Assessing the efficacy of and preference for positive and corrective feedback

Feedback is an effective strategy for improving performance and consists of multiple characteristics. One characteristic that can influence feedback efficacy is its nature (whether feedback is positive or corrective) and little is known about the conditions under which individuals may prefer corrective over positive feedback. Thus, the purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of and preference for positive and corrective feedback during the acquisition of novel tasks. In the first phase, participants received either positive, corrective, or no feedback across three novel tasks. Participants only mastered the task in which they received corrective feedback. In the second phase, participants chose to receive either positive or corrective feedback after completing trials of the previous phase's control task. All participants chose to receive corrective feedback more frequently than positive feedback. We discuss the implications of the results for feedback delivery in the workplace and provide suggestions for future research.