The Effects of the Temporal Placement of Feedback on Performance

Abstract

The purpose of this pilot study was to compare the effects of the temporal placement of feedback on task performance and skill acquisition. Two temporal placements were examined: feedback immediately after and feedback immediately prior to performance. A two-factor mixed design was used. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups, which differed in the order of condition implementation. Participants performed a computerized data entry task. The primary dependent variable was the number of correctly completed patient records per session. During feedback conditions, participants were provided with individual, graphic feedback and no feedback was provided during baseline. The results of this study indicate no significant differences in performance or the speed of skill acquisition associated with the experimental conditions. Participants indicated a strong preference for any type of feedback over no feedback, as well as a strong preference for feedback prior to performance over feedback after performance.