The Science Behind Learning From Other People’s Advice
Learning from others is an essential part of human life. We hear advice through family, friends or acquaintances and weigh in on whether we decide to pay heed or not. We may even find ourselves trusting the advice of our teachers and peers over our own or valuing the opinion of mentors and coaches over our own. It is clear that society has placed a value on advice from other people - but what is the science behind it? Recent evidence seems to indicate that the brain responds differently to social advice compared to that from other sources.
The most interesting detail concerning humans learning from other people’s advice is that we may end up trusting them more than other sources of information. This may seem counter-intuitive, as there are many times where trusting one's own instinct is a sounder decision in the long-term. But research suggests that the lure of learning from our peers is too deeply ingrained in our brains to ignore.
This is down to a concept called “mirroring”. This is when our brains attempt to wire themselves to feel what another person feels by taking in their emotions. This can also mean that we respond more emotionally to advice from other people than from other sources. Even if we don't agree with the advice, our fear responses may be heightened when we view it as coming from another person. All this is done without us actually being aware of why - yet the science gives a fascinating glimpse into the way in which our brains work.
So what about the actual act of learning from someone else's advice? Brain scans showed that different parts of the brain become activated when being presented with advice from other people compared to non-social advice. Researchers suggest that this activity relates to areas associated with fear and reward systems, suggesting that we remember and consider the advice presented to us with a clouded emotion.
This could explain why so often with advice, we can forget that it is just that- advice. Instead, we can often take it as a way of shaping or contorting our plans and ideas, leading to harmful decisions or loss of self-confidence. It is important to remember that while advice is never bad to get, it must not always be followed up on - as individuals can only learn and grow if they know when to follow their own judgement, despite what others may suggest.
By understanding the science behind learning from other people’s advice, we can certainly put it into perspective and make use of it when necessary. The fact that our brains respond differently to social advice means we can understand why it is always good to take advice from people that you trust, but it is also essential to seek out non-social advice in order to make the best decisions for yourself. Advice from trustworthy sources can take you far, but it is up to you to make the final choice.
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