The impact of feedback valence and communication style on intrinsic motivation in middle childhood: Experimental evidence and generalization across individual differences.

•Positive feedback enhances children’s intrinsic motivation.•An autonomy-supportive communication style is also beneficial for intrinsic motivation.•Child personality and perceived parenting play a modest moderating role in these effects.•Contextual need support is largely effective across children’s individual differences.•An autonomy-supportive communication style attenuates the demotivating impact of negative feedback.