The effect of punishment and feedback on correcting erroneous behavior

•Punishment may increase human performance and decrease error.•Feedback positively affects human performance and error.•An absence of these stimuli may decrease performance. Introduction: Understanding the consequences of non-punitive sanctions and feedback for nonintentional deviations (i.e., errors) is important to effective safety policy. This study aims to address a lack of research on the effects of punishment and feedback on correcting erroneous behavior in the context of multitasking. Method: A Multi-Attribute Task Battery (MATB-II) was employed to simulate the demands of aviating, an important area of applied safety. Sixty participants were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups (no intervention, punishment, feedback, punishment + feedback) and asked to perform the MATB-II. Punishment, feedback, and punishment + feedback decreased error and increased performance, with punishment alone having the greatest effect. Results: The results highlight the need for behavioral consequences or feedback to reduce erroneous behavior. Practical Applications: From an applied perspective, these results have implications for policy and training.