Honest feedback: Barriers to receptivity and discerning the truth in feedback

Nathan M Fulham; Kori L Krueger; Taya R Cohen

doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101405

Honest feedback: Barriers to receptivity and discerning the truth in feedback

Curr Opin Psychol. 2022 Aug:46:101405. doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101405. Epub 2022 Jun 23.

Authors

Nathan M Fulham¹, Kori L Krueger¹, Taya R Cohen²

Affiliations

¹ Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business, 5000 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15206, USA.
² Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business, 5000 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15206, USA. Electronic address: tcohen@cmu.edu.

PMID: 35841730
DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101405

Abstract

Feedback is information provided to recipients about their behavior, performance, or understanding, the goal of which is to foster recipients' self-awareness, and behavioral reinforcement or change. Yet, feedback often fails to achieve this goal. For feedback to be effective, recipients must be receptive and accurately understand the meaning and veracity of the feedback (i.e., discern the truth in feedback). Honesty is critically important for both receptivity and discerning the truth in the feedback. In this article, we identify barriers to receptivity and discerning the truth in feedback and illustrate how these barriers hinder recipients' learning and improvement. Barriers can arise from the feedback itself, the feedback-giver, and the feedback-recipient, and both parties share responsibility for removing them.

Keywords: Feedback; Honesty; Learning; Receptivity; Truth.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Feedback
Humans
Learning
Motivation*
Perception
Social Behavior*