Attributional feedback and its effect on self-beliefs and academic achievement: a review of the literature

In this review of the professional literature, we analyzeattributional feedback and its effect on self-beliefs and academic achievement. As defined by various researchers, attributional feedback refers to feedback that focuses on the students’ abilities and efforts. Studies on the effects of these two types of praise in combination and isolation show a positive correlation between attributional feedback, self-beliefs, and academic achievement. Despite these findings, effort feedback is preferred by many theorists and researchers as it is said that ability feedback can have negative effects on students following failure. Nevertheless, studies which compared the effects of self-efficacy demonstrate that compared to no attributional feedback at all, those receiving this type of feedback showed improved self-efficacy and academic achievement. These findings have important implications for educators who wish to increase student motivation and consequently, academic achievement.