Investigating the Operating Mechanisms of the Sources of L2 Writing Self‐Efficacy at the Stages of Giving and Receiving Peer Feedback

Abstract Peer feedback has earned an increasingly noteworthy place in second language (L2) writing research. A pressing concern is that issues of motivation are not well understood, largely due to a lack of theory‐driven investigations. Centering on Bandura's self‐efficacy (SE) theory, this study examined the impact of peer feedback on L2 writing SE and the operating mechanisms underlying the theorized sources of SE in peer feedback practice. One hundred and ten Chinese undergraduate learners of English were assigned to peer feedback treatment groups (face‐to‐face and computer‐mediated discussions) or a comparison group. Questionnaire and interview data on writing SE and its sources and on perceived feedback usefulness were collected. The treatment groups reported more positive changes in writing SE, and perceived usefulness of giving (but not receiving) peer feedback enhanced writing SE directly and via a mediating system involving writing self‐regulatory efficacy and apprehension. Writing SE was also shaped through a dynamic interplay between receptive and productive mastery experiences, computer‐mediated exchanges, social comparisons, and achievement goal orientations.