Purpose: Gamification has gained popularity in social marketing research; however, its application remains limited to a few contexts, and relatively little is known about how innovative gamification technologies such as augmented reality can be applied to social marketing programme design. This paper aims to demonstrate the application of gamification to a social marketing pilot programme designed to increase children’s empathy and empathic behaviour. Design/methodology/approach: Informed by social cognitive theory (SCT), a mixed-method research design was adopted using pre- and post-programme surveys (n = 364) to assess effectiveness using paired samples t-test. Qualitative data included observations, participant’s questions and a feedback activity at the end of the programme. A thematic analysis was undertaken to examine the data and detect meaningful insights. Findings: Children’s affective empathy and empathic behaviour outcomes were improved following the pilot programme. However, no effects were observed for cognitive empathy and social norms. Thematic analysis revealed three themes to further improve the game: developmentally appropriate design, user experience and game design. Research limitations/implications: Findings demonstrated challenges with the application of SCT outlining a disconnect between the design of the gamified programme and theory application. Practical implications: This study provides initial evidence for the application of innovative gamification technologies to increase empathy in children. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to examine how a gamified social marketing programme can increase empathy in children.

中文翻译：

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一种游戏化的方法来促进儿童的同理心

目的：游戏化已在社会营销研究中获得普及；但是，它的应用仍然局限于少数情况，关于如何将增强现实之类的创新游戏化技术应用于社会营销计划设计的了解还很少。本文旨在展示游戏化在社会营销试点计划中的应用，该计划旨在增加儿童的同理心和同情行为。设计/方法/方法：根据社会认知理论（SCT）的信息，采用混合方法研究设计，该方法采用了计划前和计划后调查（n = 364），以配对样本t检验评估有效性。定性数据包括观察，参与者的问题和计划结束时的反馈活动。进行了主题分析，以检查数据并发现有意义的见解。结果：在试点计划之后，儿童的情感移情和移情行为结果得到改善。然而，没有观察到认知移情和社会规范的影响。主题分析揭示了进一步改善游戏的三个主题：适合开发的设计，用户体验和游戏设计。研究局限性/含义：研究结果证明了SCT的应用面临的挑战，概述了游戏化程序的设计与理论应用之间的脱节。实际意义：这项研究为创新游戏化技术的应用提供了初步的证据，以增加儿童的同理心。原创性/价值：就作者所知，