This study was an attempt to determine if verbal feedback could be used to convey information about feedback referent and feedback content to individuals in an experimental setting, and if so, if that information would influence their perceptions of perceived task competence, self-determination, task-interest, and intrinsic motivation. Eighty subjects were used from psychology classes. The majority were college freshmen or sophomores. Results showed that subjects did attend to the feedback referent, but that the referent had no subsequent influence on any of the dependent variables. Additionally, the feedback content manipulation did not produce the predicted effects upon the dependent variables. Problems with the design of the feedback manipulation were responsible for the lack of conclusive results
