Feedback has no effect in a vacuum; to be powerful in its effect, there must be a
learning context to which feedback is addressed. It is but part of the teaching process
and is that which happens second—after a student has responded to initial instruction—
when information is provided regarding some aspect(s) of the student’s task
performance. It is most powerful when it addresses faulty interpretations, not a total
lack of understanding. Under the latter circumstance, it may even be threatening to
a student: “If the material studied is unfamiliar or abstruse, providing feedback
should have little effect on criterion performance, since there is no way to relate the
new information to what is already known” (Kulhavy, 1977, p. 220).