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Updated: Jul 27, 2026

Task Interruption and Resumption Paradigm for Testing the Activation and Pursuit of an Abstract Thinking Goal
Published on: April 18, 2017
The effect of feedback sign on task performance depends on self-concept discrepancies
Jeffrey B Vancouver1, E Casey Tischner
1Department of Psychology, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701-2979, USA. vancouve@ohio.edu
Abstract:
Control theories claim that information about performance is often used by multiple goal systems. A proposition tested here was that performance information can create discrepancies in self-concept goals, directing cognitive resources away from the task goal system. To manipulate performance information, 160 undergraduates were given false positive or false negative normative feedback while working on a task that did or did not require substantial cognitive resources. Half of the participants were then given an opportunity to reaffirm their self-concepts following feedback, whereas half were not. Feedback sign positively related to performance only for those working on the cognitively intense task and not given a chance to reaffirm. Otherwise, feedback sign was negatively related to performance, albeit weakly.
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