Abstract
Previous research on feedback preferences has not provided participants a direct choice of receiving positive feedback (information about correct performance) or corrective feedback (information on how to correct mistakes). The present study assessed the effects of and preference for positive and corrective feedback during the acquisition of tasks. In the first phase, participants (n =10; 8 female, 2 male) either received positive, corrective, or no feedback (control) across three novel tasks. Participants only mastered the task in which they received corrective feedback. In the second phase, participants chose to receive either positive or corrective feedback after completing trials of the previous phase’s control task. All participants chose to receive corrective feedback more frequently than positive feedback. Overall, corrective feedback was more effective and more preferred than positive feedback. We discuss these findings’ implications for feedback delivery in the workplace and provide suggestions for future research.