Effects of feedback design and dispositional goal orientations on volunteer performance in citizen science projects

The improvement of volunteer performance is a continuing issue in citizen science projects. From the perspective of motivational design, the provision of feedback is regarded as an effective design principle to promote user experience and performance in many contexts. We draw upon achievement goal theory and propose a research model to depict the influence of feedback types on perceived enjoyment, perceived meaning, and self-expansion, thereby further enhancing volunteer performance. We also investigate whether volunteers' dispositional goal orientation moderates the effects of feedback types on perceived enjoyment, perceived meaning, and self-expansion. A 3 (feedback types: task, self, and social feedback) × 2 (dispositional goal orientations: mastery- and performance-oriented) between-subject experiment was conducted to validate our research model. Results showed that task, self, and social feedback have varying impact on volunteers' experiences with citizen science projects. Individuals' dispositional goal orientation significantly interacted with feedback design in affecting volunteers' experiences. Moreover, the impact of feedback will be enhanced when feedback design is congruent with volunteers’ dispositional goal orientation. Perceived enjoyment, perceived meaning, and self-expansion can positively influence volunteer performance, which is measured with the quantity and accuracy of their contributions. These findings will provide a groundwork for guidelines and strategies to enhance volunteer performance in citizen science projects.