Framing Feedback Giving as Advice Giving Yields More Critical and Actionable Input

Jaewon  Yoon; Hayley  Blunden; Ariella  Kristal; A.V.  Whillans

Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2019

Framing Feedback Giving as Advice Giving Yields More Critical and Actionable Input

by Jaewon Yoon, Hayley Blunden, Ariella Kristal and A.V. Whillans

Abstract

When looking to improve workplace performance, people often seek third-party input by asking for feedback. However, we propose that asking for feedback might not be the most effective way of soliciting critical and actionable input. We offer a simple yet powerful alternative: ask for advice instead. Across four experiments (N=1,438), including a field experiment, we show that people offer more critical and actionable input when they are asked to provide advice (versus feedback)—even when they are asked to provide comments on identical output. When asked to provide feedback (versus advice), givers focus too much on evaluating the recipient, which undermines their ability to generate constructive (i.e. critical and actionable) input. Our findings suggest that framing feedback provision as advice provision may be a promising way of soliciting constructive third-party input.

Keywords: feedback; advice; personal development; evaluative mindset; Performance Improvement; Personal Development and Career;

Language: English

Format: Print

23 pages

Read Now

Citation:

Yoon, Jaewon, Hayley Blunden, Ariella Kristal, and A.V. Whillans. "Framing Feedback Giving as Advice Giving Yields More Critical and Actionable Input." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-021, August 2019.

Supplemental Information

AdviceFeedback_SOM

Dramatic reductions in carbon emissions must take place immediately. A human-centric method of reducing environmental impacts is to “nudge” individuals away from single-occupancy vehicle (SOVs) commutes toward more sustainable ones. While an abundance of research has focused on external determinants of mode choice, we know much less about the behavioral determinants. The field of behavioral science is therefore overdue for a focus on transportation. First, we describe the founding of our multidisciplinary research team. Next, we describe barriers to behavior change and outline lessons learned. Lastly, we describe how COVID-19 has shaped this research. This paper is meant to facilitate communication between researchers, practitioners, and policy makers in order to develop a behaviorally-informed framework that can be leveraged by policymakers, government, and organizations worldwide.

This case explores how neuroscientist Mariam Chammat helped set up the first behavioral insights team at the center of the French government, and encouraged French administrations to innovate and create policy initiatives based on psychological theories of influence and persuasion. Students are asked to assess 35 projects ripe for behavioral intervention and pick the winning proposals.

Spending money on time-saving services can improve happiness and reduce stress. Yet many people do not spend money to save time even when they can afford to do so, potentially because they feel guilty about paying other people to complete disliked tasks on their behalf. Consistent with this proposition, we find evidence that individuals are most likely to experience guilt when outsourcing to a salient service provider. Across two large-scale surveys of working adults, including a nationally representative sample of employed Americans (Study 1a & 1b, N = 1,140), individuals reported greater guilt when they thought about outsourcing to a salient (vs. non-salient) service provider. Using a novel lab paradigm, participants felt greater guilt when the service provider was salient, which in turn undermined their willingness to buy time (Study 2, N = 350). In Study 3, these effects were mitigated by emphasizing the benefits of task completion for the service provider (N = 390). This research points to the potential of simple interventions to help organizations encourage individuals to make time-saving purchases.

Faculty & Research

Framing Feedback Giving as Advice Giving Yields More Critical and Actionable Input

Abstract

Citation:

Supplemental Information

About the Authors

More from these Authors