When Should Advice Be Given? Assessing the Role of Sequential Placement of Advice in Supportive Interactions in Two Cultures

The current study assessed an integrated model of advice giving (Emotional support—Problem inquiry and analysis—Advice) with 572 participants from United States and 540 participants from mainland China. Participants read and responded to a hypothetical scenario in which they received advice from a friend. Advice that was offered following the moves of emotional support and problem inquiry and analysis was judged by both American and Chinese participants to be higher in quality and was more likely to be implemented than advice that did not follow this sequential pattern. Compared to Chinese participants, American participants evaluated advice offered with emotional support or problem inquiry and analysis as higher in quality. Participants with a higher independent self-construal also rated advice offered in conjunction with emotional support or problem inquiry and analysis as higher in quality than participants with a lower independent self-construal

May I Help You? The Relationship Between Interpersonal Emotion Regulation and Emotional and Relational Wellbeing in Daily Life

People often get support from others in regulating their emotions, a phenomenon known as interpersonal emotion regulation (IER). However, the relative effectiveness of specific IER strategies for improving emotional and relational wellbeing in daily life is unclear. Here, we report two preregistered, ecological momentary assessment studies, in which we examined how the use of six key IER strategies relates to emotional and relational wellbeing among romantic couples in daily life. Study 1 focused on enacted IER as reported by the regulator, whereas Study 2 focused on perceived IER as reported by the regulated partner. Using a dyadic experience sampling design (6 beeps/day for 7 days), Study 1 (N = 136) showed that when people reported to have given advice or encouraged their partner to suppress their emotions, their partners experienced impaired emotional wellbeing. When people reported to have distracted their partner, their partner experienced enhanced positive affect and felt closer to their partner. The use of interpersonal reappraisal, acceptance and ignoring was unrelated to partners’ momentary wellbeing. Using a dyadic daily diary design (1 beep/day for 12 days), Study 2 (N = 361) showed that perceptions of one’s emotions being ignored by the partner were associated with impaired emotional and relational wellbeing on the same day. The perceived use of other IER strategies was unrelated to momentary wellbeing. Taken together, the present set of studies illuminates how IER processes shape people’s emotions and relationships in ecologically valid settings. Our findings indicate that enacted and perceived regulatory behaviors are associated with differential outcomes, highlighting the complex nature of interpersonal emotion dynamics

An Examination of Communication Sequencing in Enacted Support Interactions for People with Major Depressive Disorder

Social support is integral to helping one manage Major Depressive Disorder [MDD], but enacted social support, or the supportive behavior itself, is not always beneficial. Using a normative theoretical perspective on social support and theory related to sequencing as guiding frameworks, in this thesis I examined common sequential patterns of enacted support between support providers and individuals with MDD. Moreover, I investigated how individuals with MDD evaluated the helpfulness of each of the different sequential patterns. To examine the sequential patterns and how individuals with MDD evaluated their helpfulness, I interviewed 20 participants who had been diagnosed with MDD. The results of this thesis revealed five sequential patterns and revealed instances when participants considered each pattern to be helpful or unhelpful. The results extend literature specifically on unsolicited support by showing instances when participants considered unsolicited support to be beneficial and needed. Furthermore, one of the five patterns, forced support, is a new concept that has not been discussed in sequencing literature. Practically, this thesis provides suggestions for loved ones aiming to support someone with MDD, such as listening without offering advice or providing specific types of unsolicited support, such as unsolicited instrumental support while avoiding other types of unsolicited support, such as unsolicited informational support

Delivering social support via online health messages: Testing the effects of stress and person-centeredness on emotional improvement, attitude and behavioral intention

This study investigated the effect of exposure to person-centered messages delivered in a mass-mediated context on individuals experiencing mild or moderate levels of stress. Person-centeredness describes “the extent to which messages explicitly acknowledge, elaborate, legitimize, and contextualize the distressed other’s feelings and perspective” (Burleson, 2003, p. 11). The study used a 3 (person-centeredness: low, moderate, high) x 2 (stress: mild, moderate) between-subjects experiment with emotional improvement, attitude toward the message, and behavioral intention as the outcome variables. Participants (N = 243) were randomly assigned to a mild (i.e., gaining three pounds) or moderate stress condition (i.e., being diagnosed with Type II diabetes because of rapid weight gain). After exposure to the stress condition, participants then read one of three versions of a health newsletter using language that represented low, moderate, or high levels of person-centeredness. Results showed that higher levels of person-centeredness led to significantly greater emotional improvement and significantly more positive attitudes toward the message, although there was no difference in behavioral intention between the person-centeredness conditions. There was also a main effect for stress, such that participants under the moderate level stress reported greater emotional improvement and more positive attitude toward the message than participants under the mild level of stress, regardless of the type of message they received. However, none of the stress x person-centeredness interactions was significant. This study provides a framework to operationalize and test the effects of person-centered messages delivered in a mass-mediated context. Understanding the effect of person-centeredness in mass-mediated communication also provides practical implications for designing media messages directed to individuals experiencing stress

Pragmatic transfer in advice-giving as a speech act of Saudi students in Australia

The present study contributes to the fields of cross-cultural and interlanguage pragmatics. Although much research has focused on speech act realisations in various languages and cultures, insufficient attention has been paid to the speech act of advising. Moreover, advice- giving in Arab cultures remains relatively underexamined, with most studies focusing on the performance of Arab learners of English and whether they acquire sufficient second language (L2) pragmatic knowledge to communicate effectively in English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL). This research addresses these gaps in the literature by examining the advice-giving behaviour of native speakers of Australian English (AEs), native speakers of Saudi Arabic (SAs), and Saudi students in Australia (SEs). It aims to examine the linguistic realisations and sociocultural norms characterising advice-giving in Australian English and Saudi Arabic and whether there is evidence of negative pragmatic transfer when the SEs offer unsolicited advice in English. Participants included 44 AEs, 60 SAs, and 60 SEs. Data were collected using a mixed- methods approach of Discourse Completion Task (DCT) and semi-structured interviews. The DCT data were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively in terms of: (1) the appropriateness of advice-giving; (2) directness levels and advice-giving head acts; (3) internal modifications; and (4) external supportive moves. The interview data were explored and analysed qualitatively. The results are summarised as follows. First, culture played a role in the advising behaviour of both Australian and Saudi native speakers. Second, the AEs’ behaviour suggests that they perceived advice-giving as an invasion of privacy, while the SAs’ behaviour suggests they considered it a solidarity strategy and a means of social interaction. Third, the findings support previous research that has classified Anglo-Saxon cultures as individualistic and Arab cultures as collectivistic. Fourth, despite cross-cultural differences, advice-giving was a relatively common practice among the AEs, supporting recent studies that have concluded that advice-giving can promote social relationships in any culture if properly formulated and potential threats are mitigated. Fifth, although the SEs showed a developmental pattern towards the L2 norms of speech, evidence of negative pragmatic transfer was confirmed in many aspects of their advice-giving behaviour. Finally, the analysis of interview data highlights the importance of exposure to the L2 culture for pragmatic development and the impact of identity on the SEs’ pragmatic behaviour

Advice-giving and learning in student teacher mentoring at a HEI

Abstract:M.A. (Educational Psychology