Affective Reactions to Feedback

This paper focuses on the relationship between performance feedback and affect within people across time. Applying multi-level methods, we investigated how performance feedback influences positive and negative affect within individuals across negative and positive feedback ranges. In addition, we examined whether self-esteem moderates individuals ’ relationship between negative feedback and affective reactions. Results showed that performance feedback did influence both positive and negative affect within individuals, and that feedback indicating goal nonattaintment (i.e., negative feedback) influenced negative affect more strongly than it influenced positive affect. The data offered some support for the prediction with respect to the moderating role of self-esteem derived from self-enhancement theory. Implications and directions for future research are discussed