Demandingness and responsiveness of advisors as determinants of graduate students' experience

The purpose of this study was to provide evidence of four advising styles based on the dunensions of advisor demandingness and advisor responsiveness. After estabhshing the existence of these advising styles, the study then addresses how those differing advising styles are related to the students' satisfaction with their advising relationships, the students' self-perceived development in the areas of cognitive development, affective development, and professional skill development, and the students' professional productivity as measured by number of conference presentations, number of manuscript submissions, and number of publications.

Instruments designed to measure type of advising style students are experiencing were developed based on Baumrind's parental communication model. The model is based on the two dimensions of demandingness and responsiveness, and yields four advising styles. The authoritarian style is based on high demandingness and low responsiveness. The authoritative style is based on high demandingness and high responsiveness. The permissive style is based on low demandingness and high responsiveness, and the uninvolved style is low on both dimensions.