providing the Causal Model on the Basis of the Relationship between the Need for Cognition and Immersion in Digital Games among Secondary School Students

The purpose of this study was to present a causal model of the need for cognition and immersion in digital games among high school students in the academic year of 2017-18 in Shiraz by using path analysis method.

The statistical sample of this study consisted of 600 students of Shiraz city who were selected through multistage cluster sampling method. The research instruments were Cacioppo and Petty' Need for Cognition (NFC) (1982), Williams and Deci' Learning Climate Questionnaire (LCQ) (1996), VandeWalle et al.'s Goal Orientation (2001), Pekrun et al.' Academic Emotions (2005), Jackson Wicklewood’s Intrinsic Flow of Learning (2008) (Second Edition), and Brown and Forer' Flow and Immersion (2010) questionnaires.

In general, the results showed that the need for cognition has direct effect on emotions, goal orientation and intrinsic flow of learning. Also, emotions and intrinsic learning flow have a direct effect on immersion and fluidity. The need for cognition with mediating the goal orientation and flow of learning and emotions, and also goal orientation and intrinsic flow have indirect effect on immersion.

All variables in this study explain 0.30 of the variables in the immersion and the model has a good fit with respect to the data.