Smart People Ask for (My) Advice: Seeking Advice Boosts Perceptions of Competence

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Brooks, Alison Wood; Gino, Francesca; Schweitzer, Maurice E.
• 署名单位: Harvard University; University of Pennsylvania
• 刊物名称: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-1909
• DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2014.2054
• 发表日期: 2015
• 页码: 1421-1435
• 关键词: Advice; advice seeking; competence; Impression management; egocentrism; help seeking

摘要

Although individuals can derive substantial benefits from exchanging information and ideas, many individuals are reluctant to seek advice from others. We find that people are reticent to seek advice for fear of appearing incompetent. This fear, however, is misplaced. We demonstrate that individuals perceive those who seek advice as more competent than those who do not. This effect is moderated by task difficulty, advisor egocentrism, and advisor expertise. Individuals perceive those who seek advice as more competent when the task is difficult rather than when it is easy, when people seek advice from them personally rather than when they seek advice from others and when people seek advice from experts rather than from nonexperts or not at all.