Which feedback is more effective for pursuing multiple goals of differing importance? The interaction effects of goal importance and performance feedback type on self-regulation and task achievement

Abstract

This study examined how performance feedback type (progress vs. distance) affects Korean college students’ self-regulation and task achievement according to relative goal importance in the pursuit of multiple goals. For this study, 146 students participated in a computerised task. The results showed the interaction effects of goal importance and performance feedback type on self-regulation and task achievement. Specifically, the participants in high goal importance conditions who received distance feedback showed higher self-regulation of metacognition (goal setting), motivation-emotion (efforts investment, task enjoyment) and task achievement (task completion time, task score) than those who received progress feedback. In addition, effort investment and task enjoyment increased in the latter part of the task for the participants in high goal importance conditions who received distance feedback, whereas they decreased for those who received progress feedback. However, the opposite results were shown for the participants in low goal importance conditions.