The role of performance feedback on the self-efficacy–performance relationship.

Abstract

We report 3 studies that explore the moderating role of performance feedback on the within-person relationship between self-efficacy and performance. In Study 1, we provided participants with either very little feedback (current trial performance) or a wider range of previous performance markers (baseline performance and current trial performance) before making efficacy judgments. In Study 2, we refined the selfefficacy measure by providing participants with more detailed feedback regarding their past performance. In Study 3, we applied the methodology from Studies 1 and 2 to a task in which negative self-efficacy effects have been prevalent (i.e., golf putting). Results revealed that performance feedback moderated the self-efficacy-performance relationship. When we provided participants with minimal performance feedback, their self-efficacy was negatively related to subsequent performance; when we provided more detailed feedback, self-efficacy was positively related to subsequent performance. Studies 2 and 3 further confirmed these findings. Results across studies confirm that feedback is an important moderator of the self-efficacy-performance relationship, which can shed light on the equivocal findings to date.