Feedback relating specifically to t

Feedback relating specifically to the task can be conceived along a number of dimensions, such as high to low complexity, individual or group performance, and written or numeric notations. Simple more than complex task performance bene- fits from FT (Balzer, Doherty, & O'Connor, 1989). Similarly, simple rather than complex FT tends to be more effective. Kulhavy, White, Topp, Chan, and Adams (1985) provided students with reading passages and multiple-choice items with increasingly complex feedback provided. First they were given the correct answer, and then they discussed the four incorrect responses. Each sentence of the passage was subsequently read and used to explain why one of the error choices was incor- rect, and finally the relevant section of the passage in which the correct answer was identified. The less complex feedback that provided the correct answer resulted in higher levels of subsequent task performance than the more complex versions of the feedback, for which the effect was small. It may be, the authors conjectured, that providing additional information about the incorrect responses actually increased the likelihood that the error was remembered by the learner. Alternatively, it may be that students processed extra feedback information at a more surface level, because they did not perceive it as being directly related to the issue of identifying a correct response. However, these results were mediated by the readers' confidence in their responses. Those with high response confidence, who had little trouble understanding or interacting with the material, were more likely to make efficient use of the feedback whatever its complexity.