Trial reportMedical education2022
Do norms unintentionally increase stereotypical expressions? A randomised controlled trial.
Trial report in Medical education, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 2 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Perpetual Cycle of Racial Bias in Healthcare and Healthcare Education: A Systematic Review.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Pooled it
- Do norms unintentionally increase stereotypical expressions? A randomised controlled trial.Medical education · 2022Trial
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionImplicit biases of health professionals could cause biased judgements. Many anti-bias interventions seem to be ineffective, and some even counterproductive. People tend to be compliant to standards describing what the majority of people finds or does, and this could cause people to think in a stereotype-consistent manner. This study examines whether descriptive social norms such as 'the majority of people have stereotypes' (majority message), as often stated in interventions, actually increase people's stereotypes. To examine the effect of descriptive social norms (Hypothesis 1) and the effect of individual perceptions and preferences (Hypothesis 2a and 2b) on stereotypical expressions towards medical students.
methodsFirst, we determined which ethic stereotypes regarding medical students prevail in Dutch medical education (N = 52). Next, two similar randomised controlled trials, both with teachers and students, were carried out (N = 158 and N = 123, respectively), one with an East Asian student picture (ethnic minority) and one with a native Dutch student picture (ethnic majority). Participants were randomly assigned to either a majority-message, minority-message or no-message condition, and rated the presented minority or majority picture on specific stereotypical features. Subsequently, participants described a typical day of that same student's life. These descriptions were rated for stereotypicality by two independent raters, who were blind for condition and stimulus. Inclusive work environment (IWC) and social dominance orientation (SDO) of participants were measured as indicators of individual perceptions and preferences.
resultsStereotypes were expressed towards both picture stimuli, yet message condition did not affect stereotypical expressions. SDO positively related to stereotypical expressions towards the East Asian student, whereas IWC positively related to stereotypical expressions towards the native Dutch student.
conclusionInterventions do not unintentionally increase stereotypes by communicating what the majority of people thinks or does. Individual perceptions and preferences are predictive of stereotypes, whereas descriptive social norms are not.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.