Person- versus computer-mediated feedback

The effects of feedback provided by a person versus that provided by a computer on performance, motivation, and feedback seeking were studied. Employing a 2 × 3 experimental design, subjects were assigned to one of three feedback conditions: (a) no feedback, (b) feedback only upon request, and (c) automatic feedback with feedback provided either by a person or a computer. The results indicate that (a) subjects are more likely to seek feedback from a computer than from another person; (b) feedback from a person causes a decline in performance relative to a condition where a person is present but does not deliver feedback; (c) both human- and computer-mediated feedback reduce motivation in comparison to a control group that receives no feedback; and (d) personality — in this case, self-esteem and public and private self-consciousness — interacts with the receipt of person-mediated feedback to negatively affect performance.