[E] Performance feedback and individual achievement: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial
Le 12 mars 2026 de 13h00 à 14h00
à Pau, en salle des thèses DEG; à Bayonne, en salle 110, via Teams
Abstract :
Many individuals have a biased perception of their own abilities. This may lead them to make choices that are ill-suited to their actual skills and, consequently, to experience failure. In this article, we test whether providing detailed information about one’s performance alters individuals’ beliefs about themselves, and whether this affects their future performance.
Within the context of a controlled experiment conducted in the French university system, we measure how students incorporate information about their results into their beliefs about academic success. To do so, we implement a controlled experiment in which a random sample of students receives detailed information about their academic performance, while a control group receives only their grades. We then measure how beliefs about grades, study effort, and academic achievement are affected by this information.
This experimental protocol is repeated weekly over an entire semester, allowing us to track the evolution of treated individuals’ beliefs, effort, and academic performance. The study concludes that the information has a significant impact in reducing biases in individuals’ perceptions of their own abilities; however, we do not find any effect of the treatment on effort or academic outcomes.