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Want More? Learn Less: Motivation Affects Adolescents Learning from Negative Feedback
Yun Zhuang1, Wenfeng Feng1, Yu Liao1
1Department of Psychology, School of Education, Soochow University Suzhou, China.
Frontiers in Psychology
|February 14, 2017
Summary
Children, adolescents, and adults learn differently from feedback. Negative feedback hinders learning more than positive feedback, especially in motivated adolescents.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Development
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Learning is influenced by feedback valence (positive/negative).
- Motivation modulates cognitive processes, including learning.
- Developmental changes in feedback processing are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate differential effects of positive and negative feedback on learning across development.
- Examine the role of motivation in modulating feedback-based learning.
- Identify age-related differences in learning from feedback under varying motivational contexts.
Main Methods:
- Participants (children, adolescents, adults) completed two versions of the Guess and Application Task (GAT): Cool-GAT (low motivation) and Hot-GAT (high motivation).
- Feedback valence (positive/negative) and motivational salience were manipulated.
- Learning was assessed based on performance in the rule-based learning task.
Main Results:
- Negative feedback resulted in reduced learning compared to positive feedback across all age groups.
- The detrimental effect of negative feedback on learning was most pronounced in adolescents, particularly in the high-motivation Hot-GAT task.
- Increased risk-taking correlated with greater learning reduction from negative feedback, with adolescents showing the largest effect.
Conclusions:
- Learning from positive and negative feedback differs significantly across developmental stages.
- Negative feedback impairs associative learning, an effect amplified in adolescents under high task-elicited motivation.
- Motivation and age interact to influence the impact of feedback valence on learning, with adolescents being particularly sensitive to negative feedback in high-stakes situations.
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