| Abstract: | Doctors' schedules are often overcrowded by unnecessary consultations with people complaining of minor or harmless symptoms. Such people typically decide to seek medical attention after hearing the opinions of family and friends. The present study explored some factors that might affect one's readiness to be influenced by nonprofessional opinions. Subjects in a role-playing setting were asked to imagine they were experiencing various symptoms, and then were given social comparison information suggesting they either should or should not see a doctor. As an orthogonal factor, subjects were also given an objective basis, via a simple physical test, for believing the symptoms either did or did not require medical attention. Consistent with Festinger's (1954) propositions, objective information suggesting the need to see a doctor eliminated the influence of social comparison. However, objective information suggesting the symptoms were harmless failed to reduce the impact of social comparison. These results indicate that providing an objective basis for deciding to sec a doctor will not be effective in controlling unnecessary visits, since "don't go" objective information is completely overridden by "go" social comparison information. |
