The Effects of Feedback Sender on Challenge/Threat Responses to Feedback, and the Moderating Role of Self-Efficacy and Relationships with Goal Orientation

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of feedback sender (teacher/peer) on challenge-threat responses of students to feedback on their master’s thesis, along with the moderating role of self-efficacy on this relationship and correlations between goal orientations and challenge-threat responses to teacher and peer feedback. Master’s students in Public Administration at the Erasmus University Rotterdam participated in this study through an online questionnaire. Results indicate that there was no difference between students’ challenge-threat responses to feedback coming from different feedback senders. Also, self-efficacy is not found to have a moderating effect on this relationship. However, positive relationships are found between the degree of self-efficacy and the presence of relative challenge when processing teacher and peer feedback. The correlations between mastery orientation and challenge-threat responses to teacher and peer feedback show no relationship. There is also no relationship found between the performance-approach orientation and challenge-threat responses to peer feedback. However, correlations indicate negative relationships between the performance-approach orientation and challenge-threat responses to teacher feedback and between the performance-avoidance orientation and challenge-threat responses to teacher and peer feedback. Due to the limitations of the study, it is relevant for future research to further examine the relationships within this study.