Regulatory fit explains the effects of speech grades on students’ intended effort

ABSTRACT

Previous studies of grading as instructional feedback reveal contrary patterns of motivation among public speaking students. That is, in some cases students who received lower grades on their initial speech assignments made substantial improvements on their subsequent speeches. In other studies, scholars have reported the exact opposite finding. Inspired by Kluger and DeNisi's ([1996]. The effects of feedback interventions on performance: Historical review, a meta-analysis, and a preliminary feedback intervention theory. Psychological Bulletin, 119, 254–284) Feedback Intervention Theory, communication scholars have proposed that certain response biases called instructional feedback orientations contribute to these effects. A different explanation emerges from Higgins’ ([2012]. Beyond pleasure and pain: How motivation works. New York: Oxford University) Regulatory Fit Theory, which states that the degree of fit between grades and regulatory focus engenders student engagement. The current study examines these differing explanations for the effort that students intend to exert on future speech assignments after receiving grades on preceding ones. Undergraduates (N = 240) enrolled in basic communication courses completed procedures to induce prevention and promotion regulatory focus and then gave responses to receiving higher or lower grades on classroom public speeches. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses provided support for both the Regulatory Fit Theory and instructional feedback orientations perspectives. Recommendations for future research and pedagogical practices are described, including framing instructional feedback to align with student regulatory focus.

KEYWORDS:

• instructional feedback
• grading
• regulatory fit
• vigilance
• eagerness
• public speaking