Journal of Political Science Education
January 2021
Abstract
This study presents the results of a quasi-experiment (N = 254) conducted over the course of ten weeks in Spring 2016 to assess the effectiveness of a game platform designed to facilitate political engagement, attention, efficacy, knowledge, and participation among college students. Results indicate positive effects of game play on several key dimensions of political engagement, including voter registration, virtual political participation (following a candidate on Twitter, liking a candidate on Facebook, and watching debates), and consumption of public affairs information (including National Public Radio (NPR), non-NPR political talk radio, and online news aggregator sites). In addi