Individuals’ power determines how they respond to positive versus negative performance feedback

Abstract

Performance feedback signals to people where they stand in their goal progress. Positive feedback suggests that one is on a good track to achieve a goal. Negative feedback indicates that another strategy or greater effort is required. However, not everyone reacts equally to such feedback. Through four studies using a variety of methods, we examined how individuals’ experience of power affects motivation and performance depending on whether they receive negative or positive performance feedback. While results were not completely uniform, a general pattern could be observed. Specifically, a meta-analysis across all studies showed that negative feedback had an overall detrimental effect on motivation and performance of low-power individuals but not of high-power individuals. Positive feedback neither impacted low- nor high-power individuals' motivation but increased low-power individuals’ performance relative to their high-power counterparts. Our findings imply that performance feedback needs to be tailored to the recipient's experience of power.