Absolute versus relative values: effects on medical decisions and personality of patients and physicians

Speculation suggests that health care workers and patients who believe in ethical values that do not change--absolute values--will respond differently to ethical problems and personality tests than those who affirm changing-relative values.

We did a cross-sectional survey to investigate the effects of absolute vs relative values on (1) decision making concerning ethical dilemmas and (2) questionnaire assessments of hostility, forgiveness, and social desirability. Two groups of participants were medical/surgical inpatients (n = 60) at a Department of Veterans Affairs medical center and practicing physicians (n = 73) in the larger Johnson City, Tennessee, area.

In both groups, relativists were more approving of birth control for sexually active single women, physician-assisted suicide, and abortion. For patients but not physicians, several indices of hostility were higher for relativists than absolutists. No overall group differences existed as a function of value type for forgiveness or social desirability scores. However, subgrouping by religious faith affected response pattern.

The absolute/relative value dichotomy predicted differences in approval ratings for both physicians and patients. Ethically sensitive health care and health care training should explicitly consider this dimension of personal values.