WHEN MORE IS NOT MERRIER: THE EFFECT OF FEEDBACK FREQUENCY ON GOAL PERFORMANCE

Abstract

Building on the classic literature on goal feedback, as well as the recent research on the distinct motivational pathways of specific and nonspecific goals, this research examines the effect of feedback frequency on goal performance, particularly in nonspecific goals that do not have clearly defined end states. The studies demonstrate that, contrary to people’s beliefs, higher (vs. lower) feedback frequency leads to lower performance in nonspecific goals. This effect occurs because people rely on feedback frequency as a cue to infer their goal progress during goal pursuit: as higher (vs. lower) feedback frequency increases the level of perceived goal progress, it reduces the motivation to continue pursuing the goal, thereby lowering performance. Consistent with this explanation, the empirical findings further show that the feedback frequency effect only holds when the feedback information is relevant to goal progress, and is attenuated when the level of perceived goal progress is already high.