Raising insects with an application to enhance students’ self-confidence in interacting with insects

Insect phobia may last for a lifetime and needs to be overcome. This study aimed to design an application, Insect Garden, for students to learn about and experience how to raise four types of insect: Giant Asian Mantis, Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle, Formosan Stag Beetle, and Seven-Spotted Ladybug. It also investigated how the players’ self-confidence in interacting with insects could be enhanced. Additionally, to understand the affective factors related to gameplay, this study explored the correlates between personality, insect phobia before gameplay, gameplay interest and self-confidence enhancement in interacting with insects. Data were collected from 211 eighth-grade students, from whom 175 useful data were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The results revealed that Extraversion is positively related to gameplay interest but not to Insect phobia, whereas Neuroticism is positively related to Insect phobia and gameplay interest. Insect phobia is negatively related to self-confidence enhancement in interacting with insects, but gameplay is positively related.