Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37089402›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in veterinary science2023

Altruism or self-interest in tomorrow's veterinarians? A metric conjoint experiment and cluster analysis.

Adele Feakes, Noel Lindsay, Edward Palmer, Paul Steffens

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in veterinary science, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 35% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Adele FeakesSchool of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Adelaide, Roseworthy, SA, Australia.
Noel LindsayAdelaide Business School, Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
Edward PalmerSchool of Education, Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
Paul SteffensEntrepreneurship Commercialisation and Innovation Center, Adelaide Business School, Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
University of Adelaide · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Altruism is considered a trait of veterinary and other health professionals, but the level of altruism in the veterinary profession is unknown. We designed a metric conjoint experiment to reveal other-orientation (an individual's caring concern for the wellbeing of others) and self-interest. We draw on the 'Theory of Other-Orientation', which states that individuals' decision-making heuristics can be impacted by their other-orientation independent of their self-interest. In patient-focused contexts, highly other-oriented or altruistic (veterinary) professionals may care too much for others and suffer immediate or cumulative financial and personal costs of such caring. At the same time, other-orientation can enhance job-related attitudes and outcomes, such as job satisfaction. Methods: In a metric conjoint experiment, Australian final-year veterinary, science, nursing, entrepreneurship, and engineering students rated eight job scenarios with orthogonally arranged high and low levels of three job characteristics ( Results: A two-way MANOVA showed other-orientation or self-interest differed per discipline, but not gender. Veterinary (and engineering) respondents were less other-oriented than nursing respondents. Veterinary (and entrepreneurship) respondents were more self-interested than nursing respondents. K-Means cluster analysis confirmed four distinct profile groupings-altruistic/self-sacrificing, 'both other-self', self-interested and selfish-aligning with the discourse in the literature. Human nursing respondents stood out for the most members (50%) in the 'both other-self' profile compared to veterinary respondents (28%). Respondents of one of three veterinary schools stood out for the most members (19%) in the altruistic/self-sacrificing group. Discussion: Our metric conjoint experiment illustrates an alternative to 'self-report' items with Likert-scaled responses. Our finding of the 'both other-self' group adds to the literature, which considers that other-orientation and self-interest are separate constructs that are difficult to co-exist in individuals. This mix of traits is deemed helpful by organizational psychology scholars, for sustainability and wellbeing, especially for healthcare professionals involved in high-frequency and intense, patient-focused interactions. Our findings highlight the need for more research on the potential role of other-orientation and self-interest in veterinary school admissions processes, the hidden or taught curricula, job-related attitudes and beliefs, and wellbeing and professional sustainability in the veterinary sector.

Indexed as

altruismcluster analysisempathymetric conjoint analysisother-orientationprosocial motivationself-interestveterinary education

Identifiers

PMID37089402
PMCPMC10113617
OpenAlexW4362639175

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.