When authenticity matters most: Physicians’ regulation of emotional display and patient satisfaction

Objective The emotions expressed by physicians in medical encounters have significant impact on health outcomes and patient satisfaction. This study explored how physicians’ regulation of displayed emotions affects patients’ satisfaction, under low and high levels of patient distress and length of physician-patient acquaintance. Methods Questionnaires were administered to 46 physicians and 230 of their patients (before and after the medical encounter) in outpatient clinics of two hospitals. Results Data were analyzed with hierarchical linear modeling which takes the nested data structure into account. We found a significant interaction effect of physician regulation of displayed emotions and patient distress on satisfaction: When distress was high, physician regulation of emotions was negatively related to patient satisfaction. The results also show a significant interaction effect of physician regulation of displayed emotions and length of physician-patient acquaintance: With a longer acquaintance, physician regulation of emotions was negatively related to patient satisfaction. Conclusion The effect of the physicians’ emotional display on patient satisfaction depends on contextual factors, such as patient distress and length of physician–patient acquaintance, which affect patients’ emotional needs and expectations. Practical implications When patients have high emotional involvement in the encounter it is suggested that physicians consider presenting genuine emotions to patients.