Research On The Influence Of Regulatory Fit On Advice Taking

Advice taking refers to the process in which decision makers refer to others’ suggestions or advice and form final decisions.In recent years,research on influencing factors of advice taking has focused on exploring interactions between advice types,decision scenarios and the characteristics of decision makers.Regulatory fit is formed when the individual regulation focus as trait variable agrees with the framework of information,type of task or strategy of behavior.Regulatory fit is an important investigation factor in the field of advice taking,including(1)the matching of the advice framework and individual regulatory focus and(2)the matching of the decision framework and individual regulatory focus.Based on the two regulatory fit,this study tried to explore the influence of regulatory fit on advice taking.Specifically,this study consisted of two studies.The matching effect of the advice framework and the regulatory focus on the degree of advice taking was investigated in study 1.Study 1 used a within-subject design,2 regulatory focus(promotion / prevention)× 2 advice framework(positive / negative).In this study,90 questionnaires were distributed online,and 77 valid questionnaires were collected,including 24 men,with an average age of 22 years.The experimental procedure was to divide the subjects into two groups according to the measurements of the individual trait regulatory focus measured by the Regulatory Focus Questionnaire,and then gave the subjects decision situations.After making the first decision,the subjects got advice.The two advice frameworks appeared alternately,and the subjects made the final decision after receiving the advice.The matching group was when the promotion focus individuals received positive advice,or when the prevention focus individuals received negative advice,conversely the mismatch group.The results showed that:(1)advice framework affected the degree of individual advice taking.Compared to the positive framework advice,people were more willing to adopt the negative framework advice.(2)regulation fit(the matching of advice framework and regulation focus)had no significant effect on the degree of advice taking.The matching effect of the decision framework and the regulatory focus on the degree of advice taking was investigated in study 2,and the psychological mechanism of advice satisfaction was also investigated.Study 2 used a between-subject design,2 regulatory focus(promotion / prevention)× 2 decision framework(benefit / loss).In this study,76 questionnaires were distributed online,and 66 valid questionnaires were collected,including 10 men,with an average age of 22 years.The experimental procedure was roughly the same as study one.The matching group was when the promotion focus individuals received benefit frameworks,or when the prevention focus individuals received the loss frameworks,conversely the mismatch group.The results showed that:(1)decision framework affected the degree of individual advice taking.Individuals had a higher degree of advice taking under the benefit framework than under the loss framework.(2)regulation fit(the matching of decision framework and regulatory focus)had a significant influence on the degree of advice taking.Compared to the mismatch group,the degree of individual advice taking was lower in the matching group.(3)advice satisfaction mediated the relationship between the regulation fit and advice taking.In the matching group,the individual advice satisfaction was lower and the degree of advice taking was lower than the mismatch group.The overall finding of this study was that the effect of regulation fit on the advice taking was conditional.Only the regulatory fit of decision framework and regulatory focus had a significant impact on advice taking.But contrary to the hypothesis,compared to the mismatch group,the degree of individual advice taking was lower in the regulatory fit group,and advice satisfaction mediated the relationship between the regulatory fit and advice taking.