Research on impression formation suggests that information acquired early might have a much greater impact on the credibility attribution made by a judger than subsequent evidence. This is relevant in the medical context, where subjective experiences, as pain, requires the observers to evaluate the credibility of the patients to assess pain severity and decide treatment options. We aimed at investigating the credibility attribution process in the observer-patient relationship by considering the role of the judgers’ first impressions. We thus determined whether or not initial judgments were revised after knowing the patient’s self-report of pain. A sample (N = 423) of physicians, nurses, medical students and nursing students participated to a computerized task which showed 16 vignettes featuring fictitious patients. In the experimental condition participants were asked to evaluate the patient’s pain severity and hypothesize prescriptions before and after knowing the patient’s rating, which was systematically varied as a function of the first participants’ estimates, whereas in the control condition participants were shown all the information about the patient at the same time and required to make judgments in a unique stage. The results showed that in 46% of the responses participants didn’t revise their initial pain ratings and they confirmed their first prescriptions in 63% of cases. Also, we found that physicians were less miscalibrated, but more affected by the initial impressions than the other groups. Overall, these findings show how the initial impressions can serve as an “anchor” for the observers in the credibility attribution process.

Rusconi, P., Riva, P., Montali, L., Cherubini, P. (2010). The role of initial impressions when evaluating credibility in the observers-patients relationship. Intervento presentato a: eleventh annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), Las Vegas (Nevada, USA).

The role of initial impressions when evaluating credibility in the observers-patients relationship

RUSCONI, PATRICE PIERCARLO;RIVA, PAOLO;MONTALI, LORENZO;CHERUBINI, PAOLO
2010

Abstract

Research on impression formation suggests that information acquired early might have a much greater impact on the credibility attribution made by a judger than subsequent evidence. This is relevant in the medical context, where subjective experiences, as pain, requires the observers to evaluate the credibility of the patients to assess pain severity and decide treatment options. We aimed at investigating the credibility attribution process in the observer-patient relationship by considering the role of the judgers’ first impressions. We thus determined whether or not initial judgments were revised after knowing the patient’s self-report of pain. A sample (N = 423) of physicians, nurses, medical students and nursing students participated to a computerized task which showed 16 vignettes featuring fictitious patients. In the experimental condition participants were asked to evaluate the patient’s pain severity and hypothesize prescriptions before and after knowing the patient’s rating, which was systematically varied as a function of the first participants’ estimates, whereas in the control condition participants were shown all the information about the patient at the same time and required to make judgments in a unique stage. The results showed that in 46% of the responses participants didn’t revise their initial pain ratings and they confirmed their first prescriptions in 63% of cases. Also, we found that physicians were less miscalibrated, but more affected by the initial impressions than the other groups. Overall, these findings show how the initial impressions can serve as an “anchor” for the observers in the credibility attribution process.
poster
initial impressions; credibility attribution; anchoring
English
eleventh annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP)
2010
29-gen-2010
none
Rusconi, P., Riva, P., Montali, L., Cherubini, P. (2010). The role of initial impressions when evaluating credibility in the observers-patients relationship. Intervento presentato a: eleventh annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), Las Vegas (Nevada, USA).
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/18784
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