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Treatments of performance feedback in the communication literature have generally focused on the pragmatic advantages of such systems while remaining uncritical of the information processing context in which such instructional interventions are employed. Communication theorists have distinguished between tasks that require conscious deliberation and tasks that are executed automatically. In the present study, the efficacy of using immediate and delayed feedback in generating improvement on a subsequent performance, for tasks which vary in information processing requirements, was examined. Analyses indicate that immediate feedback intervention is more effective when automatic processing occurs while delayedfeedback produces greater change with tasks involving deliberative and effortful processing. Interpretation of the findings, in light of extant theory and research, is provided.
King et al. (Sun,) studied this question.