Two Psychological States

To understand the damage grades can do, we must distinguish between two psychological states:

1. Ego-Involvement: The student is concerned with self-esteem and reputation ("How smart am I?", "Did I beat my friend?").

2. Task-Involvement: The student is concerned with the work itself ("How do I fix this?", "What is the answer?").

Polarization of Attitude

Grades trigger Ego-Involvement. In the Butler study, this polarized the students' attitudes. High achievers felt good (complacency) and low achievers felt bad (defensiveness), but neither group focused on the work.

Motivation

In contrast, the "Comments Only" group, regardless of whether they were high or low achievers maintained a high interest in the work. By withholding the grade, the teacher keeps the student in Task-Involvement, focusing them on improvement rather than ranking.