A comparison of the effects of various performance feedback presentations on typing accuracy and speed

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine which combination of performance feedback was most effective to improve typing accuracy and speed. Participants were assigned to one of four groups: (1) no feedback group, (2) performance feedback-alone group, (3) performance feedback and goal group, or (4) performance feedback-with-praise group. In a within-subject design, following a no-feedback condition (baseline), performance feedback was either presented on participants’ accuracy only, speed only, or both accuracy and speed. The results revealed no main effects of performance feedback combination on typing speed or accuracy. However, in all feedback groups, an increase in accuracy and speed scores was observed during conditions when feedback on typing accuracy, speed, or a combination of accuracy and speed was delivered, compared to the no-feedback condition. The results of this study suggest that providing feedback on any component of a participant’s typing performance may be sufficient to improve performance over baseline levels.

KEYWORDS:

• Performance feedback
• quality
• quantity
• praise
• goal setting

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Daniel Fienup, Ph.D., Nancy Hemmes, Ph.D., Robert Lanson, Ph.D., Patricia D’Ateno, Ph.D., and Kathleen Mangiapanello, Ph.D. for their review of this manuscript. We would also like to thank Aderys Adames and Malka Hirsch for their help with data collection.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).