Using students’ process data from the game-based Intelligent Tutoring
System (ITS) iSTART-ME, the current study examines students’ propensity to use
system currency to unlock game-based features, (i.e., referred to here as spendency).
This study examines how spendency relates to students’ interaction preferences, in-
system performance, and learning outcomes (i.e., self-explanation quality, comprehen-
sion). A group of 40 high school students interacted with iSTART-ME as part of an 11-
session experiment (pretest, eight training sessions, posttest, and a delayed retention
test). Students’ spendency was negatively related to the frequency of their use of
personalizable features. In addition, students’ spendency was negatively related to their
in-system achievements, daily learning outcomes, and performance on a transfer
comprehension task, even after factoring out prior ability. The findings from this study
indicate that increases in students’ spendency are systematically related to their selec-
tion choices and may have a negative effect on in-system performance, immediate
learning outcomes, and skill transfer outcomes. The results have particular relevance to
game-based systems that incorporate currency to unlock features within games as well
as to the differential tradeoffs of game features on motivation and learning.