Reactions to Interpersonal Evaluative Feedback¹

Self‐enhancement approaches to self‐concept provide a perspective for identifying motivational factors likely to be affected by interpersonal evaluative feedback. The main hypothesies were that in contrast to positive feedback, negative feedback would lead to higher self‐esteem, lower perceptions of task importance, and lower perceptions of control over an evaluator's reactions. Students received a lesson on solving analogies from a teacher (confederate), and then took a test on analogies. After reviewing the student's test, the teacher conveyed either positive feedback, negative feedback, or no feedback. Consistent with a self‐enhancement perspective, recipients of negative feedback increased their global self‐esteem, placed less importance on succeeding at the task, and felt less control over the teachers' reactions. Implications for understanding the role of interpersonal evaluative feedback in motivation and self‐esteem, and self‐enhancing responses to threats more generally are discussed.