This paper studies the effect of providing relative performance feedback information on
individuals’ performance and affective response, under both piece-rate and flat-rate
incentives. In a laboratory setup, agents perform a real effort task and when receiving
feedback, they are asked to rate their happiness, arousal and feeling of dominance.
Control subjects learn only their absolute performance, while the treated subjects
additionally learn the average performance in the session. Under piece-rate,
performance is 17 percent higher when relative performance feedback is provided.
Furthermore, although feedback increases the performance independent of the content
(i.e., performing above or below the average), the content is determinant for the
affective response. When subjects are treated, the inequality in the happiness and the
feeling of dominance between those subjects performing above and below the average
increases by 8 and 6 percentage points, respectively. Under flat-rate, we do not find any
effect on either of the outcome variables.