Medical student attitudes toward elderly patients: effects of social attractiveness

The purpose of this study was to determine if medical students' attitudes toward the elderly can be modified through social attractiveness cues in the form of descriptions of abilities and photographs of the patients. The results indicated that students were most personally and professionally attracted to the mentally alert patient, and they were most personally attracted to the patient whose photograph was included in the medical record. Furthermore, inclusion of previous and current photographs had a mediating effect on attitude formation and the formation of stereotypes. These results suggest that presenting social attractiveness information may be useful in countering negative perceptions of the elderly.