Rationality outperforms emotionality in building trust in doctor-patient interaction: a mixed-method approach

The trust-related issue has attracted considerable attention, and prior studies found that trust can be established through various linguistic strategies. Nevertheless, the specific strategies for building trust remain insufficiently clarified, and their relative effectiveness is still underexplored. As such, this paper aims to explore different linguistic strategies for fostering trust and their effectiveness within doctor-patient interaction discourses. The study identifies two primary types of trust-building linguistic strategies: rational strategies and emotional strategies. Rational strategies refer to instances where doctors aim to maximise patients' benefits while minimising potential risks, whereas emotional strategies involve doctors seeking to enhance patients' positive emotions and alleviate negative ones. A subsequent experimental study corroborates these findings, demonstrating that rational strategies tend to exert a stronger influence than emotional strategies in doctor-patient interactions. The findings of this study hold both theoretical and practical significance, as they advance our understanding of trust-building mechanisms and offer insights for improving doctor-patient relationships.