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Causal inference and the drive for causal coherence in clinicians' diagnoses, judgments, and memory

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Keynote lecture as part of the Workshop on Clinical Decision-Making, supported by the Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition

 

Abstract:

Drawing causal inferences to help make sense of the world begins early in life (Gopnik & Meltzoff, 1997), is reinforced by positive affect (Lombrozo, 2006), and has been argued to constitute a fundamental motivational drive (Gopnik, 2000). Accordingly, studies have shown that mental health clinicians mentally represent disorders and client cases as causal models, which predict their thinking in a variety of ways (de Kwaadsteniet, Hagmayer, Krol, & Witteman, 2010; de Kwaadsteniet & Hagmayer, 2018; Flores, Cobos, López, Godoy, & González-Martín, 2014; Kim & Ahn, 2002; Kim, Paulus, Gonzalez, & Khalife, 2012). Furthermore, this appears to be the case even when clinicians’ causal models are idiosyncratic and/or do not necessarily align with official disorder nosologies.

In keeping with this general body of work, I will discuss some recent research further suggesting that the causal inferences clinicians draw can be predicted by the framing of symptoms, and that clinicians’ drive for causal coherence may systematically influence their diagnoses, judgments, and memory for client cases (e.g., Kim, Ahn, Johnson, & Knobe, 2016; Kim, Johnson, Ahn, & Knobe, 2017; Weine & Kim, 2018; Weine & Kim, in press). I will first present recent research indicating that the mere framing of disorder symptoms influences expert clinicians’ inferences about the causes of those symptoms, as well as their judgments about treatment effectiveness. Then, I will present work examining how the causal coherence of client cases influences expert and trainee clinicians’ open-ended diagnoses and other clinically relevant judgments. Finally, I will present an investigation of false recognition demonstrating that expert and trainee clinicians tend to misremember client cases as having been more causally coherent than they actually were. Potential future research directions and practical implications for these findings will be discussed.

Referent

Nancy Kim (Northeastern University Boston)

Journey Description

Map

E - Main Entrance/Reception
1 - Managing Board; sections: Infection Biology Unit, Unit of Infection Models, Laboratory Animal Science Unit, Primate Genetics Laboratory, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, Neurobiology Laboratory, Research Coordination, Public Relations, Information Technology, Administration, Technical Support, Library.
2 - Material Delivery/Purchase
3 - Platform Degenerative Diseases
4 - Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory
5 - Animal Husbandry
6 - Imaging Center, Functional Imaging Laboratory


Arrival by car

Leave the interstate A7 at exit "Göttingen Nord". Follow the B27 straight ahead in the direction of "Braunlage". After the third traffic light intersection turn right towards "Kliniken". Afterwards turn left onto "Robert-Koch-Straße" direction "Universität Nordbereich/Polizei". At the end of "Robert-Koch-Straße" turn right onto "Otto-Hahn-Straße", direction "Nikolausberg". The first street on the left turn onto "Kellnerweg", follow the signs "Deutsches Primatenzentrum".


Arrival by bus

The footpath from the bus stop "Kellnerweg" to the Main Entrance/Reception: 
From Bus stop "Kellnerweg" (line 21/22 and 23) Cross the road, go in the direction of the bus. At the mailbox, turn left into the footpath and proceed to the end. Turn right into the Kellnerweg. The main entrance of the DPZ is on the left side.

Date and Time 17.05.18 - 14:30 - 15:30 Signup is not required

Location Lecture Hall 1.140
Georg-Elias-Müller-Institut für Psychologie
Goßlerstraße 14
37073 Göttingen

Organiser

Workshop Clinical Decision-Making

York Hagmayer (University of Göttingen) and Johannes Hauswald (Universitätsmedizin Göttingen)

Contact York Hagmayer
Georg-Elias-Müller-Institute for Psychology
Cognition and Decision Making
Goßlerstraße 14
37077 Göttingen
york.hagmayer@bio.uni-goettingen.de
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