The Psychological Effects of Feedback on Students: Experimental Research Using a Psychophysiological Approach

Abstract

Research on feedback has shown teachers’ feedback to be more interactive. There is a heightened need to investigate how students perceive feedback. Researchers have increasingly explored this topic with interviews and questionnaires. In addition to these conventional methods, it is necessary to study the effects of feedback on psychological characteristics because conventional methods cannot reveal aspects that students cannot easily verbalize. This study examined the psychological effects of the difference between two types of feedback: that which encourages participants (Encouraging-FB), and that which pushes participants (Pushing-FB). To this end, we measured the skin conductance, respiration, and pulse wave of participants as they solved puzzles. Their skin conductance data showed that arousal was higher during Pushing-FB than Encouraging-FB, while respiration and pulse wave data suggest that stress was higher during Pushing-FB. These data can reveal psychological situations that are difficult for many teachers to grasp.