Passage
Numerous studies suggest that physicians make both conscious and unconscious assumptions about their patients, and these assumptions often impact patient care and outcomes. However, little research has focused on the assumptions patients make about their physicians.Researchers designed an observational study to investigate assumptions made by patients in health care settings. For this study, three different surgeons were asked to interact with pre-surgery patients whom they had never met using a standardized script. Each surgeon participated in 30 total interactions over the course of two weeks. The purpose of the study was to assess how the patient's assumptions regarding the surgeon's status were impacted by the surgeon's race, gender, and attire.According to the script, the surgeon did not introduce him- or herself upon entering the room. All three surgeons were in their late 40s; one surgeon was a black woman, one was a black man, and one was a white man. The surgeons wore either surgical scrubs alone or a white coat over their surgical scrubs. Researchers analyzed how patients addressed or referred to the surgeon to assess assumptions about the surgeon's role as a doctor or a nurse. The results are presented in Table 1.Table 1 Percentage of Patients Who Assumed the Surgeon Was a Doctor or a Nurse
The researchers also retrospectively analyzed minor (non-life-threatening) surgical errors and postoperative patient outcomes for one month prior to the study and during the study timeframe for each surgeon. The number of minor errors was averaged per surgery, and postoperative patient outcomes were quantified using a multifactor (eg, pain, infection, bleeding, other complications) assessment scale of 1 (worst outcome) to 12 (best outcome) .Table 2 Average Number of Minor Surgical Errors (Per Surgery) and Aggregated Postoperative Patient Outcome Scores

-The study described in the passage is most directly evaluating which of the following sociological theories?

Question

Passage
Numerous studies suggest that physicians make both conscious and unconscious assumptions about their patients, and these assumptions often impact patient care and outcomes. However, little research has focused on the assumptions patients make about their physicians.Researchers designed an observational study to investigate assumptions made by patients in health care settings. For this study, three different surgeons were asked to interact with pre-surgery patients whom they had never met using a standardized script. Each surgeon participated in 30 total interactions over the course of two weeks. The purpose of the study was to assess how the patient's assumptions regarding the surgeon's status were impacted by the surgeon's race, gender, and attire.According to the script, the surgeon did not introduce him- or herself upon entering the room. All three surgeons were in their late 40s; one surgeon was a black woman, one was a black man, and one was a white man. The surgeons wore either surgical scrubs alone or a white coat over their surgical scrubs. Researchers analyzed how patients addressed or referred to the surgeon to assess assumptions about the surgeon's role as a doctor or a nurse. The results are presented in Table 1.Table 1 Percentage of Patients Who Assumed the Surgeon Was a Doctor or a Nurse

The researchers also retrospectively analyzed minor (non-life-threatening) surgical errors and postoperative patient outcomes for one month prior to the study and during the study timeframe for each surgeon. The number of minor errors was averaged per surgery, and postoperative patient outcomes were quantified using a multifactor (eg, pain, infection, bleeding, other complications) assessment scale of 1 (worst outcome) to 12 (best outcome) .Table 2 Average Number of Minor Surgical Errors (Per Surgery) and Aggregated Postoperative Patient Outcome Scores

-The study described in the passage is most directly evaluating which of the following sociological theories?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

11ecba2d_0c33_d1a1_a3bf_7713365dd3fd_MD0008_00 Symbolic interactionism is a microsociological perspective that is concerned with the small-scale, person-to-person interactions that shape society. Through social interactions, people develop subjective meanings for things (people, places, events, behaviors), which are more important than objective facts. In other words, what people believe to be true is more important than what is actually true. Subjective meanings differ by context and culture (eg, a professional greeting in the United States is a handshake, but in Japan it is a bow) and are not static; they can change over time. A fundamental concept in symbolic interactionism, the "definition of the situation," describes how people enter into social situations with clearly defined expectations for their own behavior and the behavior of others. The definition of the situation helps people understand the statuses and roles of everyone involved. For example, a white coat symbolizes the health professions. When someone is wearing a white coat, others are more likely to assume that this person is a physician and behave accordingly. (Choice A) Conflict theory is a macrosociological perspective that examines how the competition among larger social structures for limited resources shapes society. (Choice C) Structural functionalism is also a macrosociological perspective that analyzes how social structures work together in society to maintain equilibrium. (Choice D) Social exchange theory is a microsociological perspective that asserts that individuals interact with each other to maximize personal gain and minimize personal cost. Educational objective: Symbolic interactionism is a microsociological theory that suggests that people develop subjective meanings for things (objects, behaviors) through social interaction. The "definition of the situation" allows people to understand the statuses and roles of everyone involved in a situation so each person acts accordingly.

Passage Numerous Studies Suggest That Physicians Make Both Conscious and Unconscious