The term "epistemic feedback" is a form of
feedback
Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause-and-effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handled ...
which refers to an interplay between what is being observed (or measured) and the result of the observation.
[
''Physics and philosophy: selected essays'', Henry Margenau,
1978, 404 pages, p.287, webpage:
]
BG287
states, "involves an interplay between what is being
measured and the result of the measurement".
The concept can apply to a process to obtain information, where the process itself changes the information when being obtained. For example, instead of quietly asking customers for their opinions about food in a restaurant, making an announcement about food quality, as being tested in a survey, could cause cooks to focus on producing high-quality results. The concept can also apply to changing the method of observation, rather than affecting the data. For example, if after asking several customers about food, they noted the food as generally good or fair, then the questions might be changed to ask more specifically which food items were most/least liked. Hence, the interplay can alter either the observations, or the method of observation, or both.
Viewing negative or positive effects
The effects of epistemic feedback can be viewed as either negative or positive depending on the goal of the observations. When trying to get a secret survey of results, epistemic feedback can be seen as a negative factor which distorts the original data. However if the goal is to improve quality, then epistemic feedback could be a positive factor to periodically report areas which need improvement. The risk comes when the feedback temporarily slants the evaluation of quality so that long-term performance is hindered by distortion in the way results were measured.
Methods to compensate for feedback
Some methods to compensate for epistemic feedback are to use a "
double-blind study
In a blind or blinded experiment, information which may influence the participants of the experiment is withheld until after the experiment is complete. Good blinding can reduce or eliminate experimental biases that arise from a participants' expec ...
" or to conduct secret surveys to quietly check the results. Also, "
controlled experiment
A scientific control is an experiment or observation designed to minimize the effects of variables other than the independent variable (i.e. confounding variables). This increases the reliability of the results, often through a comparison betw ...
s" can be used, where the outcome is adjusted for the
placebo effect
A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures.
In general ...
of reactions to unchanged parameters. Additionally,
longitudinal studies
A longitudinal study (or longitudinal survey, or panel study) is a research design that involves repeated observations of the same variables (e.g., people) over short or long periods of time (i.e., uses longitudinal data). It is often a type of obs ...
, re-assessing the results over a long period of time, can reduce the impact of short-term feedback on the observed results.
See also
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Reactivity (psychology)
Reactivity is a phenomenon that occurs when individuals alter their performance or behavior due to the awareness that they are being observed. The change may be positive or negative, and depends on the situation. It is a significant threat to a ...
*
Self-determination theory
Self-determination theory (SDT) is a macro theory of human motivation and personality that concerns people's innate growth tendencies and innate psychological needs. It pertains to the motivation behind people's choices in the absence of extern ...
*
Motivation
Motivation is the reason for which humans and other animals initiate, continue, or terminate a behavior at a given time. Motivational states are commonly understood as forces acting within the agent that create a disposition to engage in goal-dire ...
*
Experimenter effect
The observer-expectancy effect (also called the experimenter-expectancy effect, expectancy bias, observer effect, or experimenter effect) is a form of reactivity in which a researcher's cognitive bias causes them to subconsciously influence th ...
*
Observer-expectancy effect
The observer-expectancy effect (also called the experimenter-expectancy effect, expectancy bias, observer effect, or experimenter effect) is a form of reactivity in which a researcher's cognitive bias causes them to subconsciously influence t ...
*
Reflexivity (social theory)
In epistemology, and more specifically, the sociology of knowledge, reflexivity refers to circular relationships between cause and effect, especially as embedded in human belief structures. A reflexive relationship is bidirectional with both the ...
*
Pygmalion effect
The Pygmalion effect, or Rosenthal effect, is a psychological phenomenon in which high expectations lead to improved performance in a given area. The effect is named for the Greek myth of Pygmalion, the sculptor who fell so much in love with the p ...
*
Placebo effect
A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures.
In general ...
*
Novelty effect
The novelty effect, in the context of human performance, is the tendency for performance to initially improve when new technology is instituted, not because of any actual improvement in learning or achievement, but in response to increased interes ...
References
{{Reflist
Epistemology
Measurement
Control theory
Electronic feedback