Brown Bag Seminar with Dr Margaret Leighton, University of St Andrews The Impact of Feedback Framing on Subsequent Effort and Performance

Abstract: This paper uses a field experiment to estimate the causal effect of feedback framing on subsequent effort and performance. By experimentally varying an element of feedback received by university students near the end of the teaching term, we isolate the effect of positive framing on student engagement and grades in a high- stakes exam. We find that a generic friendly framing reduces effort by 0.22 SD, with respect to feedback delivered with no framing. In contrast, a personalised friendly framing has no effect on study effort. The effect of generic positive framing is driven by high-achieving students (who have 0.50 SD lower effort than peers receiving feedback with no framing), and by female students (0.36 SD lower effort). Despite these substantial changes in study effort, we find no effect of either framing on exam grades.