Abstract
<p>Learning from outcomes of our actions to inform behavior is fundamental to human cognition. Performance feedback – which either reinforces current behavior or signals a need to change behavior – is central to this learning. Learners do not always passively receive feedback; oftentimes, they must decide that it is worth receiving and seek it. The subjective, or perceived, value of feedback motivates such decisions to seek out feedback. Thus, methods for increasing the perceived value of feedback have critical implications for learning. The current study tested the effectiveness of a novel feedback value training (FVT) that manipulated learning context to boost the perceived value of feedback. Eighty participants completed either the FVT (n = 40) or a control paradigm (n = 40). Afterwards, all participants completed a willingness-to-pay associative memory task that quantified feedback value via decisions to purchase or forgo feedback during learning. The FVT did not significantly increase overall feedback purchases, but within-group analyses revealed it appeared to produce an increase in value for feedback that was informative for learning, compared to less informative feedback. Additionally, higher levels of need for cognition moderated responsiveness to the FVT, suggesting that trait characteristics may interact with contextual effects to modulate feedback value. For both groups, feedback purchases that yielded negative feedback significantly predicted better performance during the test phase. These initial results indicate that manipulating context may also modulate feedback value. They also provide critical preliminary data for improving the feasibility of a tool – the FVT – that could address this need.</p>