The German Feedback Socialization Inventory: Development and First Validation

Feedback after success and failure can refer to stable attributes like ability and personality traits (person feedback) or to variable attributes like effort and strategies (process feedback). Past experimental research has shown that person feedback leads to helpless reactions after failure, whereas process feedback fosters mastery reactions. Feedback given in experimental settings may, however, have other effects than feedback given in natural settings for a long time. In order to investigate the latter we constructed the German Feedback Socialization Inventory (FSI), which assesses parental feedback retrospectively. The FSI consists of nine subscales assessing different facets of person and process feedback after success and failure from the recipients' point of view. Construction followed rational principles. The pilot version was examined by exploratory factor analyses and item analyses (N = 214). Results led to a shortened version, whose factorial structure was confirmed by structural equation modeling in three independent samples (N = 1,113). The FSI showed good psychometric properties in each sample. Furthermore, validation was successful with regard to parental rearing behavior, variables concerning school performance, parental level of education, and participants' coping styles.