A naturalistic investigation of compliance‐gaining strategies employed by doctors in medical interviews

The main purpose of the present investigation was to identify actual compliance‐gaining strategies used by doctors while interacting with patients. Five doctors were observed while interacting with 105 patients in two medical care facilities. Findings of the present naturalistic investigation suggest that the traditional Marwell and Schmitt typology (1967) is not entirely appropriate for studying compliance‐gaining strategies between doctors and patients. Further, through content analysis, three additional compliance‐gaining strategies were identified: legitimacy, intermediaries, and procrastination. Doctors’ range of strategies were primarily limited to three techniques. Positive expertise, legitimacy, and liking accounted for 83.55 % of all attempts employed by doctors. Future directions for compliance‐gaining research in the field of health communication are discussed.