Feedback, Hopefulness, and Academic Satisfaction

Presenter: Sérgio P. da Silva, Cornerstone University
Co-authors: Carli E. Weidner & Grayson Grajewski, Cornerstone University

Studies have shown that positive or negative feedback from professors may affect students’ academic satisfaction. Hopefulness also predicts student success. We examined how these two variables affect students’ overall satisfaction with their academic experience. These effects matter because academic satisfaction relates to student well-being, academic performance, and retention.

We collected data from 57 students on hopefulness and academic satisfaction. We randomly assigned them to receive positive or negative feedback from a professor on an imaginary challenging academic assignment. Finally, we collected academic satisfaction data again after they received the professor’s feedback.

Students who started the study with lower hope showed a significant decrease in satisfaction with their academic experience. This effect was particularly evident in students’ sense of autonomy and competence. This effect was not observed in students who demonstrated higher hopefulness.

The change in academic satisfaction from before to after receiving feedback suggested that students’ hopefulness mitigated the effect of negative feedback on academic satisfaction. The results suggest that professors can improve students’ college experience by fostering hopefulness and framing corrective feedback in encouraging ways.