The Effects of Positive and Negative Feedback on Video-Based Decision-Making Performance in Elementary School Ice Hockey Players

The purpose of this study was to examine how the emotional valence of feedback influences video-based decision-making performance in elite elementary school ice hockey players. Thirty-three players were randomly assigned to a positive feedback group, a negative feedback group, or a no-feedback control group. Participants completed a computer-based ice hockey video task measuring decision accuracy and reaction time. One-way ANOVA revealed a significant group effect for accuracy, with the positive feedback group showing higher accuracy than the control group, whereas no significant differences were found between the positive and negative feedback groups or between the negative feedback and control groups. For reaction time, the positive feedback group responded significantly faster than both the negative feedback and control groups, while the negative feedback and control groups did not differ significantly. These findings indicate that positive feedback may facilitate more efficient decision execution in youth athletes and can improve accuracy relative to a no-feedback condition. The results highlight the practical value of affective coaching language when designing feedback strategies for youth sports training and cognitive performance tasks.