Scientific article
OA Policy
English

Perceived dominance in physicians: Are female physicians under scrutiny?

Published inPatient Education and Counseling, vol. 83, no. 2, p. 174-179
Publication date2011
Abstract

This research aims at identifying how specific physician verbal and nonverbal behaviors are related to perceived dominance of female and male physicians. Analogue patients (163 students) watched videotaped excerpts of eight physicians and indicated how dominant they perceived each physician to be. Female physicians who spoke more, talked more while doing something else, spoke with louder voices, modulated their voices more, were oriented more toward the patients, sat at a smaller interpersonal distance, were more expansive, and had a more open arm position were perceived as more dominant. These relations were significantly more pronounced in female than in male physicians. With respect to verbal behavior, not agreeing with the patient, structuring the discussion, setting the agenda, and asking questions were related to being perceived as significantly more dominant in female than in male physicians. Patients interpret verbal and nonverbal female and male physicians' cues differently. If a behavior contradicts gender stereotypes regarding women, this behavior is perceived as particularly dominant in female physicians.

Keywords
  • Dominance
  • Gender
  • Nonverbal behavior
  • Physician–patient communication
  • Verbal behavior
Affiliation entities Not a UNIGE publication
Research groups
Citation (ISO format)
SCHMID MAST, Marianne et al. Perceived dominance in physicians: Are female physicians under scrutiny? In: Patient Education and Counseling, 2011, vol. 83, n° 2, p. 174–179. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2010.06.030
Main files (1)
Article (Published version)
accessLevelPublic
Identifiers
Journal ISSN0738-3991
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Technical informations

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