Effects Of Negative Feedback Research Articles

The Effect of Positive Evidence and Negative Feedback on EFL Learners’ Acquisition of the Third Person Singular Form

The study compared the relative effectiveness of two types of input situated in written context - positive evidence and negative feedback—on Chinese lower intermediate EFL learners' acquisition of the third person singular form. Using a pretest-posttest and control group experimental design, the effect of these two types of input was measured by an error correction test and a speeded dictation test. In addition, a retrospective interview conducted at the end of the study provided information about the use that they made of the two types of input. It was found that both treatment groups performed much better than the control group on the immediate and delayed posttests, but no significant differences were found between the two treatment groups. The results indicated that positive evidence and negative feedback facilitated L2 acquisition of the third person singular form to the same extent. These results were discussed from the perspective of cognitive psychology and suggestions for further research are put forward.

Effectiveness of implicit negative feedback in a foreign language classroom

This paper reports on a study that investigated the effectiveness of recasts and clarification requests in a French as a foreign language classroom. The target structures were French past tense structures the passé composé and the imparfait. The study was carried out with three intact classes of high school students in New Zealand, comprising in total 52 participants. A quasi-experimental design was employed, with a pre-test, treatment, immediate post-test and a delayed post-test. The treatment tasks were picture-based, designed to encourage communication and to elicit the use of past tense. The tests were also picture-based, written narrative tasks. The control group did not receive any treatment. Mixed design Repeated measures ANOVAs, followed by ANCOVAs, were computed to examine the effects of the treatment. Overall, results indicate that recasts were more effective for acquisition of the passé composé whereas both recasts and clarification requests proved beneficial for acquisition of the imparfait at this early stage of learning. However, non-parametric tests comparing more advanced and less advanced learners suggest that only the ‘low proficiency’ learners benefited from clarification requests.

Positive and negative feedback by AGN jets in high‐redshift galaxies

AbstractSimulations of feedback by jets from active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the past mostly focused on the interaction at large scales as the circumgalactic medium or intra‐cluster medium for clusters of galaxies. Only in recent years, simulations have included the interaction of jets with a highly inhomogeneous medium as required by a multi‐phase interstellar medium (ISM). At the same time, feedback by AGN has become a common component for cosmological simulations of galaxy evolution to form massive galaxies compatible with observations. I will present some of our recent results and will put them into further context of other feedback simulations and how the opposing effects of positive and negative feedback by jets might be understood in terms of different properties of the ISM. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Analysis of Reactivity Accident for Control Rods Withdrawal at the Thermal Reactor

In the present work, the point kinetics equations are solved numerically using the stiffness confinement method (SCM). The solution is applied to the kinetics equations in the presence of different types of reactivities, and is compared with other methods. This method is, also used to analyze reactivity accidents in thermal reactor at start-up, and full power conditions for control rods withdrawal. Thermal reactor (HTR-M) is fuelled by uranium-235. This analysis presents the effect of negative temperature feedback, and the positive reactivity of control rods withdrawal. Power, temperature pulse, and reactivity following the reactivity accidents are calculated using programming language (FORTRAN), and (MATLAB) Codes. The results are compared with previous works and satisfactory agreement is found.

Pulse Bifurcations in Stochastic Neural Fields

We study the effects of additive noise on traveling pulse solutions in spatially extended neural fields with linear adaptation. Neural fields are evolution equations with an integral term characterizing synaptic interactions between neurons at different spatial locations of the network. We introduce an auxiliary variable to model the effects of local negative feedback and consider random fluctuations by modeling the system as a set of spatially extended Langevin equations whose noise term is a $Q$-Wiener process. Due to the translation invariance of the network, neural fields can support a continuum of spatially localized bump solutions that can be destabilized by increasing the strength of the adaptation, giving rise to traveling pulse solutions. Near this criticality, we derive a stochastic amplitude equation describing the dynamics of these bifurcating pulses when the noise and the deterministic instability are of comparable magnitude. Away from this bifurcation, we investigate the effects of additive ...

A Persuasive Robot to Stimulate Energy Conservation: The Influence of Positive and Negative Social Feedback and Task Similarity on Energy-Consumption Behavior

This research explored the persuasive effects on behavior of social feedback by a robotic agent. In two experiments, participants could save on energy while carrying out washing tasks on a simulated washing machine. In both experiments, we tested the persuasive effects of positive and negative social feedback and we compared these effects to factual feedback, which is more widely used. Results of both studies indicated that social feedback had stronger persuasive effects than factual feedback. Furthermore, results of both studies suggested an effect of feedback valence indicated by more economic behavior following negative feedback (social or factual) as compared to positive feedback. Overall, the strongest persuasive effects were exerted by negative social feedback. In addition, results of Experiment 2 indicated that task similarity increased the persuasive effects of negative feedback. The implications for persuasive robotic agent theory and design are discussed.

Negative reward expectations in Borderline Personality Disorder patients: Neurophysiological evidence

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) patients present profound disturbances in affect regulation and impulse control which could reflect a dysfunction in reward-related processes. The current study investigated these processes in a sample of 18 BPD patients and 18 matched healthy controls, using an event-related brain potentials methodology. Results revealed a reduction in the amplitude of the Feedback-Related Negativity of BPD patients, which is a neurophysiological index of the impact of negative feedback in reward-related tasks. This reduction, in the effect of negative feedback in BPD patients, was accompanied by a different behavioral pattern of risk choice compared to healthy participants. These findings confirm a dysfunctional reward system in BDP patients, which might compromise their capacity to build positive expectations of future rewards and decision making.

The boosting effect of negative feedback on perceptual learning

The boosting effect of negative feedback on perceptual learning

Signaling to Extracellular Signal-regulated Kinase from ErbB1 Kinase and Protein Kinase C: FEEDBACK, HETEROGENEITY, AND GATING

Many extracellular signals act via the Raf/MEK/ERK cascade in which kinetics, cell-cell variability, and sensitivity of the ERK response can all influence cell fate. Here we used automated microscopy to explore the effects of ERK-mediated negative feedback on these attributes in cells expressing endogenous ERK or ERK2-GFP reporters. We studied acute rather than chronic stimulation with either epidermal growth factor (ErbB1 activation) or phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PKC activation). In unstimulated cells, ERK-mediated negative feedback reduced the population-average and cell-cell variability of the level of activated ppERK and increased its robustness to changes in ERK expression. In stimulated cells, negative feedback (evident between 5 min and 4 h) also reduced average levels and variability of phosphorylated ERK (ppERK) without altering the “gradedness” or sensitivity of the response. Binning cells according to total ERK expression revealed, strikingly, that maximal ppERK responses initially occur at submaximal ERK levels and that this non-monotonic relationship changes to an increasing, monotonic one within 15 min. These phenomena occur in HeLa cells and MCF7 breast cancer cells and in the presence and absence of ERK-mediated negative feedback. They were best modeled assuming distributive (rather than processive) activation. Thus, we have uncovered a novel, time-dependent change in the relationship between total ERK and ppERK levels that persists without negative feedback. This change makes acute response kinetics dependent on ERK level and provides a “gating” or control mechanism in which the interplay between stimulus duration and the distribution of ERK expression across cells could modulate the proportion of cells that respond to stimulation.

Serotonin 5-HT1A Receptors as Targets for Agents to Treat Psychiatric Disorders: Rationale and Current Status of Research

Psychiatric disorders represent a large economic burden in modern societies. However, pharmacological treatments are still far from optimal. Drugs used in the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) and anxiety disorders (selective serotonin [5-HT] reuptake inhibitors [SSRIs] and serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors [SNRIs]) are pharmacological refinements of first-generation tricyclic drugs, discovered by serendipity, and show low efficacy and slowness of onset. Moreover, antipsychotic drugs are partly effective in positive symptoms of schizophrenia, yet they poorly treat negative symptoms and cognitive deficits. The present article reviews the neurobiological basis of 5-HT1A receptor (5-HT1A-R) function and the role of pre- and postsynaptic 5-HT1A-Rs in the treatment of MDD, anxiety and psychotic disorders. The activation of postsynaptic 5-HT1A-Rs in corticolimbic areas appears beneficial for the therapeutic action of antidepressant drugs. However, presynaptic 5-HT1A-Rs play a detrimental role in MDD, since individuals with high density or function of presynaptic 5-HT1A-Rs are more susceptible to mood disorders and suicide, and respond poorly to antidepressant drugs. Moreover, the indirect activation of presynaptic 5-HT1A-Rs by SSRIs/SNRIs reduces 5-HT neuron activity and terminal 5-HT release, thus opposing the elevation of extracellular 5-HT produced by blockade of the serotonin transporter (SERT) in the forebrain. Chronic antidepressant treatment desensitizes presynaptic 5-HT1A-Rs, thus reducing the effectiveness of the 5-HT1A autoreceptor-mediated negative feedback. The prevention of this process by the non-selective partial agonist pindolol accelerates clinical antidepressant effects. Two new antidepressant drugs, vilazodone (marketed in the USA) and vortioxetine (in development) incorporate partial 5-HT1A-R agonist properties with SERT blockade. Several studies with transgenic mice have also established the respective role of pre- and postsynaptic 5-HT1A-Rs in MDD and anxiety. In agreement with pharmacological studies, presynaptic and postsynaptic 5-HT1A-R activation appears necessary for anxiolytic and antidepressant effects, respectively, yet, neurodevelopmental roles for 5-HT1A-Rs are also involved. Likewise, the use of small interference RNA has enabled the showing of robust antidepressant-like effects in mice after selective knock-down of 5-HT1A autoreceptors. Postsynaptic 5-HT1A-Rs in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) also appear important for the superior clinical effects of clozapine and other second-generation (atypical) antipsychotic drugs in the treatment of schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders. Despite showing a moderate in vitro affinity for 5-HT1A-Rs in binding assays, clozapine displays functional agonist properties at this receptor type in vivo. The stimulation of 5-HT1A-Rs in the PFC leads to the distal activation of the mesocortical pathway and to an increased dopamine release in PFC, an effect likely involved in the clinical actions of clozapine in negative symptoms and cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. The anxiolytic/antidepressant properties of 5-HT1A-R agonists in preclinical tests raised expectations enormously. However, these agents have achieved little clinical success, possibly due to their partial agonist character at postsynaptic 5-HT1A-Rs, together with full agonist properties at presynaptic 5-HT1A autoreceptors, as well as their gastrointestinal side effects. The partial 5-HT1A-R agonists buspirone, gepirone, and tandospirone are marketed as anxiolytic drugs, and buspirone is also used as an augmentation strategy in MDD. The development of new 5-HT1A-R agonists with selectivity for postsynaptic 5-HT1A-Rs may open new perspectives in the field.

Matching Creativity Perceptions and Capabilities: Exploring the Impact of Feedback Messages

This two-part study first examines the accuracy of participants’ self-perceptions of creativity and looks at the effects of positive or negative feedback on creativity capability or output. Results of online testing showed that participants with higher self-perceived creativity were ultimately more creative. In part two, participants were provided positive, negative or neutral feedback regarding their first creativity exercises and retested using the same creativity measures. An ANOVA demonstrated no difference in the change in creative output from pre-test to post-test evaluations based on the type of randomly generated feedback message. While not significant, trends are highlighted in the data that warrant further examination in future research. Implications of the findings for instructors are discussed.

Analysis of Reactivity Induced Accident for Control Rods Ejection with Loss of Cooling

The understanding of the time-dependent behavior of the neutron population in a nuclear reactor in response to either a planned or unplanned change in the reactor conditions is of great importance to the safe and reliable operation of the reactor. In the present work the point kinetic equation is solved numerically using stiffness confinement method (SCM). The solution is applied to the kinetic equation in the presence of different types of reactivities and was compared with different analytical solutions. This method is also used to analyze reactivity induced accidents in two reactors. The first reactor is fueled with uranium and the second is fueled with plutonium. This analysis presents the effect of negative temperature feedback with the addition of positive reactivity of the control rods to overcome the occurrence of the control rod ejection accident and damaging of the reactor. Both the power and the temperature pulse following the reactivity initiated accidents are calculated. The results are compared with previous works and satisfactory agreement is found.

The Role of Facial Feedback in the Modulation of Clinically-Relevant Ambiguity Resolution

Two experiments investigated the effect of facial expressions on clinically-relevant ambiguity resolution in a nonclinical sample. Experiment 1 investigated the effect of negative facial feedback (frowning) on a basic threat-interpretation bias procedure using a homophone spelling task and found that participants in a frowning condition interpreted significantly more threat/neutral homophones as threats than did participants in a neutral control condition. Experiment 2 investigated how frowning affected interpretation of bodily sensations. The findings indicated that participants in the frowning condition generated fewer positive consequences for bodily sensation scenarios and also rated the imagined bodily sensations as more negative and more of a cause for health concern. These effects could not simply be explained by differences in self-reported mood or by demand characteristics. These findings suggest that facial expressions have a moderating effect on the cognitive processes that contribute to clinically-relevant ambiguity resolution, and this has implications for clinical interventions.

Consistent witness responses: The effects of age and negative feedback

The effect of negative feedback in the absence of leading questions within a simulated forensic interview was investigated across young, middle-aged and older adults. Participants aged 18–82 (N=101) watched a mock crime incident, were questioned, received feedback and re-questioned. It was hypothesised that when compared with neutral feedback, negative feedback would result in greater response changes and higher ratings of interview difficulty. The results supported this hypothesis and are consistent with Gudjonsson and Clark’s (1986) model of interrogative suggestibility. Correlation analysis revealed a significant negative association between age and response change following explicit negative feedback. Older adults showed reduced susceptibility to interrogative pressure.

Estimates of changes in the rate of methane sink from the atmosphere under climate warming

The temperature dependence of the methane oxidation rate is estimated. The methane lifetime in the atmosphere is shown to decrease by about 3% from 1900 to 2005. The overwhelming fraction of the total methane content is removed from the atmosphere at intratropical latitudes during the daytime. The methane oxidation rate growth due to the temperature increase in the troposphere generates negative feedback in the methane cycle and, accordingly, climatic feedback with the same sign. According to the estimates performed, the halt in methane concentration growth in the atmosphere observed in recent years can be associated with a decrease in the lifetime of methane in the atmosphere. According to the results of numerical experiments with the climatic model of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences (IAP RAS), the climatic effect of negative feedback of the tropospheric temperature and the methane lifetime in the atmosphere is not large and is comparable with the climatic forcing of the methane emission growth from bog ecosystems.

687: The relationship of type of feedback to learning during simulation: a randomized clinical trial

s 687 – 838 687 The relationship of type of feedback to learning during simulation: a randomized clinical trial Sumit Saraf, Jyothshna Bayya, Howard Minkoff, Jaimie Glick, Nelli Fisher Maimonides Medical Center, OB Gyn, Brooklyn, NY, Maimonides Medical Center, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Brooklyn, NY, Maimonides Medical Center, Ob/Gyn, Brooklyn, NY, Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center, Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women’s Health, Bronx, NY OBJECTIVE: To compare the effect of negative vs. positive feedback on students cognitive and technical performance, and confidence level during obstetrical simulation. STUDY DESIGN: Medical and nursing students without prior experience in performing normal vaginal delivery (NVD) were randomized to positive feedback (PF) or negative feedback (NF) groups. All students (N 59) participated in a teaching demonstration and practiced NVD using a simulator (Noelle 575, Gaumard Scientific). A baseline skills assessment in NVD was followed by a second intervention simulation, during which positive or negative feedback was provided using standardized scripts at predetermined stages of the simulation. Previously validated checklists assessing cognitive and technical performance as well as confidence measures were scored. Mean baseline and intervention scores were compared between groups. For each of the three measures (cognitive, technical, confidence) as dependent variable, a mixed linear model was constructed, with profession (medical, nursing), assessment (baseline, intervention), feedback arm (positive, negative) as factors. RESULTS: Considering both medical and nursing students, all participants in the PF arm demonstrated significant performance improvement after the intervention in all three assessment scores while participants in the NF arm registered a non-significant decline. Specifically, cognitive and technical performance scores, and the confidence scores in the PF group improved significantly with p values of 0.012, 0.026 and 0.036 respectively; while those of the NF group did not (p not statistically significant). CONCLUSION: A positive feedback environment strengthened students cognitive and technical performances and confidence while negative feedback worsened them. Further studies are needed to see if these differences persist over time, and whether they are replicable in a real world environment. 688 Comparison of perinatal outcomes in twins conceived by artificial reproductive techniques and spontaneous conception–a secondary analysis of ESPRiT study data Akila Anbazhagan, Alyson Hunter, Fionnuala Breathnach, Fionnuala McAuliffe, Mike Geary, Sean Daly, John Higgins, John Morrison, Gerry Burke, Shane Higgins, Pat Dicker, Fiona Manning, Steve Carroll, Fergal Malone Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Belfast, United Kingdom, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dublin, Ireland, UCD Obstetrics and Gynaecology, School of Medicine and Medical Science, National Maternity Hospital, Holles St, Dublin, Ireland, Rotunda Hospital, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dublin, Ireland, The Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital, UCD School of Medicine and Medical Science, UCD, Dublin, Ireland, Cork University Maternity Hospital, Obstetrics, Cork, Ireland, National University of Ireland, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Galway, Ireland, Regional Maternity Hospital, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Limerick, Ireland, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Drogheda, Ireland, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Epidemiology and Public Health, Dublin, Ireland, National Maternity Hospital, Holles St, Dublin, Ireland OBJECTIVE: To compare perinatal outcomes of twin pregnancies conceived by assisted conception with those of natural conception. STUDY DESIGN: Evaluation of Sonographic Predictors of Restricted growth in Twins (ESPRiT) is a multicentric prospective observational study conducted in eight maternity centres in Ireland, by the Perinatal Ireland Research consortium. Of 1001 twin pregnancies completing the study over a 24 month period, method of conception was available for 874 twins. Statistical comparisons were made between methods of conception and types of artificial reproductive techniques (ARTs) for demographics, baseline characteristics and perinatal outcomes. RESULTS: There were 636 (73%) spontaneously conceived twins and 238 (27%) conceived by ART in the study. Nearly all (97%) of the ART twins were dichorionic as compared to 74% dichorionic twins of those conceived naturally. The ART group was older with a maternal age of 35 years as compared to 31 years for the spontaneous conception group (p 0.0001). The ART group was also more likely to be nulliparous (70% vs 40%, p 0.0001) and were less likely to be smokers (4% versus 15%, p 0.0001). There were no significant differences between the obstetric features such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, antepartum haemorrhage or preterm delivery. There were 16(1%) neonatal deaths in the naturally conceived group and 3(0.6%) in the assisted conception group (p 0.124) We found no difference (p-value 0.05) in gestational age at delivery for the ART group Poster Session V www.AJOG.org Saturday, February 11, 2012 • 10:00 am – 12:00 pm • Marsalis Hall, Dallas Hyatt Regency Supplement to JANUARY 2012 American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology S307

After 40 Years, Retina Reveals It Uses Positive Feedback, as Well as Negative

​TheThe eye is not a camera, and the retina is not a piece of film. Indeed, the retina might be better likened to a computer running Photoshop, given the extent of image processing that it performs before passing visual information along to the brain. A central aspect of that processing is called center-surround inhibition, in which illumination stimulates the firing of a small number of retinal cells, accompanied by inhibition of surrounding cells. This phenomenon increases spatial contrast and sharpens perception of edges. Horizontal cells in the retina have a positive feedback synapse onto photoreceptor cells that locally offsets a previously known negative feedback connection. The mechanism of center-surround inhibition is complex, but one key part is played by interactions between photoreceptor cells and horizontal cells. Photoreceptors—the rods and cones that absorb light to begin the visual process—form synapses with horizontal cells, which, as their name implies, spread out horizontally across the retinal surface. Each horizontal cell receives input from dozens of photoreceptor cells, integrating and processing their input before passing it further along the visual chain. While photoreceptor cells activate horizontal cells, horizontal cells also subsequently influence photoreceptor cells, inhibiting their activation, an inverse influence called a negative feedback loop. But in this issue of PLoS Biology, Skyler Jackman, Richard Kramer, and colleagues show that the two are also linked by a positive feedback loop, which may help offset the loss of signal strength inherent in negative feedback, helping to maintain strong signal output without degrading spatial contrast. The authors began by isolating whole retinas from the anole lizard. Unlike most other sensory cells, photoreceptors continually release neurotransmitter in the unstimulated condition, that is, in the dark. The neurotransmitter glutamate is released from small sacs called synaptic vesicles that fuse with photoreceptor membrane. After their contents are released, bits of the membrane pinch off to generate new vesicles that gradually refill with glutamate for another round of release. The authors tapped into this recycling process to stain the vesicles with a dye as they were forming, allowing them later to monitor the rate of exocytosis of the labeled vesicles, and thus, the degree of stimulation of the photoreceptor. Because the negative feedback effect of horizontal cells activated by glutamate is to inhibit photoreceptor exocytosis, the authors expected that addition of exogenous glutamate into the synapse would reduce the rate of exocytosis. Instead, they found the opposite—an increase in glutamate release with addition of glutamate, the essence of a positive feedback loop. Through a series of experiments that blocked or stimulated different receptors, they established that the effect was mediated by a certain kind of receptor, called an ionotropic glutamate receptor. Since such receptors are found on the surface of the horizontal cells, but not on photoreceptor cells, and since ablating horizontal cells eliminated the effect, the authors concluded that positive feedback originated in these horizontal-cell receptors. Activation of the receptor allows calcium ions to flow into the horizontal cells, and when the authors released calcium directly into the horizontal cells, the photoreceptors were stimulated even in absence of excess glutamate, clinching the case. Further experiments will be needed to identify the messenger released by the horizontal cell that stimulates the photoreceptor cell. More experiments will also be needed to confirm these results in rods, since the anole lizard's retina contains only cones. How has this positive feedback mechanism remained hidden in plain sight through four decades or research on the retina? One reason, the authors suggest, is that it is only robustly observed in whole retina preparations, while retinal slices have been used for the majority of work elucidating retinal function. The authors propose that the function of the positive feedback loop is to offset the effect of negative feedback, which reduces overall output from a given visual stimulus. By tightly controlling the spatial spread of the positive stimulatory signal, they suggest that the system can maintain high signal strength without losing the sharp contrast enhancement of the center-surround system. Jackman SL, Babai N, Chambers JJ, Thoreson WB, Kramer RH (2011) A Positive Feedback Synapse from Retinal Horizontal Cells to Cone Photoreceptors. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001057

A Positive Feedback Synapse from Retinal Horizontal Cells to Cone Photoreceptors

Cone photoreceptors and horizontal cells (HCs) have a reciprocal synapse that underlies lateral inhibition and establishes the antagonistic center-surround organization of the visual system. Cones transmit to HCs through an excitatory synapse and HCs feed back to cones through an inhibitory synapse. Here we report that HCs also transmit to cone terminals a positive feedback signal that elevates intracellular Ca2+ and accelerates neurotransmitter release. Positive and negative feedback are both initiated by AMPA receptors on HCs, but positive feedback appears to be mediated by a change in HC Ca2+, whereas negative feedback is mediated by a change in HC membrane potential. Local uncaging of AMPA receptor agonists suggests that positive feedback is spatially constrained to active HC-cone synapses, whereas the negative feedback signal spreads through HCs to affect release from surrounding cones. By locally offsetting the effects of negative feedback, positive feedback may amplify photoreceptor synaptic release without sacrificing HC-mediated contrast enhancement.

The facilitatory effect of negative feedback on the emergence of analogical reasoning abilities

This paper focuses on the development of analogical reasoning abilities in 5- and 6-year-old children. Our particular interest relates to the way in which analogizing is influenced by the provision of task-based feedback coupled with a self-explanation requirement. Both feedback and self-explanation provide children with opportunities to engage in self-reflective thinking about the process of analogical reasoning. To examine the role of such metacognitive factors in analogical strategy development the reported study combined a proportional analogy paradigm with a small-scale microgenetic approach involving multiple testing sessions over a restricted time period. The key manipulation involved exposing participants either to the correct or incorrect analogy completions of another reasoner that they were then asked to explain. The data revealed that the development of an effective analogizing strategy embodying a 'relational shift' from superficial to relational responding was modulated by the feedback condition that the child was placed in, with a negative feedback intervention providing the greatest developmental benefit. We suggest that the value of negative feedback for the acquisition of analogical reasoning abilities derives from the way in which a self-reflective analysis of the reasons for erroneous responses sensitizes the child to a deeper understanding of how to make effective relational mappings.

Inducing mind sets in self‐regulated learning with motivational information

The way students perceive a learning climate (e.g. controlling or stimulating) is significantly influenced by feedback and assessment. However, at present much is unclear about the relation between feedback and motivational state. More specifically, the interplay with student characteristics is unclear. Since there is a strong increase of group work, the central research question is what are the effects of positive, neutral or negative feedback presented to collaborating teams of students, on students’ intrinsic motivation, performance and on group processes? One hundred thirty‐eight higher education students participated in this study. There were no significant differences in performance across conditions. Multi‐level analysis enabled a detailed comparison between groups and individual members of groups. Amongst others, it was found that feelings of competence facilitate the effect of positive feedback at the group level, which suggests that positive feedback boosts interest especially in groups of highly competent students.