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Not Learning From Failure-the Greatest Failure of All
Lauren Eskreis-Winkler1, Ayelet Fishbach1
1Booth School of Business, University of Chicago.
Psychological Science
|November 9, 2019
Summary
Failure feedback hinders learning, contrary to popular belief. This study found that learning from failure is reduced because it threatens the ego, causing individuals to disengage. However, learning from others
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Educational Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Societal norms often frame failure as a valuable learning opportunity.
- However, empirical evidence suggests failure may impede rather than facilitate learning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of failure feedback on learning outcomes.
- To explore the psychological mechanisms underlying the relationship between failure and learning.
Main Methods:
- Five studies involving 1,674 participants who answered binary-choice questions.
- Feedback on correctness (success or failure) was provided, followed by a delayed test.
- Learning was assessed by performance on the follow-up test and recall of answer choices.
Main Results:
- Participants learned significantly less from failure feedback compared to success feedback across diverse domains.
- Failure feedback also led to poorer recall of previously answered questions.
- The negative impact of failure on learning was mitigated when ego-threat was reduced, such as when learning from others' failures.
Conclusions:
- Contrary to the notion of failure as a teachable moment, failure feedback can undermine learning.
- Ego-threat is a key mechanism; when personal ego is not threatened, learning from failure improves.
- Educational and psychological interventions should consider the role of ego-threat in learning from mistakes.
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