This is the first book devoted to the multidisciplinary study of feedback. It presents a comprehensive, evidence-based review of the make-or-break factors that determine the efficacy of criticism, praise, and advice. Its sections deal with fundamental processes of feedback; the problems associated with delivering feedback across social divides such as race; feedback in organizational settings; feedback in the helping professions; and feedback in personal relationships. With engaging and accessible contributions from leading scholars in communication, management, and social, clinical, and educational psychology, the editors conclude with an insightful synthesis of the chapters, extracting how-to principles of feedback that apply across environments and circumstances. A landmark in the study of feedback, the book stakes a claim for the recognition of the topic as a field of enquiry in its own right. Feedback will appeal to scholars and practitioners as a comprehensive review of the state of play in this field; it is also appropriate for use as a text for students in a range of disciplines including communication, psychology, management, health sciences, and counseling.

Robbie M. Sutton, PhD, is Reader in Psychology at the University of Kent, England. He has published widely on the social psychology of language and communication, justice, attributions, and gender.
Matthew J. Hornsey, PhD, is Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Queensland, Australia. He has over 70 publications focusing on intergroup relations, identity threat, criticism, dissent, collective forgiveness, and the tension between individual and group will.
Karen M. Douglas, PhD, is Reader in Psychology at the University of Kent, England. She has published widely on the strategic use of language, computer-mediated communication, persuasion, and conspiracy theories.

Contents: Robbie M. Sutton/Matthew J. Hornsey/Karen M. Douglas: Feedback: An introduction ¿ Mark R. Leary/Meredith L. Terry: Interpersonal aspects of receiving evaluative feedback ¿ Christine Chang/William B. Swann, Jr: The benefits of self-verifying ¿ Erica G. Hepper/Constantine Sedikides: Self-enhancing feedback ¿ Soeren Umlauft/Claudia Dalbert: Feedback: A justice motive perspective ¿ Karen M. Douglas/Yvonne Skipper: Subtle linguistic variation in feedback ¿ Paul K. Piff/Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton: Mixed signals: Culture and construal in the provision of feedback across group boundaries ¿ Kent D. Harber/Kathleen A. Kennedy: Praising others to affirm one¿s self: Egalitarian self-image motives and the positive feedback bias to minorities ¿ Matthew J. Hornsey/Carla Jeffries/Sarah Esposo: More science than art: Understanding and reducing defensiveness in the face of criticism of groups and cultures ¿ William R. Cupach/Christine L. Carson: Criticism through the lens of interpersonal competence ¿ Anita L. Vangelisti/Alexa D. Hampel: Hurtful events as feedback ¿ Nickola C. Overall/Garth J. O. Fletcher/Rosabel Tan: Feedback processes in intimate relationships: The costs and benefits of partner regulation strategies ¿ Gary P. Latham/Bonnie Hayden Cheng/Krista Macpherson: Theoretical frameworks for and empirical evidence on providing feedback to employees ¿ James L. Farr/Nataliya Baytalskaya/Johanna E. Johnson: Not everyone is above average: Providing feedback in formal job performance evaluations ¿ Paul E. Levy/Darlene J. Thompson: Feedback in organizations: Individual differences and the social context ¿ Dennis Tourish/Naheed Tourish: Upward communication in organizations: How ingratiation and defensive reasoning impede thoughtful action ¿ Katleen De Stobbeleir/Susan Ashford: Feedback-seeking behavior in organizations: Research, theory and implications ¿ John Hattie: Feedback in schools ¿ Anita E. Kelly: Helping construct desirable identities: An extension of Kelly¿s (2000) model of self-concept change ¿ Colleen M. Klatt/Terry A. Kinney: Using feedback to prepare people for health behavior change in medical and public health settings ¿ Matthew R. Sanders/Trevor G. Mazzucchelli/Alan Ralph: Promoting parenting competence through a self-regulation approach to feedback ¿ Robbie M. Sutton/Matthew J. Hornsey/Karen M. Douglas: Feedback: Conclusions.