Relationships Between Medical Doctors' Personality Traits and Their Professional Risk Perception

Area of Science:

• Medical Decision-Making
• Cognitive Psychology
• Risk Assessment

Background:

• Medical decisions involve inherent risk and uncertainty, yet comprehensive frameworks are lacking.
• Cognitive Representations of Risks (CRRs) are defined as subjective perceptions of risky situations, outcomes, and choices.
• Existing psychometric approaches to risk assessment can be enhanced by expert medical knowledge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a list of CRRs derived from practicing physicians' expertise.
• To investigate the interconnections between various aspects of CRRs.
• To explore the influence of gender, professional experience, and personality traits on CRRs.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative analysis of interviews with 24 Russian physicians to identify 21 medical practice risks.
• Quantitative evaluation of these CRRs by 64 physicians using seven numerical aspects.
• Administration of personality and decision-making questionnaires to assess trait correlations.

Main Results:

• A comprehensive list of 21 medical risks with seven evaluative aspects was generated.
• Predictability and negative outcome probability emerged as central aspects of risk assessment.
• CRRs demonstrated significant gender and experience specificity, with female and younger doctors showing higher risk sensitivity.

Conclusions:

• CRRs offer a novel framework for understanding risk in medical decision-making.
• Risk perception is significantly influenced by professional context, personal attributes, and demographic factors.
• Further research into CRRs can inform training and support systems for healthcare professionals.