Feedback helped people do better on average. In over 38% of comparisons, performance fell.

The review

1. 01

   Who took part

   The studies had 12,652 people in all, about 39 per comparison. Most people in the lab studies were students, and field studies included workers and students. The paper does not say how old they were.

2. 02

   What they did

   Someone else, such as a teacher, manager or computer, told people how well they were doing on a task. The other group got no feedback.

3. 03

   What happened

   On average, feedback helped by a moderate amount. Results varied far more than chance would explain, and performance fell in over 38% of comparisons. Feedback given with goals helped more than feedback alone, but the authors say this needs caution.

What the review found

1. Helped

   Across 607 comparisons, feedback helped on average. Performance fell in over 38% of them.

   • Rule: Get feedback on your progresstested

   Pooled analysis of 607 studies with 12,652 people · vs people who got no feedback · ⚠ mixes trials with other kinds of study

2. Helped

   In 37 comparisons where people also set goals, feedback helped more than in 373 that did not.

   • Action: Set a specific goaltested
   • Rule: Get feedback on your progressused

   Pooled analysis of 37 studies · vs feedback without goals · ⚠ mixes trials with other kinds of study

Source