Feedback valence affects post-task self-efficacy, challenge, and threat: negative feedback lowers self-efficacy and challenge and raises threat (Experiments 1 and 2)¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causal r2 · q3 · i3 large
Currency · newest study 2024 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i3 Self-efficacy after problem solving was significantly lower in the negative feedback condition than in the positive feedback condition, with large effects in both experiments. → Tamara van Gog 2024 q3 i? Participants in the negative feedback condition reported higher threat and lower challenge than participants in the positive feedback condition. → Tamara van Gog 2024 (2)

Evidence¶

Tamara van Gog 2024¶

Tamara van Gog, Eva Janssen, Florence Lucas, Maaike Taheij (2024). A Motivational Perspective on (Anticipated) Mental Effort Investment: The Biopsychosocial Model of Challenge and Threat. Educational Psychology Review (2024) 36:54. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-024-09861-6

q3 · i3 · causal · r2

One-way ANOVAs in the two between-subjects feedback-valence experiments show "a significant difference between the predominantly positive and negative feedback conditions" in post-task self-efficacy, with η²p = 0.37 and η²p = 0.53, described as large effects.

"As for self-efficacy after problem solving, there was a significant difference between the predominantly positive and negative feedback conditions, both in Experiment 1, F(1, 129) = 75.29, p < 0.001, /u1D7022p = 0.37, and in Experiment 2, F(1, 120) = 136.68, p < 0.001, /u1D7022p = 0.53, indicating large effects."

Tamara van Gog 2024 (2)¶

Tamara van Gog, Eva Janssen, Florence Lucas, Maaike Taheij (2024). A Motivational Perspective on (Anticipated) Mental Effort Investment: The Biopsychosocial Model of Challenge and Threat. Educational Psychology Review (2024) 36:54. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-024-09861-6

q3 · i? · causal · r2

In both experiments, ANOVAs showed challenge and threat differed significantly between the randomly assigned feedback conditions; the article reports the direction of the differences for threat and challenge as printed.

"participants in the negative feedback condition reported significantly higher levels of threat and significantly lower levels of challenge compared to participants in the positive feedback condition"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• With reduced construct overlap and a no-feedback control, feedback did not significantly affect challenge (Experiments 3 and 4), and negative feedback raised expected effort required only in Experiment 3 — related
• The effect of feedback valence on expected effort required is fully mediated by self-efficacy (Experiments 1 and 2) and threat (Experiment 1) — related
• Feedback valence does not directly affect willingness to invest effort, but has significant indirect effects via challenge and threat pointing in opposite directions (all four experiments) — related
• In the absence of feedback, self-efficacy after problem solving was not associated with invested, expected, or willingness-to-invest effort, and threat was not associated with any effort measure (Experiments 3 and 4) — related
• Predominantly negative feedback leads students to expect a next round of problems will require more effort than predominantly positive feedback (Experiments 1 and 2) — related
• Emotion affects motivation, which in turn affects mental effort investment during learning — related
• Negative performance feedback raises expected future mental effort and affects perceived effort and willingness to invest effort via challenge and threat (van Gog et al., 2024) — related
• Higher attainment value with higher academic self-efficacy predicts challenge appraisal, whereas higher attainment value with lower academic self-efficacy predicts threat appraisal — related