Performance following comparative feedback

dataset

posted on 2025-07-31, 13:29 authored by K. Skylar PowellK. Skylar Powell

This data was collected as one study among three that make up a PhD thesis. This data was part of an analysis to investigate how receiving multiple types of comparative feedback simultaneously affects subsequent learning task performance. While previous research often focuses on individual feedback types (temporal-comparative or social-comparative), this study explored the consequences of their simultaneous presentation. The primary aim was to examine the relationships between mixed (simultaneously negative and positive), consistently negative, and consistently positive comparative feedback and subsequent performance. The findings indicate that mixed comparative feedback is associated with decreased subsequent performance, whereas consistently negative feedback can be beneficial. Consistently positive feedback did not show a significant relationship with performance. These results suggest that educators and trainers should carefully consider how they deliver mixed feedback, potentially spacing it out or providing context, and recognize the potential benefits of informational, consistently negative feedback.The dataset comprises performance and feedback data collected from 214 undergraduate business students. The sample was diverse, including 105 students from the United States and 109 from South Korea. However, each of these participants completed multiple rounds of learning tasks and received feedback after each round. Specifically, participants engaged in a computer-based Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, which served as the learning task. During the task, participants received manipulated temporal- and social-comparative feedback. This feedback was designed to be one of three types:<ul><li>Consistently Positive: Both temporal and social feedback indicated positive performance.</li><li>Consistently Negative: Both temporal and social feedback indicated negative performance.</li><li>Mixed: One type of feedback (temporal or social) indicated positive performance, while the other indicated negative performance.</li></ul>Hence, given that there are multiple round observations for each participant, this is a panel dataset.Variables:<ul><li>Independent Variables:</li><li><ul><li>Feedback Type: Categorical variable with three levels: Consistently Positive, Consistently Negative, Mixed.</li></ul></li><li>Dependent Variable:</li><li><ul><li>Task Performance: Measured as the percentage of correct trials within a given round of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test.</li></ul></li><li>Demographic Variables (Implicit from Sample Description):</li><li><ul><li>Country of Origin (United States, South Korea)</li><li>Gender identity</li></ul></li></ul><h2> </h2>