Performance-feedback

Abstract

Feedback plays a critical role in shaping beliefs, guiding decisions, and improving performance. We conduct an online experiment to study the nature and effectiveness of qualitative feedback. Although qualitative feedback is widely used, it has received little attention in experimental economics, where the primary focus has been on quantitative feedback. We find a kindness bias: Evaluators give feedback that is more positive than their true opinions. However, recipients anticipate the bias and update their beliefs appropriately. In particular, subjects do not interpret written feedback in a way that is unduly favorable to themselves. This contrasts with work on quantitative feedback that finds a significant upward bias in interpretation. Unlike prior work, we find no difference in how feedback is given to men and women. We identify two channels through which feedback influences decisions: a belief-updating channel and an encouragement channel. Women respond to both, while men are less responsive to encouragement. We find improved performance for individuals who receive feedback that includes more concrete advice.