The Effect of Religiosity on Learning Ethics in Serious Gaming Environments

Abstract

The multi-disciplinary literature on ethics asserts that the relationship between religiosity and ethical perceptions and judgements is an under-researched topic. Despite its importance, few studies have examined the relationship between religiosity and the learning of business ethics. This research investigates whether religiosity is conducive to the learning of business ethics in a digital learning environment: a serious 3D ethics game. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 302 final-year students from two different academic institutions based in the UK. The results of a structural equation modelling analysis suggest that religiosity does not inform the ethical perceptions and decisions of religious individuals in digital learning environments. Religious individuals perceive the utilitarian aspects of a serious game such as ease of use to be more important for learning ethics than religion. In contrast, less religious individuals perceive the hedonic aspects of a serious game to be a key catalyst for enhancing the learning of ethics.