Abstract

Empirical research on effective assessment feedback often falls short in demonstrating not just what works, but how and why. In this introduction to the special issue, ‘Psychological Perspectives on the Effects and Effectiveness of Assessment Feedback,’ we first synthesize the recommendations from review papers on the topic of feedback published since 2010. In multiple respects this synthesis points to a clear wish among feedback researchers: for feedback research to become more scientific. Here we endorse that view, and propose a framework of research questions that a psychological science of feedback might seek to answer. Yet we—and the authors of the diverse papers in this special issue—also illustrate a wealth of scientific research and methods, and rigorous psychological theory, that already exist to inform understanding of effective feedback. One barrier to scientific progress is that this research and theory is heavily fragmented across disciplinary ‘silos’. The papers in this special issue, which represent disparate traditions of psychological research, provide complementary insights into the problems that rigorous feedback research must surmount. We argue that a cohesive psychological science of feedback requires better dialogue between the diverse subfields, and greater use of psychological methods, measures, and theories for informing evidence-based practice.

摘要

关于有效评估反馈的实证研究往往不仅无法证明什么有效，而且无法证明有效的方式和原因。在特刊“评估反馈的影响和有效性的心理学视角”的介绍中，我们首先综合了自 2010 年以来发表的有关反馈主题的评论论文中的建议。在多个方面，这种综合表明了反馈中的明确愿望研究人员：让反馈研究变得更加科学。在这里，我们赞同这一观点，并提出了反馈心理科学可能寻求回答的研究问题框架。然而，我们以及本期特刊中不同论文的作者也阐述了丰富的科学研究和方法以及严格的心理学理论，这些理论和理论已经存在，可以帮助理解有效的反馈。科学进步的一个障碍是，这项研究和理论在学科“孤岛”中严重分散。本期特刊中的论文代表了心理学研究的不同传统，为严格的反馈研究必须克服的问题提供了补充见解。我们认为，反馈的内聚心理科学需要不同子领域之间更好的对话，以及更多地使用心理学方法、措施、