Monogrammic Determinism?

Morrison, Stilian; Smith, Gary

doi:10.1097/01.psy.0000181283.51771.8a

Cited by 11 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 9 publications

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“…Christenfeld et al (1999) reported that individuals whose names spelled out negative words, such as P.I.G., were more likely to die prematurely, whereas those with positive initials, such as V.I.P., are more likely to live longer. While this finding has been attributed to an artifact related to a shift in the popularity of positive and negative initials over time (Morrison & Smith, 2005), we have corroborated these findings for major league baseball players, even after controlling for birth year (Abel & Kruger, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

Influence of Names on Career Choices in Medicine

Abel

2010

names

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Three studies showed that medical doctors and lawyers were disproportionately more likely to have surnames that resembled their professions. A fourth study showed that, for doctors, this influence extended to the type of medicine they practiced. Study 1 found that people with the surname "Doctor" were more likely to be doctors than lawyers, whereas those with the surname "Lawyer" were more likely to be lawyers. Studies 2 and 3 broadened this finding by comparing doctors and lawyers whose first or last names began with three-letter combinations representative of their professions, for example, "doc," "law," and likewise found a significant relationship between name and profession. Study 4 found that the initial letters of physicians' last names were significantly related to their subspecialty, for example, Raymonds were more likely to be radiologists than dermatologists. These results provide further evidence names influence medical career choices.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%