Advisers with experience and expertise may sound good on paper, but in high-pressure moments people are more likely to choose advisers who are enthusiastic about them and their goals, suggests research in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. Researchers conducted five online and in-person studies with 755 participants, including two studies in which participants either were applying to be contestants on the reality television singing competition “The Voice” or imagined they were on the show. They found that people picked advisers (or coaches) based on their expertise rather than the level of positivity they expressed for their potential advisees–even when the variance in the advisers’ expertise was small. But upon analyzing the actual decisions made by contestants on four seasons of “The Voice” and participants in other studies, the researchers found that they were more likely to select advisers who were highly enthusiastic toward them. (Monitor on Psychology)

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