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Social Perceptions of Termination of Medical Treatment: Suicide or Rational Decision?
Author(s) -
Wellman Robert J.,
Sugarman David B.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1996.tb00077.x
Subject(s) - psychology , perception , social psychology , commission , law , neuroscience , political science
In two studies, college students read about a critically ill patient who died after CPR attempts failed, CPR was not attempted pursuant to a “Do‐Not‐Resuscitate” (DNR) order, he terminated all medical treatment, or he self‐administered a lethal injection. Death resulting from treatment termination was perceived as significantly more unconventional than were death by CPR failure or DNR order. Ending treatment and lethal injection were perceived as equivalent acts of suicide, and resulted in the patient's being seen as less rational and less capable of making health care decisions. Timing of the patient's decisions regarding treatment, as indicated by the presence or absence of Living Will information, did not alter these perceptions. Results are discussed in light of opposing hypotheses regarding views of “naive” social perceivers toward actions with identical outcomes: that acts of commission are perceived as causal and rated more negatively than acts of omission (Spranca, Minsk, & Baron, 1991), and that acts seen as abnormal are attributed greater causal impact (Hilton & Slugoski, 1986).