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Well Done! Effects of Positive Feedback on Perceived Self-Efficacy, Flow and Performance in a Mental Arithmetic Task.

ABSTRACT: Self-efficacy is a well-known psychological resource, being positively associated with increased performance. Furthermore, results from field studies suggest a positive impact of self-efficacy on flow experience, which has not yet been tested experimentally. In this study, we manipulated self-efficacy by means of positive feedback and investigated whether self-efficacy serves as a mediator in the relationship between positive feedback and flow and in the relationship between positive feedback and performance. Our sample consisted of 102 participants (63 female, 39 male). The experimental group received positive feedback after completing 5 min of mental arithmetic tasks on a computer, whereas the control group received no feedback. A second session of a mental arithmetic task was then completed for 5 min. Mediation analyses confirmed that specific self-efficacy mediated a positive effect of positive feedback on flow as well as on both performance measures (quality and quantity) in a subsequent task. However, direct effects of feedback on flow and on performance were not significant, which suggests the presence of other mechanisms that remain to be investigated.

SUBMITTER: Peifer C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7300320 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Well Done! Effects of Positive Feedback on Perceived Self-Efficacy, Flow and Performance in a Mental Arithmetic Task.

Peifer Corinna C Schönfeld Pia P Wolters Gina G Aust Fabienne F Margraf Jürgen J

Frontiers in psychology 20200610

Self-efficacy is a well-known psychological resource, being positively associated with increased performance. Furthermore, results from field studies suggest a positive impact of self-efficacy on flow experience, which has not yet been tested experimentally. In this study, we manipulated self-efficacy by means of positive feedback and investigated whether self-efficacy serves as a mediator in the relationship between positive feedback and flow and in the relationship between positive feedback an ...[more]

PMID: 32595553

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Project description:Many neuroimaging studies have demonstrated the different functional contributions of spatially distinct brain areas to working memory (WM) subsystems in cognitive tasks that demand both local information processing and interregional coordination. In WM cognitive task paradigms employing electroencephalography (EEG), brain rhythms such as θ and α have been linked to specific functional roles over given brain areas, but their functional coupling has not been extensively studied. Here we analyzed an arithmetic task with five cognitive workload levels (CWLs) and demonstrated functional/effective coupling between the two WM subsystems: the central executive located over frontal (F) brain areas that oscillates on the dominant θ rhythm (Frontal(θ)/F(θ)) and the storage buffer located over parieto-occipital (PO) brain areas that operates on the α2 dominant brain rhythm (Parieto-Occipital(α2)/PO(α2)). We focused on important differences between and within WM subsystems in relation to behavioral performance. A repertoire of brain connectivity estimators was employed to elucidate the distinct roles of amplitude, phase within and between frequencies, and the hierarchical role of functionally specialized brain areas related to the task. Specifically, for each CWL, we conducted a) a conventional signal power analysis within both frequency bands at F(θ) and PO(α2), b) the intra- and inter-frequency phase interactions between F(θ) and PO(α2), and c) their causal phase and amplitude relationship. We found no significant statistical difference of signal power or phase interactions between correct and wrong answers. Interestingly, the study of causal interactions between F(θ) and PO(α2) revealed frontal brain region(s) as the leader, while the strength differentiated between correct and wrong responses in every CWL with absolute accuracy. Additionally, zero time-lag between bilateral F(θ) and right PO(a2) could serve as an indicator of mental calculation failure. Overall, our study highlights the significant role of coordinated activity between F(θ) and PO(α2) via their causal interactions and the timing for arithmetic performance.

Project description:The influence of feedback on performance is a topic of ongoing debate, with some previous studies finding it to be ineffective, while others have discovered that it can be helpful or harmful. One possible reason for these inconsistent results may be that feedback can create a conflict between a person's beliefs and the sensory information they receive. In the present study, we used a Vernier discrimination task to examine the influence of biased feedback on performance, as this type of feedback is most likely to create conflict. Biased feedback refers to feedback that does not align with the subjects' choices. The Vernier discrimination task is a type of psychophysical task that is often used to measure an individual's ability to perceive differences in the position or orientation of two visual stimuli. The task involves presenting two stimuli, one of which is slightly offset from the other, and asking the individual to determine the direction and magnitude of the offset. In Experiment 1, feedback was provided after each trial using large-offset verniers as guidance. The large-offset verniers always received correct feedback, but the small and medium-offset verniers might receive biased feedback. In Experiment 2, feedback was provided after each block of eight verniers. In Experiment 3, we removed the large offset vernier to investigate the influence of block feedback on the signal and noise. The results showed that the accuracy for the target vernier decreased due to biased feedback in both the trial feedback (Experiment 1) and the block feedback (Experiment 2). However, in Experiments 1 and 2, performance improved when feedback was absent. Moreover, if the difference between the two types of stimuli is great, the individual will engage in encoding learning rather than decision learning (Experiments 1 and 2). If the discrimination between the two types of stimuli is low, an individual's ability to discriminate noise is more vulnerable to the influence of biased feedback than the ability to discriminate the signal (Experiment 3). These results are discussed in relation to the mechanism of biased feedback, the process of encoding learning, the monitoring of internal feedback, and the generalization of false decisions.

Dataset Information

Well Done! Effects of Positive Feedback on Perceived Self-Efficacy, Flow and Performance in a Mental Arithmetic Task.

Publications

Well Done! Effects of Positive Feedback on Perceived Self-Efficacy, Flow and Performance in a Mental Arithmetic Task.

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