Churches, Owen, Feuerriegel, Daniel, Callahan, Rebecca, Wells, Jeremy, Keage, Jocelyn, Keage, Hannah, Kohler, Mark, Thomas, Nicole A., and Nicholls, Mike (2014) Facing up to stereotypes: surgeons and physicians are no different in their emotional expressiveness. Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain, and Cognition, 19 (5). pp. 585-590.

PDF (Published Version) - Published Version Restricted to Repository staff only

Abstract

Of all the differences between surgeons and physicians that are discussed in the medical profession and in the community at large, one distinction stands out for its frequency of use: surgeons are less emotional than physicians, particularly in their relationships with patients. Here we tested this stereotype by analysing the portraits that 5914 surgeons and physicians had provided for patients to view when selecting a doctor. There is an asymmetry in the degree to which emotional information is conveyed by the face, with the right side being less expressive than the left. Hence, if the stereotype were true, surgeons would be more likely than physicians to show their right cheek in the photographs. While the results for doctors confirmed previous reports of a difference due to sex in which female doctors were more likely to show the left cheek than male doctors, we found that the doctors' specialization did not predict the way they turned in their portraits. Hence, the notion that surgeons face their patients less emotionally than physicians is not supported by the data.

Item ID:	52454
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1464-0678
Keywords:	face; photograph; medical doctors; emotion
Date Deposited:	18 Jul 2018 04:24
FoR Codes:	17 PSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES > 1701 Psychology > 170112 Sensory Processes, Perception and Performance @ 50% 17 PSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES > 1701 Psychology > 170101 Biological Psychology (Neuropsychology, Psychopharmacology, Physiological Psychology) @ 50%
SEO Codes:	97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970117 Expanding Knowledge in Psychology and Cognitive Sciences @ 100%
Downloads:	Total: 1
	More Statistics