Learning from failure: The roles of self-focused feedback, task expectations, and subsequent instruction

Abstract

Previous research indicates that failure feedback leads people to tune out from the task, which is detrimental to their learning (Eskreis-Winkler & Fishbach, 2019; Keith et al., 2022). The current work aims to identify ways to optimize learning from failure feedback. We conducted five preregistered experiments (N = 1,061) to replicate the findings from Eskreis-Winkler and Fishbach (2019) and test boundary conditions to the tuneout effects of failure feedback. The detriments of failure feedback replicated in Studies 1a, 1b, and 1c which altered the focus of the feedback message to be self-focused (e.g., your answer) or task-focused (e.g., the answer). The detrimental effects also replicated in Study 2a, particularly when participants expected the task to be easy. These results generally underscored the robustness of the results from the original study. However, Study 2b established boundary conditions. When it was a rule-based task and brief instructions on the rule were provided after feedback, there was no evidence for a detrimental effect of failure, and failure feedback resulted in even better learning than success feedback for learning new material. We conclude that the tune-out reactions to failure during feedback are diminished, and may even be reversed, when learning is assessed on subsequent tasks.