University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Soften the pain, increase the gain: Interventions that mitigate the influences of negative feedback and improve online feedback exchange

Wu, Yu

Content Files
WU-DISSERTATION-2020.pdf

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/109420

Description

Title
Soften the pain, increase the gain: Interventions that mitigate the influences of negative feedback and improve online feedback exchange
Author(s)
Wu, Yu
Issue Date
2020-12-02
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Bailey, Brian P
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Bailey, Brian P
Committee Member(s)
  • Karahalios, Karrie
  • Kumar, Ranjitha
  • Churchill, Elizabeth
Department of Study
Computer Science
Discipline
Computer Science
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Date of Ingest
2021-03-05T21:38:17Z
Keyword(s)
creativity support tools, design, feedback
Abstract
Content creators can experience negative feedback when sharing work on online platforms. In this thesis, we define feedback written in an unnecessarily harsh tone as negative feedback. Content creators who receive negative feedback report lower levels of affective states and generate lower quality work. In my thesis, I quantify the influences of negative feedback and report results from three experiments testing novel techniques that aimed at mitigating these influences: self-directed coping activities, valence-based ordering of feedback, and empathy arousal. In the first experiment, we investigate the efficacy of three coping activities: self-affirmation, expressive writing, and distraction. Participants (N=480) revised their essays after performing a coping activity. We find expressive writing encourages essay revision, distraction improves affective states and perception of feedback provider, and self-affirmation has no statistical effects on the outcome measures. In the second experiment, we present feedback in a valence-based order. Participants (N=270) write a story and revise it after receiving feedback in different valence orders. Our main result is that presenting negative feedback last improves content creators’ affective states and perception of the feedback. In the third experiment, we explore ways to discourage users from generating negative feedback. Participants (N=205) read a narrative about the content creators before providing feedback. We also explore how an ingroup framing in task instructions mediates the effectiveness of narrative empathy. Our results show both narrative empathy and ingroup framing increases feedback providers’ invested effort and the quality of the feedback. The techniques investigated in these experiments are situated within a broader design space for feedback exchange. We hope these techniques promote the generation of more constructive and considerate feedback in online platforms, thereby helping content creators improve their work and benefit from the feedback exchange process.
Graduation Semester
2020-12
Type of Resource
Thesis
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/109420
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2020 Yu Wu

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