I was just curious if one of the reasons why med school admissions interviewers consider attractiveness as a plus is because patients are more likely to listen to the advice of attractive physicians. If my doctor was fat and ugly, I would think he/she is not taking care of him/herself well so I would be less likely to listen to his/her advice on how to take care of myself. Would you agree?
Are attractive doctors more likely to be listened to?
- Thread starter UniBoy5
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Attractive/healthy looking people in any profession are more likely to be taken seriously. Flaw of our society, sometimes.
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where did you hear this exactly?
My thoughts exactly...
While I don't think anyone purposely has these thoughts, subconsciously I'm sure this happens quite frequently. Attractive people are generally more favorably looked upon. Is there any way to quantify/study this? I have no clue.
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It is called the halo effect.
well i'm probably not going to take diet tips from a fat dr. but I dunno if attractiveness would make people more likely to follow instructions. I'd probably take an old wise-looking dr's advice before i'd take Dr. Heidi Klum's advice even though she's better looking.
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I think that probably works best for handsome men....more folks listen to me than they should....personal confidence is very important too!!
Hot chicks probably get listened to less because we as men are thinking about them naked and how we can get them that way.....😀
Hot chicks probably get listened to less because we as men are thinking about them naked and how we can get them that way.....😀
Lol, I swear, one out of every three of your posts have to do with how attractive you think you are. Your posts always make me laugh, though!
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I don't know. The doc I shadowed had one eye and a limp, and he was an extremely effective physician. Another OB-Gyn I knew was overweight, but a very good listener. Both of them had great personalities, and I think that was far more important to their patients than their "attractiveness."
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I don't know, I feel like I'm more likely to trust a plain doctor because subconsciously I'll believe that an attractive doctor partly got ahead based on looks.
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I think the more realistic comparison is: a doctor who's overweight and altogether not a joy to look at vs. a doctor that is reasonably fit and has good features (note: not a model).
I think most people would probably prefer the latter.
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I guess none of my doctors have ever been all that attractive, so I don't have much to compare it to. But I definitely do trust older doctors more than younger ones.
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I read this thread earlier, but chose not to respond because everything I had to say was already said. However, I was just watching the first season of House on DVD, and Dr. House seems to think that good looks are important. He hired Cameron because she was attractive.
Obviously, this is just a TV show, but I thought it was ironic that it would be discussed in a show I was watching 40 minutes after I read through this thread.
Obviously, this is just a TV show, but I thought it was ironic that it would be discussed in a show I was watching 40 minutes after I read through this thread.
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only seen one hot female doctor in my life and it was for a physical, made my day better
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"Yeah, so I think I might have testicular torsion. Could you kind check around, make sure everythings working right down there?"
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don't know what a torsion is, but she was like "drop your shorts"
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anyone remember when the psychologist tried a experiment where he put sexy women on top of cars or next to them..
this proved to boost sales..
i forget what its called.. i want to say classic conditioning but yah..
if a person is good looking people will be more interested in other aspects of them.. in this case there job aspects..
this proved to boost sales..
i forget what its called.. i want to say classic conditioning but yah..
if a person is good looking people will be more interested in other aspects of them.. in this case there job aspects..
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It'd sucked to have gotten an erection.
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I seriously doubt that. On what basis do you make this statement??
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Every man's innate desire not to have a public boner?
First, I'm going to sit back and enjoy the pun. 🙄
It reminds me of when I was getting like ten rabies shots in my leg (like, rectus femoris region, I think), and the (very hot) nurse was sitting on her knees, between my legs, one arm rested on my left knee, I assume unaware of her bodily space, because her head was tilted sideways towards my groin area, literally an inch or two from resting her head in my lap. I did what my friend once told me he does... that is, picture scenes from SAW. Got me through that one, lol.
But, on the topic of the thread, I think so. I would listen to a doctor who is in good shape as opposed to an overweight one, for example, because they clearly are more generally health conscious. If they can keep themselves healthy, at least from my perspective, it looks like they'll help me more. Plus attractive doctors are usually young, meaning that they have more up-to-date knowledge. I don't trust those old (>50) doctors. Worst case scenario, I have some eye candy every time I go to the doctor.
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Good-looking (attractive) people are simply better listened to by others. It's not a product of our society. It's not even of a product of human nature. We see the same things in other mammals as well as humans of all races, ethnicities, and cultural groups. We prefer those who are attractive regardless of gender. So the answer to your question is "YES!" (however, the reason for med school adcoms preferring attractive individuals to less attractive ones isn't that they want their students to be listened to -- it's simply that they are human as well and, therefore, taken by the same halo or devil effect as the rest of us)
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someone told me once that 'attractiveness' had a lot to do with symmetry.
their argument was that it is biologically 'more difficult' to produce symmetrical features, and thus it was a sign of greater fitness.
i agree with the poster above who said they would rather have a wise old doc than a supermodel. this is especially true because of the socialization most of us undergo that dictates our expectations when we see someone.
i also agree that if there is a preference for attractiveness in interviews, even if it is subconscious, that it probably benefits attractive guys more than attractive girls. attractive girls have to overcome more, as there is a stronger stereotype about hot, ditsy girls than there is about hot, ditsy guys.
this reminds me of one of my favorite clips from the radio show loveline:
punish the ugly
dr. drew talks about a study where they found that attractive people do better given the same psychiatric problems because they are better able to bring people in to help them.
may not be fair, but it makes total sense to me.
their argument was that it is biologically 'more difficult' to produce symmetrical features, and thus it was a sign of greater fitness.
i agree with the poster above who said they would rather have a wise old doc than a supermodel. this is especially true because of the socialization most of us undergo that dictates our expectations when we see someone.
i also agree that if there is a preference for attractiveness in interviews, even if it is subconscious, that it probably benefits attractive guys more than attractive girls. attractive girls have to overcome more, as there is a stronger stereotype about hot, ditsy girls than there is about hot, ditsy guys.
this reminds me of one of my favorite clips from the radio show loveline:
punish the ugly
dr. drew talks about a study where they found that attractive people do better given the same psychiatric problems because they are better able to bring people in to help them.
may not be fair, but it makes total sense to me.
Okay, I'll bite. Psychological studies have shown that attractive people get better responses from everyone, including babies, who have no intellectual or pre-conceived notions of beauty, but actually respond better to people with "symmetrical faces." Attractive people often have a slight advantage (according to "studies") in job interviews.
I'm not sure how true any of this really is. I know that I judge people based upon how they speak, and how they express themselves. I tend to favor people who are eloquent and articulate, and have friendly faces.
If I had to respond to how I perceive the correlation of attractiveness with ability, it's not a clear-cut response. When I meet an attractive physician (male or female) I think I am harder on them than I would be towards an average physician. I assume their looks and charm played at least SOME role in their success, so I'm quicker to doubt their expertise if they don't articulate their ideas smoothly. It's not intentional or fair, but I'm being honest. There is a degree to which it works in the opposite manner--I think I implicitly trust anyone (male or female) who is good-looking, well-groomed, and somehow more elegant than the average lot.
The flip-side is that as a patient, I feel safe with a practitioner who is almost uncomfortably well-spoken. The physician who has not paid special attention to their clothing but explains their understanding of my condition definitely has an advantage over their well-groomed counterpart, who doesn't bother explaining what they really think, but gives me a diagnosis or treatment.
I assumed in writing this that I'd find that I was really biased one way or another. In retrospect, I've always trusted the physician who seems to be speaking to me, not about me, and who takes five minutes to talk to me.
I actually started this post thinking I would explain how the "fit" doctor would have more of an impact on me than one who is out of shape. But my own family practitioner, who just recently retired at well over the age of 75, still talked about his annual multi-week camping trips on the Colorado River. The young practitioner he brought in is probably no more than 40 now. He was chubby, out-of-shape, and more interested in spending his free time on the couch than camping in the Rockies. I respected him as much as my retiring GP. He was not rugged, and had less practice in medicine, but he diagnosed my carpal tunnel and taught me how to splint my wrist at night so that I'd never lose function in my wrist. He caught my mother's mitral valve prolapse when she was 45, and nobody had noticed it before.
The fact is, it doesn't really matter how you look. In the end, even in the most superficial realms, people really want answers. They want doctors who will see who they are and address their medical statuses within the context of how they live. You may doubt the 300-pound endocrinologist who tells you to exercise and eat better, but in the end, it's all about who really listens to you, and gives you the best advice.
At one point (years ago) I thought of becoming a nutritionist. I was obsessed with eating right, and abolished all empty carbs and fatty meats from my diet. It was easy for me, because I didn't really LIKE white bread, dairy products, or T-bone steaks. I have always lived on whole grains, skim milk, and grilled chicken. I knew I'd be a terrible nutritionist because I didn't even understand why people loved junk food. I could never imagine why people wouldn't prefer vegetarian or turkey chili over the meaty version, or why it would be problematic to replace butter with PAM spray.
In order to relate to people, you need to be able to understand them. Sure, an overweight cardiologist seems to be a walking contraction, but if a middle-aged, 250-pound cardiologist talks to you about making positive changes in your lifestyle, doesn't it seem more feasible than it does in the same conversation with a 26-year-old triathlete physician?
The point is, there is no perfect doctor or med school candidate. The key is that doctors should be REAL and approachable, and able to convey their knowledge and experience while remaining non-judgmental and accepting of their patients' limitations.
the word ironic used falsely..
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What? You would prefer to have a boner while having your genitalia undergo a medical exam? Honestly that is one of my nightmares. I get scared every time I have a physical. Imagine how embarrassing to drop your pants for your male PCP to get your dangles checked, and you're hard. The guy will think you're homosexual for the rest of the time he has you as a patient!!
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I agree that there's probably an effect, but I feel like it would only have noticeable impact if you were extremely ugly (or extremely attractive). If you're somewhere between I doubt that you would find yourself getting a different number of acceptances than you would otherwise.
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Interesting thread. Do any of you think that being attractive could have a negative influence on an interview? Making the assumption that most doctors are average-looking.. and that's probably being kind.. it's safe to say you're more likely to be smart and average-looking than smart and beautiful. I wonder if an interviewer sees a beautiful girl walk in vs an average one he'll be partial to the average girl.. thinking she's more likely to have what it takes over the other girl.
In a field that focuses on an individual's intelligence, would a better-looking person have to try harder to prove themselves than an average-looking person? Especially when the people making the decision to accept students are likely average-looking themselves?
In a field that focuses on an individual's intelligence, would a better-looking person have to try harder to prove themselves than an average-looking person? Especially when the people making the decision to accept students are likely average-looking themselves?
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Sure, of course the halo and devil effects are more pronounced toward the extremes. The thing is that attractiveness affords an advantage. The size of that advantage is going to vary depending upon a variety of factors. What I can tell you is that experiments have been done showing that if a person believes you to be attractive (or not so much) his or her interactions w/ you will actually pull out (cause to occur) the very angelic (or devilish) attributes s/he expects from a person of that level of attractiveness! In other words... being beautiful will actually change the way your interviewer asks things (and/or what s/he asks) as well as how s/he perceives your responses! -- It's like stacking the deck and choosing the order in which your opponent plays his cards!
I don't think it matters.
Nah, many good-looking people I know are also among the smartest I know. Hopefully the adcoms are aware of this.
Yep...had these kind of things happen as well. One time it was when I was putting in a foley catheter. Um, it actually helped move things along. Seriously. LOL
People are human. What are you gonna do?
