Impact of Humanistic, Liberal Christian, and Evangelical Christian Values on the Self-Reported Opinions of Radiologists and Psychiatrists

Abstract

Professional groups have generally endorsed “liberal” or nontheistic values or beliefs. However, some studies with academics suggest that professionals in physical science areas may be more “conservative” than those in social science disciplines. This project examined the relationship of values to nonclinical professional decisions of a nationwide sample of radiologists and psychiatrists. Respondents were sent a vignette which described a professional inservice summary and reflected either humanistic, liberal Christian or evangelical Christian values. Humanist vignettes were significantly and consistently rated as most approved on all three approval questions while Christian vignettes were rated as least approved. Professional group was not a significant factor, although psychiatrists tended to be more approving of all vignettes and expressed significantly more personal interest in the proposed inservice. Personal interest was significantly and positively correlated with approval ratings. Methodological issues, controversial topic effects on publication, government and Christian faith, pre-therapy value information, and other professional/health care issues were discussed.