Aside from 2-3 academic programs around the country that are known to be malignant, radiology tends to be much more relaxed an environment than even the most benign surgical residency.
You tend to get the respect you deserve. There is not much of a hierarchy within radiology residencies as you rarely have a situation where you work 'under' one of your senior residents. It is typically a 1:1 situation with an attending (of course there is a hierarchy in the organization of call and first picks for time-off, but being 'chief resident' in radiology only means you get bitched at about the call-schedule, not that the first years polish your shoes).
That said, one common model of teaching in radiology is the 'hotseat' format. During a conference, the teaching attending call up a random resident and put up an unknown case on the lightbox (or today more likely PACS workstation). The resident has typically about 30seconds to look at the case without an obligation to say anything. Then you are expected to describe the findings and give a reasonable differential diagnosis. The reason this format is so popular is bc this is exactly how the oral board exam works (and how in many cases a radiology consultation in the real world works). Now, in the boards you sit there with 1-2 examiners, in a teaching conference you sit in front of 10-50 other residents or sometimes faculty. It can be extremely intimidating as you are of course afraid to say something foolish. Some people experience this as 'pimping' or cruel, but compared with getting yelled at by some surgery attending for not knowing the name of some dohicky on the tray, it is a breeze.
