Gruda, Dritjon and Kafetsios, Konstantinos (2021) I Need a Doctor, Call Me a Doctor: Attachment and the Evaluation of General Practitioners before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18 (7914). pp. 1-11. ISSN 1660-4601

Preview

Download (938kB) | Preview

Abstract

Attachment is a system of threat regulation, and insecure (anxious and avoidant) attachment orientations are important individual difference antecedents to the cognitive and affective attributions of trait inferences. However, little is known about how threat-related contexts, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, influence attachment-related socio-cognitive schemas. Using an experimental research design across two independent samples of 330 (pre-onset of COVID-19) and 233 (post-onset of COVID-19) participants, we tested whether attachment orientations influenced general practitioner (GP) ratings and selection differently pre- and post-onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that during the COVID-19 pandemic, when presented with only negative information signals, avoidant individuals attributed positive ratings to GPs, with differing ratings as the number of positive signals increased. Differences between pre- and post-onset of the COVID-19 pandemic were less pronounced with regards to positive signals. We discuss these results in line with signal detection theory (SDT) and provide practical implications in response to our findings.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	adult attachment; social perception; medical professionals; COVID-19; experiment;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Business
Item ID:	17636
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18157914
Depositing User:	Jon Gruda
Date Deposited:	04 Oct 2023 08:54
Journal or Publication Title:	International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Publisher:	MDPI
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

Repository Staff Only(login required)

Item control page

Downloads

Origin of downloads