Date of Award

8-2025

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Jonathan Baker, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Ron Van Houten, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Kate Martini, Ph.D.

Fourth Advisor

Doug Johnson, Ph.D.

Keywords

Delay feedback, feedback, feedback effectiveness, feedback timing, performance feedback, rule governed behavior

Abstract

Performance feedback is a powerful tool central to many functions at work, as it guides, motivates, and rewards employees’ behaviors. To better understand the function of feedback, previous research has examined the impact of feedback’s timing (proximal to the previous per-formance versus proximal to the next performance) on the effectiveness of feedback. However, the findings have been mixed across studies. Studies with less than 1-day between session dura-tions tend to find no difference between after-session versus before-session feedback. However, investigations with multiple-day between session durations tend to find improved performance with before-session feedback. This study used a counterbalanced across-subject design with 12 undergraduate participants to investigate the effects of feedback timing on work performance. Each participant completed 12–15 experimental sessions. The research specifically explored the impact of providing feedback immediately before or after performance tasks, particularly when there were long intervals between sessions. It also evaluated how the findings aligned with prior research and the verbal behavior interpretation. Four participants (33.3%) showed no improve-ment in either condition. One participant (8.3%) improved only in the Before-Session Feedback (Tx1) condition. Seven participants (58.3%) improved in both conditions, suggesting general responsiveness to feedback regardless of timing.

Access Setting

Dissertation-Open Access

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