Advice (opinion)
Encyclopedia
Advice is a form of relating personal or institutional opinion
s, belief systems, values, recommendations or guidance about certain situations relayed in some context to another person, group or party often offered as a guide to action and/or conduct. Put a little more simply, an advice message is a recommendation about what might be thought, said, or otherwise done to address a problem, make a decision, or manage a situation. Advice is believed to be theoretical, and is often considered taboo
as well as helpful. The kinds of advice can range from systems of instructional
and practical toward more esoteric and spiritual
, and is often attributable toward problem solving, strategy seeking, and solution finding, either from a social standpoint or a personal one. Advice may pertain to relationships
, lifestyle changes, legal choices, business goals, personal goals, career goals, education
goals, religious beliefs, personal growth, motivation
, inspiration and so on. Advice is not pertinent to any solid criteria, and may be given freely, or only given when asked upon. In some cultures advice is socially unacceptable to be released unless requested. In other cultures advice is given more openly. It may, especially if it is expert advice such as legal advice or methodological advice also be given only in exchange for payment.
Many expressions and quotations have been used to describe the status of advice, whether given, or received. One such expression is "Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't." (Erica Jong
, How to Save Your Own Life, 1977). Advice is like water, you drink it to replenish your soul. This particular quotation pertains the belief system that states that the answers to one's questions are within themselves, and do not come from any external stimuli. The accuracy of this particular belief is often disputed among theologians, philosophers, etc. However, a person who would hold such a belief, would "advise" another person to seek the answers out from within one's own esoteric and inner spiritual natures.
Advice when adhered to and followed may be beneficial, non-beneficial, damaging, non-damaging, partially beneficial and partially damaging, in reference to personal or social paradigms. In other words, not all advice is either "all good" or "all bad." Many people consider unrequested advice to be paternalistic and patronizing and are thus offended.
Therefore some people may come to the conclusion that advice is morally better to be left out of the equation altogether, and this theory is included within the following quote (author unknown): "The best advice is this: Don't take advice and don't give advice." Yet, often in society advice has been helpful. A more day to day example would be "eat your vegetables" or "don't drink and drive." If this advice is adhered to we can see that the benefits would outweigh the consequences.
Grammatically speaking, advice is an uncountable noun, like rice or milk.
, economics
, judgment and decision-making, organizational behavior and human resources
, and human communication
, among others.
In psychology, seminal articles include Brehmer and Hagafors (1986), Hollenbeck et al. (1995), and Sniezek and Buckley (1995) . The Sniezek and Buckley (1995) and Hollenbeck et al. (1995) articles, in particular, introduced researchers to standardized ways of studying advice in the laboratory
. The psychological literature on advice-giving and advice-taking was reviewed
by Bonaccio and Dalal (2006), and a portion of this literature was also reviewed by Humphrey et al. (2002) .
Communication researchers have tended to study advice as part of their research on supportive communication
. Much research has focused on gender differences
(and similarities) in the provision and receipt of supportive communication .
Of these four types of advice (and socio-emotional support
, which is a related form of interpersonal assistance that often accompanies advice), Dalal and Bonaccio (2010) found that decision-makers reacted most favorably to the provision of information, because this form of advice not only increased decision accuracy but also allowed the decision-maker to maintain autonomy
.
) is to guarantee the quality of research undertaken by his client, by providing sound methodological advice . This kind of advice is, as opposed to some forms of advising mentioned above, usually initiated by the person who receives the advice, thus not unrequested. In some cases the advisor collaborates with a researcher in a more long-term process, and guides him through the more technical parts of the research (this type of advising is called longitudinal consultancy). In other cases a researcher has a specific question that can be answered in a brief conversation with a consultant (cross-sectional consultancy) .
Depending on the function of the methodological advisor, the advice that is given may not be free. If a student conducts research commissioned by a professor, this professor will probably help this student for free, if needed. However, if a researcher contacts an independent advisor, this probably costs him/her. In this case the methodological advisor is basically being hired by the researcher.
Researchers may seek advice on a wide range of subjects concerning their research. Major tasks of the methodological advisor are: helping clients to think about what they really want to accomplish. This may involve helping them to (re)formulate the research question
and relatedly, the research hypothesis (see scientific hypothesis). Clients may also seek advice on the construction of a measurement instrument (for instance a psychological test). Or, they may want to know how to implement an appropriate research design
. Often questions arise on how to analyze the data (see data analysis
), and how to interpret and report the results (see scientific publishing). Client and consultant combine their expertise and, through dialog and cooperation, may achieve better, more reliable results.
Opinion
In general, an opinion is a subjective belief, and is the result of emotion or interpretation of facts. An opinion may be supported by an argument, although people may draw opposing opinions from the same set of facts. Opinions rarely change without new arguments being presented...
s, belief systems, values, recommendations or guidance about certain situations relayed in some context to another person, group or party often offered as a guide to action and/or conduct. Put a little more simply, an advice message is a recommendation about what might be thought, said, or otherwise done to address a problem, make a decision, or manage a situation. Advice is believed to be theoretical, and is often considered taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
as well as helpful. The kinds of advice can range from systems of instructional
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and practical toward more esoteric and spiritual
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
, and is often attributable toward problem solving, strategy seeking, and solution finding, either from a social standpoint or a personal one. Advice may pertain to relationships
Interpersonal relationship
An interpersonal relationship is an association between two or more people that may range from fleeting to enduring. This association may be based on limerence, love, solidarity, regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment. Interpersonal relationships are formed in the...
, lifestyle changes, legal choices, business goals, personal goals, career goals, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
goals, religious beliefs, personal growth, motivation
Motivation
Motivation is the driving force by which humans achieve their goals. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term is generally used for humans but it can also be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation...
, inspiration and so on. Advice is not pertinent to any solid criteria, and may be given freely, or only given when asked upon. In some cultures advice is socially unacceptable to be released unless requested. In other cultures advice is given more openly. It may, especially if it is expert advice such as legal advice or methodological advice also be given only in exchange for payment.
Many expressions and quotations have been used to describe the status of advice, whether given, or received. One such expression is "Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't." (Erica Jong
Erica Jong
Erica Jong is an American author and teacher best known for her fiction and poetry.-Career:A 1963 graduate of Barnard College, and with an M.A...
, How to Save Your Own Life, 1977). Advice is like water, you drink it to replenish your soul. This particular quotation pertains the belief system that states that the answers to one's questions are within themselves, and do not come from any external stimuli. The accuracy of this particular belief is often disputed among theologians, philosophers, etc. However, a person who would hold such a belief, would "advise" another person to seek the answers out from within one's own esoteric and inner spiritual natures.
Advice when adhered to and followed may be beneficial, non-beneficial, damaging, non-damaging, partially beneficial and partially damaging, in reference to personal or social paradigms. In other words, not all advice is either "all good" or "all bad." Many people consider unrequested advice to be paternalistic and patronizing and are thus offended.
Therefore some people may come to the conclusion that advice is morally better to be left out of the equation altogether, and this theory is included within the following quote (author unknown): "The best advice is this: Don't take advice and don't give advice." Yet, often in society advice has been helpful. A more day to day example would be "eat your vegetables" or "don't drink and drive." If this advice is adhered to we can see that the benefits would outweigh the consequences.
Grammatically speaking, advice is an uncountable noun, like rice or milk.
Background Information
Advice-taking and advice-giving are of interest to researchers in the disciplines of psychologyPsychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, judgment and decision-making, organizational behavior and human resources
Human resources
Human resources is a term used to describe the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, although it is also applied in labor economics to, for example, business sectors or even whole nations...
, and human communication
Human communication
Human communication, or Anthroposemiotics, is the field dedicated to understanding how people communicate:* with themselves: intrapersonal communication** expression: body language* another person: interpersonal communication...
, among others.
In psychology, seminal articles include Brehmer and Hagafors (1986), Hollenbeck et al. (1995), and Sniezek and Buckley (1995) . The Sniezek and Buckley (1995) and Hollenbeck et al. (1995) articles, in particular, introduced researchers to standardized ways of studying advice in the laboratory
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
. The psychological literature on advice-giving and advice-taking was reviewed
Literature review
A literature review is a body of text that aims to review the critical points of current knowledge including substantive findings as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to a particular topic...
by Bonaccio and Dalal (2006), and a portion of this literature was also reviewed by Humphrey et al. (2002) .
Communication researchers have tended to study advice as part of their research on supportive communication
. Much research has focused on gender differences
Sex differences in humans
A sex difference is a distinction of biological and/or physiological characteristics associated with either males or females of a species. These can be of several types, including direct and indirect. Direct being the direct result of differences prescribed by the Y-chromosome, and indirect being...
(and similarities) in the provision and receipt of supportive communication .
Social Science Definitions of "Advice"
In the social sciences in general, and in psychological research in particular, advice has typically been defined as a recommendation to do something . For example, in response to a client's question regarding whether to invest in stocks, bonds, or T-notes, a financial planner (the advisor) might say: "I recommend going with bonds at this time." However, Dalal and Bonaccio (2010) have argued, based on a review of the research literature, that such a definition is incomplete and leaves out several important types of advice . These authors have provided the following taxonomy of advice:- Recommending a particular course of action (this is the usual form of advice that is studied)
- Recommending against a particular course of action
- Providing additional information about a particular course of action without explicitly prescribing or proscribing that course of action
- Recommending how to go about making the decision (here, too, no courses of action are explicitly prescribed or proscribed)
Of these four types of advice (and socio-emotional support
Social support
Social support can be defined and measured in many ways. It can loosely be defined as feeling that one is cared for by and has assistance available from other people and that one is part of a supportive social network...
, which is a related form of interpersonal assistance that often accompanies advice), Dalal and Bonaccio (2010) found that decision-makers reacted most favorably to the provision of information, because this form of advice not only increased decision accuracy but also allowed the decision-maker to maintain autonomy
Autonomy
Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...
.
Methodological advice
Methodological advice concerns expert advice on research methodology. The goal of the advisor (see statistical consultantStatistical consultant
A statistical consultant provides statistical advice andguidance to clients interested in making decisions through theanalysis or collection of data. Clients often need statistical advice to answer questions in business, medicine, biology, genetics, forestry, agriculture, fisheries, wildlife...
) is to guarantee the quality of research undertaken by his client, by providing sound methodological advice . This kind of advice is, as opposed to some forms of advising mentioned above, usually initiated by the person who receives the advice, thus not unrequested. In some cases the advisor collaborates with a researcher in a more long-term process, and guides him through the more technical parts of the research (this type of advising is called longitudinal consultancy). In other cases a researcher has a specific question that can be answered in a brief conversation with a consultant (cross-sectional consultancy) .
Depending on the function of the methodological advisor, the advice that is given may not be free. If a student conducts research commissioned by a professor, this professor will probably help this student for free, if needed. However, if a researcher contacts an independent advisor, this probably costs him/her. In this case the methodological advisor is basically being hired by the researcher.
Researchers may seek advice on a wide range of subjects concerning their research. Major tasks of the methodological advisor are: helping clients to think about what they really want to accomplish. This may involve helping them to (re)formulate the research question
Research question
A research question is the methodological point of departure of scholarly research in both the natural sciences and humanities. The research will answer any question posed...
and relatedly, the research hypothesis (see scientific hypothesis). Clients may also seek advice on the construction of a measurement instrument (for instance a psychological test). Or, they may want to know how to implement an appropriate research design
Research design
Research designs are concerned with turning the research question into a testing project. The best design depends on your research questions. Every design has its positive and negative sides...
. Often questions arise on how to analyze the data (see data analysis
Data analysis
Analysis of data is a process of inspecting, cleaning, transforming, and modeling data with the goal of highlighting useful information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting decision making...
), and how to interpret and report the results (see scientific publishing). Client and consultant combine their expertise and, through dialog and cooperation, may achieve better, more reliable results.