Unpacking Student Responses to Discrepant Peer and Teacher Feedback: A Cross-National Comparison

In this experimental study we investigated the influence of discrepant feedback from teachers and peers on emotional responses and feedback appraisals in a sample of university students. A total of 753 tertiary education students from the United States (N = 172), New Zealand (N = 217), and Spain (N = 364), were presented with a scenario wherein they received two (discrepant) feedback messages that varied in terms of their focus and tone (suggestive/neutral vs. evaluative/positive). In the two conditions, the source of feedback was also manipulated. In condition one, participants saw that the teacher offered evaluative/positive feedback, with peers offering suggestive/neutral. In contrast, in condition two, the peer offered evaluative/positive message while the teacher provided suggestive/neutral. The findings from repeated measures ANOVA, cumulative models, and logistic regression revealed a clear preference among students for feedback from teachers over peers, regardless of the message’s focus and valence. Positive evaluative messages were found to elicit higher positive emotions. Interestingly, even when peer feedback was viewed as having advantages, students reported higher positive emotions and were more receptive of teacher feedback. These results were consistent across countries, although our findings did reveal country-specific patterns. These insights have practical implications for targeted training on feedback provision, highlighting the pedagogical value of peer feedback and offering important insights to engage students with diverse feedback sources.