Bogus Feedback Research Articles

US cisgender women's psychological responses to physical femininity threats: Increased anxiety, reduced self-esteem

Research has suggested that women, unlike men, do not experience increased anxiety in response to gender stereotypicality threats. That research, however, has not considered the domain of gender stereotypes in which women might be most invested: physical appearance. The present work examines US cisgender women's responses to (bogus) feedback about the femininity of their appearance, which allegedly came from an algorithmic analysis of a photograph or video of their face. Across four experiments (N = 2494), women experienced more anxiety (Studies 1a, 1c, and 2) and lower self-esteem (Studies 1c and 2) in response to feedback indicating that their appearance was less feminine than average (i.e., threats) than feedback indicating that their appearance was more feminine than average (i.e., affirmations). Feedback on the femininity of women's appearance, but not personality (Study 2), had an effect on anxiety and self-esteem even when physical attractiveness was affirmed (in the case of anxiety; Study 1a) and when controlling for self-perceived physical attractiveness (in the case of anxiety and self-esteem; Studies 1a, 1c, and 2). Cisgender men, unlike women, experienced increased anxiety—but not reduced self-esteem—in response to masculinity threats across the domains of appearance and personality, though this effect was stronger for appearance (Study 2). A discrepancy between the bogus feedback one received and beliefs about oneself mediated the effects of feedback on anxiety and self-esteem, for women, and on anxiety, for men (Study 2). These results highlight the need to center physical appearance in research on gender stereotyping and its consequences.

Resistance strategies and attitude certainty in persuasion: bolstering vs. counterarguing.

Although resistance to persuasion has been of interest in psychology, relatively little research has examined how different resistance strategies can affect the strength-related features of attitudes. The current research presents a metacognitive account of two resistance strategies and their effect on attitude certainty and intentions. Specifically, we examine how the strategies of counterarguing and bolstering can differentially affect attitude certainty and intentions to act on the attitude under attack. In two experiments, we implemented a 2(Perceived Thought Type: bolster vs. counterargue) x 2(Perceived Argument Quality: weak vs. strong) between-participants design. Participants read weak or strong arguments about a counterattitudinal topic. After reporting their thoughts in response to the message topic, participants received bogus feedback regarding the nature of their thoughts (i.e., bolstering or counterarguing). Following the feedback, participants reported their attitudes and attitude certainty. In Experiment 1 (N =241), participants' thoughts perceived as counterarguments elicited attitude certainty that was more sensitive to the quality of the attacking information than when thoughts were perceived as bolstering one's opinion. Experiment 2 (N = 287) replicated the effect with a different topic and demonstrated a similar pattern on intentions to act on the attacked attitude. The research demonstrates that two relatively thoughtful strategies, bolstering and counterarguing, can play an important role in attitude certainty and intentions following a persuasion attempt.

Conditions affecting the association of general trait-anxiety with the ERN-Ne.

The ERN-Ne of the event-related potential indicates error monitoring. Even though enlarged ERN-Ne amplitudes have often been related to higher anxiety scores, a recent meta-analysis provided very small effect sizes for the association of trait-anxiety with the ERN-Ne. Conditions modulating this association were investigated in the present study: (1) The generality of the trait-anxiety factor, (2) gender, and (3) experimental conditions, i.e., worry induction and error aversiveness. Participants (48% men) completed a flanker task. Worries were induced before the task by giving participants (n = 61) a bogus feedback claiming their responses were slower than the average responses of participants, whereas other participants (n = 61) got the feedback that they responded as fast as other participants. Aversiveness of errors was varied by playing sinus tones after too slow responses in one part of the task (no-scream condition) and aversive screams after too slow responses in another part (scream condition). Increased ERN-Ne amplitudes of response time errors occurred for individuals higher on trait-anxiety in the condition with induced worries and screams. A multiple group model for women and men indicated that women are more sensitive to conditions altering the association of trait-anxiety with the ERN-Ne.

How do we process feedback? The role of self-esteem in processing self-related and other-related information

This study was designed to investigate the effect of the level and stability of self-esteem on self-referent vs. other-referent feedback recall and to determine which of the opposed self-concept motives, self-enhancement or self-verification, will prevail in adolescents with certain type of self- esteem. In a between-subjects experimental design, 450 high school graduates and freshmen were randomly assigned to a self-referent task (n = 230) or other-referent task (n = 220) and their self-esteem was measured by repeated administration of the RSE scale. After personality and cognitive ability test, participants in a self-referent task were presented with a bogus feedback which consisted of statements that described a specific positive or negative behavior that one is likely to do. Participants in the other-referent received the same information, but relating to an unknown person. Memory was tested on a surprise free recall task. Findings confirm preferential processing of self-related information, i.e. self-reference effect, regardless of valence and content-related domain of feedback. Participants in self-referent condition also showed better recall of positive than negative personally relevant feedback, regardless of their self-esteem stability or self-esteem level. However, interaction of self-esteem level and self-esteem stability was significant, but its effect was relatively small.

Role of Perceived Competence and Task Interest in Learning From Negative Feedback.

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the interactive effects of perceived competence and task interest on the cognitive and affective responses to negative feedback. Twenty-four undergraduates performed both interesting and uninteresting tasks and received failure feedback. The participants’ perceived competence in the task was manipulated between subjects prior to scanning with bogus feedback. The results showed that negative feedback processing was contingent upon both perceived competence and task interest. The most adaptive coping mechanism, indicated by activation in the cognitive control network and attenuation in the negative affect region, was identified for the high-competence and high-interest combination. When either competence or interest was low, signals in the cognitive control network were weaker. The most detrimental activation patterns were observed for the combination of low-competence and high interest. Our results reveal the combination of task and learner characteristics that best harnesses the potential benefits of negative feedback and illustrate the neuroscientific mechanisms underlying this observation.

Regulatory focus and self-licensing dynamics: A motivational account of behavioural consistency and balancing

People generally tend to stay consistent in their attitudes and behaviour, including proenvironmental actions. However, they can feel entitled to act less-than-virtuously when an initial “virtuous” (or proenvironmental) action provides an excuse to do so –– a self-licensing effect. Drawing from goal setting and regulatory closure literature, we propose that regulatory focus influences whether people will show behavioural consistency or self-licensing. Four experimental studies (N = 1184) including one highly powered preregistered conceptual replication supported the hypothesis that regulatory focus moderates the impact of past proenvironmental behaviour (sanctioned by bogus feedback) on behavioural intentions. In a prevention focus, past positive behaviour weakened proenvironmental intentions in comparison with past negative behaviour and control condition (i.e., self-licensing) – an effect that did not appear in a promotion focus. Results contribute to the growing literature on factors moderating self-licensing dynamics. We discuss theoretical implications for regulatory fit and regulatory closure research, and specifically for the study of individuals' reaction to negative information in promotion focus. We also offer suggestions for designing effective individualised green consumption feedback and recommend that regulatory focus is used as a frame to effectively communicate personal ‘green scores’ and avoid potential rebound effects of positive feedback.

Impact of perceived interpersonal similarity on attention to the eyes of same-race and other-race faces

One reason for the persistence of racial discrimination may be anticipated dissimilarity with racial outgroup members that prevent meaningful interactions. In the present research, we investigated whether perceived similarity would impact the processing of same-race and other-race faces.Specifically, in two experiments, we varied the extent to which White participants were ostensibly similar to targets via bogus feedback on a personality test. With an eye tracker, we measured the effect of this manipulation on attention to the eyes, a critical region for person perception and face memory. In Experiment 1, we monitored the impact of perceived interpersonal similarity on White participants’ attention to the eyes of same-race White targets. In Experiment 2, we replicated this procedure, but White participants were presented with either same-race White targets or other-race Black targets in a between-subjects design. The pattern of results in both experiments indicated a positive linear effect of similarity—greater perceived similarity between participants and targets predicted more attention to the eyes of White and Black faces. The implications of these findings related to top-down effects of perceived similarity for our understanding of basic processes in face perception, as well as intergroup relations, are discussed.

REGULATORY FOCUS MODERATES THE EFFECTS OF FEEDBACK VALENCE ON RESOURCE ALLOCATION

Previous studies have mainly examined the effect of regulatory fit in the context of single goal-pursuit. However, the dynamics for multiple goal-pursuits have been left largely unexamined. Therefore, two studies were conducted to explore the role of regulatory fit under the different goal-pursuit conditions. First study, using bogus feedback following regulatory orientation framing for solving anagram tasks, revealed that the fit between prevention focus and negative feedback increased motivation in the post-feedback session. In the second study, participants allocated limited time between the two imaginary goals following regulatory orientation priming. Results showed that participants allocated higher levels of resources when they experience regulatory fit. Results highlighted the importance of the fit experience on resource allocation in the multiple-goal context.

Processing emotional expressions under fear of rejection: Findings from diffusion model analyses.

In the mood-of-the-crowd task, participants have to classify crowds of emotional faces according to the predominant emotions. We examined 2 possible moderators of a previously found positivity bias in this task: fear of rejection and threat of social exclusion. Participants (Study 1: N = 84, Study 2: N = 126) received bogus feedback on their future social relationships that was either negative (frustration group) or positive (satisfaction group). By means of diffusion model analyses (Ratcliff, 1978), we examined the cognitive processes involved in the task. Our main findings are that more fearful individuals accumulated negative facial information more quickly than their less fearful counterparts (drift rate of the diffusion model; dynamic bias). Furthermore, individuals with a lower fear of rejection who were frustrated showed a prior bias (i.e., shifted starting point of the diffusion model) for positive rather than negative faces in contrast to the more fearful individuals. This suggests that the less fearful individuals tried to restore the thwarted motive by shifting a criterion, so that ambiguous situations are perceived more positively. The present studies demonstrate that diffusion modeling supplies important information about underlying cognitive processes in the domain of the affiliation motive. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Experienced guilt, but not pride, mediates the effect of feedback on pro-environmental behavior

Feedback on one's consumption, for instance, via a carbon footprint calculator, is a common strategy used in attempts to promote pro-environmental action. Although feedback can be effective in reducing consumption, little research examines the psychological processes that may be involved. In other contexts, negative feedback can evoke guilt, whereas positive feedback can evoke pride. Pride is often associated with pro-environmental behavior, but findings are more mixed for guilt. These mixed findings may stem from heterogeneity in the measurement and operationalization of guilt across prior studies, which have measured experienced and anticipated, personal and collective guilt. The objective of the present research is to examine the roles of experienced, personal pride and guilt in an environmental feedback context, which explicitly encourages reflection on one's own past behavior. In two studies, participants from online panels completed a carbon footprint quiz and were assigned to receive bogus feedback that was framed negatively or positively, or to a control condition involving neutral feedback (Study 1, N = 397), or no feedback (Study 2, N = 544). Participants completed a measure of pro-environmental behavior one week later. In both studies, negative feedback resulted in stronger feelings of guilt, whereas positive feedback resulted in stronger feelings of pride. Both studies found that guilt, but not pride, mediated the association between feedback and subsequent pro-environmental behavior. Findings shed light on the psychological processes that occur following provision of feedback, and suggest that feedback that evokes experienced personal guilt, but not pride, may be more effective in encouraging pro-environmental behavior.

Unethical When Insecure: The Effect of Negotiators' Self-efficacy Beliefs on Ethical Behavior

In this study, we use interactive negotiation activities to explore the link between state self-efficacy and deception, a particular kind of unethical – or at least ethically questionable – behavior. More specifically, we investigate whether and how negotiators’ self-efficacy perceptions may make them more or less likely to use deception in negotiation. We argue that individuals with particularly low levels of self-efficacy beliefs in a specific situation are expected to experience high levels of anxiety arousal and tend to interpret this situation as threatening. This, in turn, lead them to adopt a self-defensive attitude that ultimately affects their (un)ethical behavior. We test our hypothesis in two experimental studies, totalizing 260 participants. In Study 1 we manipulate participants' negotiation self-efficacy beliefs with bogus feedback and measure their actual use of ethically questionable tactics in a subsequent interactive negotiation activity. We find that low levels of self-efficacy lead individuals to use more ethically questionable tactics during a negotiation. In study 2, besides the manipulation of self-efficacy, we also manipulate participants' moral disengagement with priming messages to test for its meditating effects. Results suggest that moral disengagement mediates the effects of self-efficacy on (un)ethical behavior. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings.

Preliminary Evidence on How the Dual Control Model Predicts Female Sexual Response to a Bogus Negative Feedback

The Dual Control Model of sexual response has been mostly tested with men. As such, there is a lack of evidence on how such model applies to women's experience of sexual arousal, particularly when they face a threatening situation such as the threat of sexual performance failure. The aim of the current study was to test whether the Dual Control Model dimensions predict women's sexual responses to a bogus negative feedback about their sexual performance. In addition, 22 women were exposed to a sexually explicit film clip, while their genital arousal was being measured. During this presentation, a bogus negative feedback, aimed at increasing women's anxiety about their sexual performance, was provided. Vaginal photopletismography and self-report questions were used as means to evaluate women's genital and subjective sexual arousal, respectively. The Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women was further used to capture women's sexual dynamics. Regression analysis on the high-order factors revealed that sexual excitation proneness was the only predictor of the subjective sexual responses, while none of the factors has predicted genital arousal. "Arousability" and "Concerns about sexual function" dimensions predicted subjective sexual arousal. Sexual arousability may prevent women of lowering their subjective sexual responses in a sexually demanding situation, while "Concerns about sexual function" may have the opposite role, thus being a target of clinical interest. This work provides new data on the Dual Control Model of sexual response, and particularly on its role in women's sexual functioning.

Cortisol response to stress: The role of expectancy and anticipatory stress regulation

An exacerbated physiological response to stress is associated with the development of stress-related disorders (e.g., depression and anxiety disorders). Recently, it has been proposed that individuals with high expectancies of being able to deal with stressful situations will activate regulatory mechanisms during the anticipation of the stressful event that would improve stress regulation. To test this hypothesis, 52 women in young adulthood (M = 21.06; SD = 2.58) anticipated and performed a laboratory-based stress task after receiving positive or negative bogus feedback on their abilities to deal with stressful events. Heart rate variability and salivary cortisol were assessed throughout the experimental protocol. Participants receiving positive bogus feedback (i.e., High Expectancy group) showed a more positive anticipatory cognitive stress appraisal (i.e., they anticipated the stress task as less threatening/challenging, and they perceived that they were more able to deal with it), and they showed a lower cortisol response to stress. Moreover, a more positive anticipatory cognitive stress appraisal was associated with better anticipatory stress regulation (indexed as less decrease in heart rate variability), leading to a lower cortisol response. Our results indicate that people with positive expectancy initiate mechanisms of anticipatory stress regulation that enhance the regulation of the physiological stress response. Expectancy and anticipatory stress regulation may be key mechanisms in the development and treatment of stress-related disorders.

The social dynamics of boys with callous and unemotional traits: Uncooperative and proud of it

This study examined the social dynamics of boys with callous and unemotional (CU) traits when experiencing betrayal by peers and engaging in such betrayal themselves. Participants (n = 90 boys; ages 10–13 years) completed a novel prisoner’s dilemma game in which they could cooperate with, or betray, a computerized co-player. They also reported on their subjective experience of emotions during game-play and were provided with bogus feedback regarding the emotions of their co-players. Boys’ CU traits, conduct problems, and anxiety, were indexed independently via parent reports. Higher levels of CU traits were associated with lower rates of cooperation, independent of anxiety and conduct problem severity. Boys’ CU traits were also uniquely associated with greater pride following their betrayal of a co-player.

The effect of beliefs about alcohol's acute effects on alcohol priming and alcohol-induced impairments of inhibitory control.

Acute alcohol administration can lead to a loss of control over drinking. Several models argue that this ‘alcohol priming effect’ is mediated by the effect of alcohol on inhibitory control. Alternatively, beliefs about how alcohol affects behavioural regulation may also underlie alcohol priming and alcohol-induced inhibitory impairments. Here two studies examine the extent to which the alcohol priming effect and inhibitory impairments are moderated by beliefs regarding the effects of alcohol on the ability to control behaviour. In study 1, following a priming drink (placebo or .5g/kg of alcohol), participants were provided with bogus feedback regarding their performance on a measure of inhibitory control (stop-signal task; SST) suggesting that they had high or average self-control. However, the bogus feedback manipulation was not successful. In study 2, before a SST, participants were exposed to a neutral or experimental message suggesting acute doses of alcohol reduce the urge to drink and consumed a priming drink and this manipulation was successful. In both studies craving was assessed throughout and a bogus taste test which measured ad libitum drinking was completed. Results suggest no effect of beliefs on craving or ad lib consumption within either study. However, within study 2, participants exposed to the experimental message displayed evidence of alcohol-induced impairments of inhibitory control, while those exposed to the neutral message did not. These findings do not suggest beliefs about the effects of alcohol moderate the alcohol priming effect but do suggest beliefs may, in part, underlie the effect of alcohol on inhibitory control.

Does exercise identity moderate affective and cognitive reactions to feedback on physical fitness?

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to examine the moderating role of exercise identity on the processing of feedback on self-relevant physical fitness. It was hypothesized that individuals with a strong exercise identity would react cognitively more positively to consistent feedback than to positive feedback (self-consistency principle), whereas individuals with a weak exercise identity were expected to react affectively more positively to positive feedback than to consistent feedback (self-enhancement principle). DesignCross-sectional. Method215 university students (64.2% male, Mage = 23.82 years, SD = 2.32) were given bogus feedback on their results on an alleged fitness test based on heart rate variability in a laboratory setting. Affective and cognitive reactions were assessed afterwards. Data were examined using moderated regression analyses. ResultsExercise identity did not moderate affective reaction. For cognitive reaction, an interaction contrary to expectations was found: Individuals with a very weak exercise identity reacted more positively to consistent feedback than to positive feedback. Further, individuals with a strong exercise identity reacted more negatively to negative feedback than to consistent feedback. ConclusionsThe hypotheses could not be confirmed. Cognitive reaction to negative feedback became more negative with a stronger exercise identity, whereas consistent feedback was received more positively as the strength of exercise identity increased. In future research focus should be on integrating the processing of negative feedback on a theoretical basis and should involve investigation into other relevant moderating variables.

The effects of positive normative feedback on learning a throwing task among children with autism spectrum disorder

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a severe developmental disorder which leads to physical disability. Positive normative feedback can promote motor learning. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of positive normative feedback on learning a throwing task among children with ASD. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was carried out on twenty children with ASD who aged 6–10 years. Children were assigned to a positive normative feedback and a control group. In the positive normative feedback group, children were trained to throw beanbags to a target point on the ground with their nondominant arms. The acquisition phase included six ten-trial sets. Children in both groups received veridical feedback after each trial. However, children in the positive normative feedback group also received bogus feedback (scores, which were 20% greater than their actual scores) about their performance in each set. A retention test was performed 24 h after the acquisition phase. The independent sample t-test and the repeated measures analysis of variance were used to analyze the data. Results: There was no significant difference between the groups regarding the performance mean score at baseline. Moreover, despite increases in the performance mean scores over time in both groups, between-group differences in the acquisition and the retention phases were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Positive normative feedback does not have significant motivational effects on motor learning among children with ASD.

The Effect of Dislike on Accuracy and Bias in Person Perception

The present work explores how accuracy and bias in person perception change with the level of liking that the perceiver holds toward the target person. Specifically, we studied whether dislike affects (a) the social desirability of judgments (positivity bias), (b) the extent to which the target is described like an average person (normative accuracy), and (c) the extent to which the judgment reflects the given target’s characteristics in particular (distinctive accuracy). Eighty-four participants watched four target persons on video, after receiving bogus feedback on how positively or negatively those targets had supposedly evaluated them. The participants reciprocated negative bogus evaluations showing a marked decrease in reported liking for the respective target. Most important, dislike was consistently associated with lower positivity bias, greater normative accuracy, and lower distinctive accuracy across two validation measures (i.e., self-reports and informant reports of target persons).

Does self-efficacy causally influence initial smoking cessation? An experimental study

Self-efficacy has been associated with smoking cessation outcomes in many correlational research studies, but strong causal inferences are lacking. This study tested whether self-efficacy affects initial smoking cessation in a laboratory experiment, which will allow for stronger causal inferences in this domain of inquiry. Participants (n=103 motivated adult smokers) were provided with brief cessation treatment over three days in preparation for quitting on a target quit day (TQD). In addition, participants were randomized to one of two standard self-efficacy manipulations in the form of bogus feedback about their chances of quitting smoking. Participants in the Average Chances of Quitting (ACQ) condition took a computerized test and were told (falsely) that the test showed that they had the same chances of quitting as everyone else in the study. Participants in the High Chances of Quitting (HCQ) condition took the same computerized test and were told (falsely) that the test showed that they had a greater chance of quitting compared to everyone else in the study. The main outcome was whether participants were able to quit for 24h on the TQD. Results revealed that HCQ participants had a significantly greater chance of quitting smoking compared to ACQ participants. However, these effects were not attributable to changes in self-efficacy brought about by the manipulation. An exploration of other potential mediators showed that the manipulation actually influenced smoking outcome expectancies, and changes in these outcome expectancies influenced initial smoking cessation. The results highlight the conceptual and empirical challenges with manipulating self-efficacy in the smoking literature.

Temporal-Comparative Feedback Affects Motor Learning

In this experiment, we investigated the motivational effects of feedback on motor learning observing the impact of temporal-comparison feedback on the learning of a coincident timing task. Two groups of participants, a positive (PTC) and a negative temporal-comparison group (NTC), received veridical feedback about their accuracy scores after every other practice trial (50%). In addition, after each block of 10 trials, the PTC group was given bogus feedback suggesting that their average performance was better than it was in the previous block, while the NTC group received bogus feedback suggesting that their average performance was worse than it was in the previous block. A retention test was performed one day after the practice phase, without feedback, to observe learning effects. In addition, after the practice phase and before the retention test, all participants filled out questionnaires to report their self-efficacy levels. The results demonstrate that temporal-comparison feedback affects the learning of motor skills. Participants of the PTC group showed greater timing accuracy and reported higher self-efficacy levels than the NTC group on the retention test. The findings further support the important motivational role of feedback for motor learning.