When your doctor “gets it” and “gets you”: the critical role of competence and warmth in the patient–provider interaction

Published in: Frontiers in Psychiatry - July 2019

Written by

Lauren Howe, Kari Leibowitz and Alia Crum

Summary

What we found: The placebo effect is a powerful way to heal many conditions. We show that not only competence, but also socio-emotional skills increase the placebo effect in patient-doctor relationships.

Why it matters: Organizations invest a lot of resources in expanding employees’ competence but much less on promoting socio-emotional skills. We show that what matters is not only how much you know, but also how you interact with people.

What next: Understanding the power of socio-emotional skills for building and maintaining meaningful and long-lasting relationships is key for any organization. Promoting also employees’ socio-emotional skills could help organizations in establishing trustworthy relationships.