Feedback

What feedback is for

Feedback is the information a performer receives about a movement they have made, or are making. Its function is to allow the performer to compare what they actually did with what they intended to do.

Without feedback there is no way to know whether a movement was correct. The performer may repeat the same error indefinitely, because nothing tells them the movement was wrong.

Feedback therefore does three jobs: it detects an error, it corrects the movement, and it motivates the performer to keep going. The first two are the ones that drive learning; the third decides how much practice the performer is willing to do.

Intrinsic and extrinsic feedback

Intrinsic feedback comes from inside the performer. It is the information the performer's own senses provide about the movement — the feel of the limbs, the sense of balance, the sound of the ball on the racket.

Extrinsic feedback comes from outside the performer. It is information added by someone or something else — a coach's comment, a video replay, a stopwatch time or the crowd's reaction.

A skilled performer relies heavily on intrinsic feedback, because it is available instantly without waiting for anyone else. Beginners have not yet learned to read it, so they depend more on extrinsic feedback from a coach.

Terminal and concurrent feedback

Concurrent feedback is received during the movement. It allows the performer to adjust the skill while it is happening, such as feeling the racket face is open and closing it during the swing.

Terminal feedback is received after the movement is complete. It allows the performer to judge how the whole skill went and to adjust the next attempt.

Concurrent feedback is useful in skills where the performer has time to correct mid-movement, such as a swimming stroke or a cricket bowling action. Terminal feedback suits fast, discrete skills such as a tennis serve, where the movement is over before there is time to adjust it.

Positive and negative feedback

Positive feedback tells the performer that the movement was correct. It is praise or confirmation of what went well, and its main job is motivation and reinforcement.

Negative feedback tells the performer that the movement was incorrect, so it needs changing. It is not a criticism of the performer — it is information that the movement was wrong.

Both are useful, and they are normally used together. Positive feedback reinforces the parts of the skill that were right, while negative feedback identifies the part that must be corrected. Negative feedback on its own tells a performer something is wrong without telling them how to fix it, so it works best in a sandwich with positive feedback either side.

Knowledge of results and knowledge of performance

Knowledge of results (KR) is feedback about the outcome of the movement. It tells the performer whether the attempt achieved what it was meant to achieve — the ball went in the basket, the shuttle landed in court, the throw reached the target.

Knowledge of performance (KP) is feedback about how the movement was performed. It describes the technique itself — the arms were too low, the knee was not bent, the racket came through too flat.

Both are usually extrinsic, because they normally come from the coach or from equipment, but KR can also be intrinsic when the performer can see the outcome for themselves. The difference to hold on to is outcome versus technique: KR is what happened, KP is how it was done.

Using feedback to detect and correct errors at each stage of learning

The type of feedback a performer needs changes as they move through the cognitive, associative and autonomous stages of learning.

In the cognitive stage the performer is trying to understand the skill and makes many gross errors. They cannot yet read intrinsic feedback, so they need plenty of extrinsic, terminal feedback, with a strong emphasis on knowledge of performance to tell them what the correct technique looks like. Positive feedback matters here because the performer is easily discouraged.

In the associative stage the performer can perform the skill but is refining it. Feedback is still needed, but it can be less frequent and more precise, with knowledge of results used to check the outcome and knowledge of performance used to correct smaller technique faults. The performer is starting to use intrinsic and concurrent feedback to make adjustments during the movement.

In the autonomous stage the skill is almost automatic and errors are small. The performer relies mainly on intrinsic and concurrent feedback, because the skill can be self-corrected during performance. The coach's role shifts to occasional extrinsic feedback and to maintaining motivation through positive feedback.

• Cognitive stage: more extrinsic and terminal feedback, heavy on knowledge of performance.
• Associative stage: less frequent but more precise feedback, mixing knowledge of results and knowledge of performance.
• Autonomous stage: mainly intrinsic and concurrent feedback, with extrinsic feedback used sparingly.
• Give feedback immediately after the movement, while the feel of it is still fresh.