which metacognitive reflection, elicited through the frequency of belief generation, had effects on social exploration, the proportion of culturally-appropriate actions, and players' conceptual knowledge of the cultural system at the end of the game. Results indicated that the Beliefs All condition outperformed at least one of the alternative experimental conditions on each of these outcomes, each of which represented an important indicator of cross-cultural competence as measured through game performance metrics. A secondary goal of this work was to examine the degree to which within-game process data predicted game performance, irrespective of belief generation. Social exploration indicators predicted game performance, signifying that taking conversational turns and making attempts to build positive rapport with game characters led to a better understanding of the values upheld in the simulated culture. Subsequent cluster analyses resulted in four different types of learner clusters (fast, slow, none, and inconsistent learning gains) which emerged through game actions. Results indicated that learner clusters and belief generation condition had independent associations with cross-cultural concept learning, suggesting that there are individual differences that explain cross-cultural competence as measured within the context of a game-based assessment. Implications of this research are expansive and include: (1) recommendations for the development of social simulation games for cultural training, (2) the pedagogical uses of educational games to promote students’ knowledge of cross-cultural concepts, and (3) the use of belief generation as a mechanism for promoting cross-cultural concept learning in interventions and for professional development purposes.

中文翻译：

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在基于游戏的社交模拟中，信念生成对社会探索、文化适宜行为和跨文化概念学习的影响

摘要 本研究主要考察了信念生成是否对基于游戏的社会模拟中衡量的跨文化能力指标有影响。参与者（N = 433）玩了一个模拟人工文化的游戏，其规范体现了两个文化概念：等级制度和集体主义。参与者被随机分配到三个条件之一并完成三个游戏任务：（1）全部信仰（在每个任务后输入他们对文化的信仰），（2）最终信仰（在游戏结束时输入他们的信仰），或(3) 没有信仰（从未进入他们的信仰）。我们评估了通过信念产生频率引发的元认知反思对社会探索、文化适当行为的比例和玩家的影响程度。游戏结束时文化系统的概念性知识。结果表明，信念所有条件在这些结果中的每一个上都优于至少一个替代实验条件，每一个都代表了跨文化能力的重要指标，通过游戏性能指标衡量。这项工作的第二个目标是检查游戏内过程数据预测游戏性能的程度，而与信念生成无关。社会探索指标可以预测游戏表现，这意味着轮流对话并尝试与游戏角色建立积极的关系，可以更好地理解模拟文化中所坚持的价值观。随后的聚类分析产生了四种不同类型的学习者聚类（快、慢、无、和不一致的学习收益）通过游戏动作出现。结果表明，学习者集群和信念生成条件与跨文化概念学习具有独立关联，这表明在基于游戏的评估背景下测量跨文化能力存在个体差异。这项研究的意义是广泛的，包括：（1）开发用于文化培训的社交模拟游戏的建议，（2）教育游戏的教学用途，以促进学生对跨文化概念的了解，以及（3）使用将信念生成作为在干预和专业发展中促进跨文化概念学习的机制。结果表明，学习者集群和信念生成条件与跨文化概念学习具有独立关联，这表明在基于游戏的评估背景下测量跨文化能力存在个体差异。这项研究的意义是广泛的，包括：（1）开发用于文化培训的社交模拟游戏的建议，（2）教育游戏的教学用途，以促进学生对跨文化概念的了解，以及（3）使用将信念生成作为在干预和专业发展中促进跨文化概念学习的机制。结果表明，学习者集群和信念生成条件与跨文化概念学习具有独立关联，这表明在基于游戏的评估背景下测量跨文化能力存在个体差异。这项研究的意义是广泛的，包括：（1）开发用于文化培训的社交模拟游戏的建议，（2）教育游戏的教学用途，以促进学生对跨文化概念的了解，以及（3）使用将信念生成作为在干预和专业发展中促进跨文化概念学习的机制。表明存在个体差异可以解释在基于游戏的评估背景下衡量的跨文化能力。这项研究的意义是广泛的，包括：（1）开发用于文化培训的社交模拟游戏的建议，（2）教育游戏的教学用途，以促进学生对跨文化概念的了解，以及（3）使用将信念生成作为在干预和专业发展中促进跨文化概念学习的机制。表明存在个体差异可以解释在基于游戏的评估背景下衡量的跨文化能力。这项研究的意义是广泛的，包括：（1）开发用于文化培训的社交模拟游戏的建议，（2）教育游戏的教学用途，以促进学生对跨文化概念的了解，以及（3）使用信念生成作为促进跨文化概念学习干预和专业发展的机制。