Doctors are seen as Godlike: Moral typecasting in medicine

Doctors are generally thought of as very intelligent and capable. This perception has upsides—doctors are afforded respect and esteem—but it may also have downsides, such as neglecting the mental and physical health of physicians. Two studies examine how Americans “typecast” doctors as Godlike “thin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social science & medicine (1982) 2020-08, Vol.258, p.113008, Article 113008
Main Authors: Goranson, Amelia, Sheeran, Paschal, Katz, Julia, Gray, Kurt
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Burnout
Burnout, Professional
Embarrassment
Emotions
Epidemics
God
Health services
Health status
Humans
Hunger
Intelligence
Job performance
Medicine
Mental health
Morals
Pain
Physicians
Respect
Self control
United States
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Summary:Doctors are generally thought of as very intelligent and capable. This perception has upsides—doctors are afforded respect and esteem—but it may also have downsides, such as neglecting the mental and physical health of physicians. Two studies examine how Americans “typecast” doctors as Godlike “thinkers” who help others, rather than as vulnerable “feelers” who might themselves need help. Study 1 examines how a representative sample of Americans (N = 681) view the mental capacities of doctors compared to other targets (including patients, other workers, and God). Result show that people see physicians as highly capable of the thinking-related capacities of thinking, remembering, self-control, and planning (equal to that of God), but less capable of the feeling-related capacities of experiencing fear, pain, embarrassment, and hunger. Study 2 (N = 451) examines whether physician typecasting impacts other domains. People believe that, relative to the average working professional, physicians are better able to ignore physical and mental health issues, and physician job performance is less impacted by bodily and emotional limitations. We discuss implications for medical practice, especially the growing epidemic of physician burnout. •Americans view doctors as godlike and invulnerable.•Doctors are seen as more agentic than other working professionals.•Doctors are seen as able to ignore mental and physical health problems.•Moral typecasting in medicine leads people to neglect doctors' suffering.
ISSN:0277-9536
1873-5347
DOI:10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113008