Ingroup Bias in Healthcare Contexts: Israeli-Jewish Perceptions of Arab and Jewish Doctors

Abstract

The influence of group membership on perceptions of outgroup members has been extensively studied in various contexts. This research has indicated a strong tendency for ingroup bias – preferring the ingroup over the outgroup. We seek to further expand on the growing literature regarding the effects of group membership within healthcare contexts. Focusing on the Arab-Jewish context in Israel, the present study explored the influence of group membership on Israeli-Jewish participants’ evaluations when exposed to potential malpractice. Specifically, participants (n = 165) read a description of an Israeli-Jewish or Israeli-Arab physician who was either culpable or non-culpable of malpractice. Consistent with our predictions, findings generally indicated more negative evaluations of the Israeli-Arab physician, regardless of objective culpability. We conclude by discussing the study’s limitations and implications.

Exploring How Sociocultural Factors Affect the Experience of Completing Neuropsychological Assessments Within Older Greek-Australians

“…Indeed, participants’ reports of undergoing cognitive assessment may have differed if interviews were conducted by an English-speaking nonclinical researcher in a hospital setting. That being said, the latter scenario presents several barriers to engagement and depth of interview responses, particularly in instances where professionals are culturally and linguistically dissimilar ( Graham, Halabi, & Nadler, 2021 ; Molina & Kasper, 2019 ).…”