ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Sport Psychology
Flowing toward Toughness: Serial Mediation of Flow and Mental Toughness in Gamified XR Soccer Instruction
Chao Li 1
Daniel Memmert 1
Guangliang Sang 2
1. Deutsche Sporthochschule Koln, Cologne, Germany
2. Korea National University of Transportation, Chungju, Republic of Korea
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Abstract
Extended reality (XR) platforms offer immersive, gamified teaching methods. However, the psychological mechanisms by which XR promotes effective sports learning remain under-explored. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory and Challenge-Skill Balance Theory, this study proposes and tests a serial mediation model that links learners' evaluations of game-based design and their own self-regulatory abilities to soccer learning engagement and subsequent sport attachment. The model's serial structure is based on the temporal progression from situational experience to trait development: it posits that the immediate, optimal state of "flow" during a session acts as a mastery-building catalyst that eventually consolidates into enduring "mental toughness". Partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze survey data from 620 higher education students enrolled in XR-based soccer courses. The results show that perceived game elements do not directly enhance learning effort. Rather, their influence is fully transmitted sequentially through the building of flow and subsequent mental toughness. Additionally, perceived self-control has a significant direct effect on learning effort and an indirect effect through mental toughness and the flow-toughness chain, but not solely through flow. Both situational flow and resilient mental states independently enhance active participation, which in turn promotes long-term sport attachment. This model highlights the importance of interweaving emotional and cognitive states in XR sports contexts to mobilize learning efforts. The findings refine gamification-in-education theory by demonstrating how transient optimal experiences accumulate into lasting psychological resources.
Summary
Keywords
EXtended reality (XR), flow experience, Gamification, Learning engagement, Mental toughness, serial mediation, Sport attachment
Received
24 October 2025
Accepted
02 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Li, Memmert and Sang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Guangliang Sang
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.