Topic Two (1.2): Patient and Practitioner Diagnosis and Style

Introduction

It is suggested that a medical practitioner can show a ‘personality style’ when a patient consults them. Bryne and Long (1976) analysed 2,500 taped interviews to examine what happens when patient and doctor interact. They investigated the style of communication of the doctor and how this is interpreted via satisfaction ratings. Other psychologists focus on how doctors should be cautious to reduce errors in diagnosis.

For the exam you need to know:

  • Practitioner diagnosis focusing on making a diagnosis (disclosure of information, false positive and false negative diagnosis) and presenting a diagnosis.
  • Practitioner style: doctor-centred (directed) and patient-centred (sharing) consultation (exemplified by the following key study).

Key study for the effect of practitioner style on patient satisfaction: Savage and Armstrong (1990).

Relevant issues and debates and methodology for this topic include: application to everyday life, individual and situational explanations, cultural differences, determinism versus free-will, validity.

Read and Make Notes

  • Read and make notes on pages 308 to 313 in the textbook.
  • Use this resource to make notes on Type I and Type II errors in research:

READ – Type I and Type II Errors in Research (Simply Psychology) Links to an external site.

  • Read the study by Byrne and Long (1979) and make notes:

READ – Byrne and Long (1979) Links to an external site.

  • Now read and make notes on the following key study on ‘GP consulting style’:

Download READ – Savage and Armstrong (1990) Original Research Paper (PDF)

  • You can be asked specific questions relating to this study on the examination papers.

Terminology

Make sure you understand all the key terms covered in this topic. You may like to make flashcards of key terms now, to help you with revision later on.