Self‑Reliance Beats Advice Worldwide

A new study led by Igor Grossmann finds that across 12 countries, people facing hard choices overwhelmingly trust their own judgment over input from friends, family, or experts. This pattern holds even in interdependent cultures that value group harmony. It suggests advice, as a mode of influence, is often discounted at the decision point. — If most people ignore advice by default, public health messaging, financial guidance, and policy communications must shift from exhortation to designs that respect autonomy, change defaults, or build in structure rather than mere counsel.