Högskolan i Skövde

Feedback is argued to be an impactful variable in learning. The impact however, depends on what kind of feedback- and in what way the feedback is provided. The way intelligence, in terms of subjective experience of ability, is perceived has been observed to affect motivation and performance in individuals. This is hypothesized to be associated with whether individuals’ identifies their personal self with performance or not. Individuals who see intelligence as changeable through effort generally adopt learning goals which are associated with increased motivation and performance. Individuals who see intelligence as unchangeable and as a permanent trait of the self, generally adopt performance goals which instead are associated with decreases in motivation and performance. In this fMRI study, 20 participants were given trial-to-trial feedback when performing a typical conflict paradigm. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of feedback to alter participants’ attention towards themselves (being smart) or their task actions (choosing correct). It was found that task feedback (‘you chose correct’) increased participants’ motivation to continue with the task. Those who were given task feedback also improved their accuracy. Task feedback was associated with enhanced brain activation in brain regions associated with rule-switching. However, self-feedback was associated with self-monitoring regions. Findings support the a priori hypothesis that self-focus is associated with reduced motivation and less accuracy improvement. Task-focus seems to be superior in learning and in performing cognitive tasks.