In experiments including over 450 university-level students, we studied the effectiveness and time efficiency of several levels of feedback complexity in simple, computer-based training utilizing static question sequences. The learning domain was simple vector math, an essential skill in introductory physics. In a unique full factorial design, we studied the relative effects of “knowledge of co...

More than 70 years after the discovery of the pituitary thyroid feedback control mechanism, a classical endocrine regulation system, most of its parameters have been identified. However, the regulation of its central component in the pituitary gland, probably responsible for pulsatile release of thyrotropin (TSH), remains obscure. In order to infer its structure from the system’s behavior, four...

The legacy of industrialization has left many soils contaminated. However, soil organisms and plant communities can thrive in spite of metal contamination and, in some cases, metabolize and help in remediation. The responses of plants and soil organisms to contamination are mutually dependent and dynamic. Plantesoil feedbacks are central to the development of any terrestrial community; they are...

Games are important vehicles for learning and behavior change as long as players are motivated to continue playing. We study the impact of verbal feedback in stimulating player motivation and future play in a brain-training game. We conducted a 2 (feedback valence: positive vs. negative) 3 (feedback type: descriptive, comparative, evaluative) between-subjects experiment (N = 157, 69.4% female, ...

In four studies, we document an increase in the amount of negative feedback friends and colleagues exchange as their relationship deepens. We find that both actual and perceived relationship depth increase the amount of negative feedback people seek from and provide to each other, aswell as their tendency to invest in a focal (relationship or performance) goal in response to negative feedback. ...

Among the many factors that influence the efficacy of feedback on learning, the information contained in the feedback message is arguably the most important. One common assumption is that there is a benefit to increasing the complexity of the feedback message beyond providing the correct answer. Surprisingly, studies that have manipulated the content of the feedback message in order to isolate ...