The term "epistemic feedback" is a form of feedback

Feedback

Feedback describes the situation when output from an event or phenomenon in the past will influence an occurrence or occurrences of the same Feedback describes the situation when output from (or information about the result of) an event or phenomenon in the past will influence an occurrence or...

 which refers to an interplay between what is being observed (or measured) and the result of the observation.
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 having 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, then 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 current 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" or to conduct secret surveys to quietly check the results. Also, "controlled experiments" can be used, where the outcome is adjusted for the placebo effect

Placebo effect

Placebo effect may refer to:* Placebo effect, the tendency of any medication or treatment, even an inert or ineffective one, to exhibit results simply because the recipient believes that it will work...

 of reactions to unchanged parameters. Additionally, longitudinal studies, re-assessing the results over a long period of time, can reduce the impact of short-term feedback on the observed results.

See also

• Reactivity (psychology)
  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 research study's internal validity and is typically...
  
  
• Self-determination theory
  Self-Determination Theory
  Self-determination theory is a macro theory of human motivation and personality, concerning people's inherent growth tendencies and their innate psychological needs. It is concerned with the motivation behind the choices that people make without any external influence and interference...
  
  
• Motivation
  Motivation
  Motivation is the driving force by which humans achieve their goals. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term is generally used for humans but it can also be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation...
  
  
• Experimenter effect
• Observer-expectancy effect
  Observer-expectancy effect
  The observer-expectancy effect is a form of reactivity, in which a researcher's cognitive bias causes them to unconsciously influence the participants of an experiment...
  
  
• Reflexivity (social theory)
  Reflexivity (social theory)
  Reflexivity refers to circular relationships between cause and effect. A reflexive relationship is bidirectional with both the cause and the effect affecting one another in a situation that does not render both functions causes and effects...
  
  
• Pygmalion effect
  Pygmalion effect
  The Pygmalion effect, or Rosenthal effect, refers to the phenomenon in which the greater the expectation placed upon people, often children or students and employees, the better they perform...
  
  
• Placebo effect
  Placebo effect
  Placebo effect may refer to:* Placebo effect, the tendency of any medication or treatment, even an inert or ineffective one, to exhibit results simply because the recipient believes that it will work...
  
  
• Novelty effect
  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 interest in the new technology...