Advice giving and taking

Increasingly, people have to make personal decisions following some kind of consultation, e.g., decisions about medical treatment, genetic testing and financial investment. One approach suggested to deal with such problems is decision analysis. For reasons discussed in the paper, an alternative approach is proposed, advice giving and taking. This approach focuses on the difference in substantial expertise between consultant and client, implying in particular three features: consultants match options to clients rather than analyse the consequences of many alternatives; consultants and clients discuss one single option rather than multiple options; and clients reject or accept the consultants advice depending on the quality of the recommended option as well as on their trust in the consultant.