Effect of feedback type and modality on human motivation

Task outcome feedback is often used to sustain human work motivation and ensure overall productivity. Feedback can also be useful for reducing learning periods for new tasks. Two types of feedback, including knowledge of results (KR) and knowledge of performance (KP), are commonly delivered as part of motor training by using various sensory modalities (e.g., visual, auditory or kinesthetic). Unfortunately, there is a lack of a design basis for such sensory feedback systems to optimize human motivation. Twenty-four right-handed participants were recruited for computer-based psychomotor task training using a contemporary haptic interface. During task performance, KP, KR or combo feedback was presented to participants through one of three sensory modalities, including visual, auditory or haptic. An Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) questionnaire was used to evaluate participant motivation under each specific condition. Results revealed task outcome related feedback (KR or combo) to be superior to process-based feedback (KP) in terms of sustaining human intrinsic motivation during the training period. The haptic modality was also found to have a stronger motivating effect than the visual or auditory modalities. Findings of this study are beneficial for future feedback designs to sustain human motivation during occupational skill training, such as assembly operations.