Respect for a young male with and without a hearing aid: a reversal of the "hearing-aid effect" in medical and non-medical students?
OBJECTIVE
To investigate, in line with the "hearing-aid effect", whether medical students would have less respect for a young male with a hearing aid than without when he was described as either respectworthy (i.e. as deserving respect) or non-respectworthy, and whether their attitudes differed from non-medical students. The interaction between the presence/absence of a hearing aid and respectworthiness on respect level was also explored.


METHODS
Participants were shown a photograph and a written description of a young male. They were pseudo-randomly assigned to one of four core conditions reflecting the presence or absence of a hearing aid and the young man's respectworthiness, and completed questions regarding their behaviours, beliefs, and feelings of respect towards him.


METHODS
One hundred and eighty-one medical students and a control group of 92 non-medical students.


RESULTS
Results showed more respect for the young male with a hearing aid than without from female participants, and for the young male described as respectworthy compared to non-respectworthy in medical and in non-medical students. However, medical students had more respect for the young male with and without a hearing aid than non-medical students.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings were contrary to the "hearing-aid effect". Possible explanations are given and implications are discussed.
Centre for Hearing and Balance Studies, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. c.clucas@chester.ac.uk
Claudine
C
Clucas
Jaya
J
Karira
Lindsay St
LS
Claire
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D006310:Hearing Aids / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D055815:Young Adult