Grey’s Anatomy and Communication Accommodation: Exploring Aspects of Nonverbal Interactions Portrayed in Media
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Mickel, Jason T.
McGuire, Shian-Li
Gross-Gray, Shelley
Abstract / Description
This study explores nonverbal communication measured in a television medical drama using the NAAS framework for investigating doctor-patient interactions viewed through the lens of communication accommodation theory. It aims to find how doctors in the television series Grey’s Anatomy exhibit a select set of nonverbal communication elements to accommodate their fictional patients. Of significance, the study draws attention to the impact of televised medical programs on real-life doctor-patient encounters, focusing on under-researched aspects of communication in this context. Eight episodes of the series Grey’s Anatomy were coded for four nonverbal behaviors during physician consultations with a single patient in each program. Only the first and last minutes of conversation were included in the analysis. Descriptive statistics demonstrate how doctors and patients behave in general across all episodes. A factor calculated from differences of proportions between patient and physician behaviors indicates whether doctors accommodate patients and consequently influence patient satisfaction. The analysis finds that the amount of nonverbal behavior between the parties was balanced, with doctors accommodating and not accommodating in equal frequency. The study discusses the implications not only on medical drama but also on the professional medical field, noting that television not only reflects real-life but also can establish communication expectations for better or worse. Utilizing the NAAS to understand how fictionalized interactions occur informs the medical community on how better to prepare doctors for patient communication.
Keyword(s)
communication accommodation nonverbal communication television medical drama doctor-patient communication content analysisPersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2013-06-28
Journal title
Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships
Volume
7
Issue
1
Page numbers
138–149
Publisher
PsychOpen GOLD
Publication status
publishedVersion
Review status
peerReviewed
Is version of
Citation
Mickel, J. T., McGuire, S.-L., & Gross-Gray, S. (2013). Grey’s Anatomy and Communication Accommodation: Exploring Aspects of Nonverbal Interactions Portrayed in Media. Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships, 7(1), 138–149. https://doi.org/10.5964/ijpr.v7i1.95
-
ijpr.v7i1.95.pdfAdobe PDF - 411.02KBMD5: 39bbbfe534097525c823d567aec6b422
-
There are no other versions of this object.
-
Author(s) / Creator(s)Mickel, Jason T.
-
Author(s) / Creator(s)McGuire, Shian-Li
-
Author(s) / Creator(s)Gross-Gray, Shelley
-
PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2018-12-05T08:44:31Z
-
Made available on2018-12-05T08:44:31Z
-
Date of first publication2013-06-28
-
Abstract / DescriptionThis study explores nonverbal communication measured in a television medical drama using the NAAS framework for investigating doctor-patient interactions viewed through the lens of communication accommodation theory. It aims to find how doctors in the television series Grey’s Anatomy exhibit a select set of nonverbal communication elements to accommodate their fictional patients. Of significance, the study draws attention to the impact of televised medical programs on real-life doctor-patient encounters, focusing on under-researched aspects of communication in this context. Eight episodes of the series Grey’s Anatomy were coded for four nonverbal behaviors during physician consultations with a single patient in each program. Only the first and last minutes of conversation were included in the analysis. Descriptive statistics demonstrate how doctors and patients behave in general across all episodes. A factor calculated from differences of proportions between patient and physician behaviors indicates whether doctors accommodate patients and consequently influence patient satisfaction. The analysis finds that the amount of nonverbal behavior between the parties was balanced, with doctors accommodating and not accommodating in equal frequency. The study discusses the implications not only on medical drama but also on the professional medical field, noting that television not only reflects real-life but also can establish communication expectations for better or worse. Utilizing the NAAS to understand how fictionalized interactions occur informs the medical community on how better to prepare doctors for patient communication.en_US
-
Publication statuspublishedVersion
-
Review statuspeerReviewed
-
CitationMickel, J. T., McGuire, S.-L., & Gross-Gray, S. (2013). Grey’s Anatomy and Communication Accommodation: Exploring Aspects of Nonverbal Interactions Portrayed in Media. Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships, 7(1), 138–149. https://doi.org/10.5964/ijpr.v7i1.95en_US
-
ISSN1981-6472
-
Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1804
-
Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.2170
-
Language of contenteng
-
PublisherPsychOpen GOLD
-
Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.5964/ijpr.v7i1.95
-
Keyword(s)communication accommodationen_US
-
Keyword(s)nonverbal communicationen_US
-
Keyword(s)television medical dramaen_US
-
Keyword(s)doctor-patient communicationen_US
-
Keyword(s)content analysisen_US
-
Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
-
TitleGrey’s Anatomy and Communication Accommodation: Exploring Aspects of Nonverbal Interactions Portrayed in Mediaen_US
-
DRO typearticle
-
Issue1
-
Journal titleInterpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships
-
Page numbers138–149
-
Volume7
-
Visible tag(s)Version of Record