According to a new study, the more desperate students are to receive their grades, the more liable they are to do well in class.

Psychological Scientists, Keri L. Kettle and Gerald Haubl of the University of Alberta in Canada, wanted to examine how the timing of anticipated results affects persons’ performance. For the research, they hired students registered in a class. Then each student was asked to give a four-minute oral presentation. The classmates rated the presentations on a scale from 0 (poor) to 10 (excellent).

The results revealed that students who were told that they would get feedback rapidly on their performance received better grades than students who expected feedback at a later time.

The model recommends that expecting quick feedback might enhance performance since the risk of displeasure is more prominent. The authors said, “People do best precisely when their predictions about their own performance are least optimistic”.