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Biomedical subjects

B Chanowitz

Publications and source records attributed to B Chanowitz.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Micro-effects of language on risk perception in drug prescribing behavior.

The decision to prescribe neuroleptics for the treatment of psychosis involves a potentially tragic choice between, on the one hand, a probability of psychosis and a probability of side effects, such as tardive dyskinesia, on the other. In an experimental paradigm, we examined this decision process. We hypothesized that linguistic factors considered irrelevant under classical formulations of individual choice behavior would have a significant effect on this decision. All subjects were presented with a case vignette involving a potentially psychotic patient. Subjects were then asked what probability of tardive dyskinesia they would either "accept" or "risk" in order to prevent psychotic decompensation. In addition this factor was crossed with a contextual factor that varied the patient's age. The effect of "risk" versus "accept" language was evident in significantly different patterns of decision making across age groups. The data have important implications for clinical decision making, the elicitation of informed consent, and the directions that the courts have taken in malpractice and patient's rights cases.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Medical and judicial perceptions of the risks associated with use of antipsychotic medication.

To determine whether occupational perspective influences the decision to prescribe antipsychotic medications, we presented a group of psychiatrists and judges with a hypothetical case involving a potentially psychotic patient. The subjects were asked what probability of drug-induced tardive dyskinesia they would accept in order to prevent psychotic decompensation. The subjects were then asked to estimate the actual probability that tardive dyskinesia would occur if the patient received antipsychotic medications. From the responses to these questions we inferred their treatment decisions. Although the psychiatrists and judges agreed on an acceptable level of risk, they differed significantly in their estimates of the actual risk involved and, by inference, their decisions concerning treatment. Our findings have several implications for adjudication of cases involving treatment decisions and the right to refuse treatment.

Antipsychotic Agents↗
PubMed1985

Decreasing prejudice by increasing discrimination.

We conducted an experiment to assess the effects of mindfulness (active distinction making) training on the perception of and reaction to handicapped children. In a 2 X 2 factorial design, sixth graders received either a high- or low-mindfulness treatment and viewed slides that were either all of "normal" people or consisted primarily of "handicapped" individuals. The high-mindfulness treatment, especially when bolstered by explicit reference to the handicapped, revealed that teaching children to be more differentiated (i.e., more mindful) resulted in the view that handicaps are function specific and not people specific. Children in this group were less likely to inappropriately discriminate for or against the handicapped target. Most important, however, was the finding that subjects in this group were less likely to avoid a handicapped other.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1981

Premature cognitive commitment.

Two experiments examined the effect that the conditions of initial exposure to information have on the "mindless" processing of that information and its subsequent use. It was hypothesized that the context of initial exposure to information limits its subsequent use. Information initially perceived as irrelevant may be uncritically accepted. If that information later becomes relevant, persons become victims of their premature cognitive commitments. In the first experiment, all subjects received information about perceptual deficits while the perceived relevance of that information was manipulated. On assessment tests, all subjects "found" they had this deficit. On follow-up perceptual tasks, the group initially informed that the deficit was seemingly irrelevant showed severe performance decrements relative to other groups. The second experiment used a similar procedure for a perceptual skill rather than a deficit. Here, subjects initially exposed to "irrelevant" information performed more productively than subjects initially exposed to "relevant" information. These results indicate that conditions surrounding initial exposure to information limit its subsequent use. The implications of these data for social, psychological, and physical symptoms are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗