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Emotional and motivational reactions to failure: the role of illusions of control and explicitness of feedback

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Abstract

Previous research has found that illusions of control (IOC) can buffer against the emotional consequences of failure and may increase persistence in the face of failure. Theoretical analyses suggest that IOC are most closely related to a better mood and higher motivation if failure feedback is open to reinterpretation. Two experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that explicitness (vs. ambiguousness) of failure feedback moderates the consequences of IOC following a failure experience. In accord with predictions, it was found that IOC were subsequently related to a better mood (Study 1) and higher persistence (Study 2) if individuals received ambiguous task-inherent failure feedback. In contrast, explicit failure feedback seemed to neutralize the beneficial effects of IOC. These results are discussed with respect to the adaptiveness of IOC.

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Notes

  1. A pilot study found that the non-contingent conditions elicited higher ratings of perceived control when some of the fields in the matrix were colored.

  2. In an additional hierarchical regression analyses, mood at T3 was regressed on IOC and the experimental conditions (Step 1) and the interaction of IOC and experimental conditions (Step 2) without controlling for mood at T1. Compared to the analysis which controlled for mood at T1, this analysis yielded similar, although somewhat weaker results. In Step 1, the experimental conditions significantly predicted mood at T1, b = −.19, se b = .08, t(204) = 2.32, P < .05. In Step 2, the interaction of predictors significantly predicted mood at T3, b = −.21, se b = .08, t(203) = 2.53, P < .05. IOC were positively related to mood at T3 in the task-inherent feedback condition, r = .35, P < .001. IOC and mood at T3 were unrelated in the explicit feedback condition, r = −.09, ns. The two correlations were significantly different, Z = 3.22, P < .001.

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Acknowledgement

I’d like to thank Jennifer Fett, Aneta Kozlowski, Rainer Lehmann, Susanne Reinsberg, Tatjana Schlaht, and Lisa Warmbier for their in help in data collection.

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  1. Department of Psychology, University of Wuppertal, Gauss-Strasse 20, 42097, Wuppertal, Germany

    Thomas A. Langens

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  1. Thomas A. Langens
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Correspondence to Thomas A. Langens.

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Langens, T.A. Emotional and motivational reactions to failure: the role of illusions of control and explicitness of feedback. Motiv Emot 31, 105–114 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-007-9058-9

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