Asymmetry and Mitigation in Chinese Medical Interviews

Abstract

Discourse analysis was used to examine audio recordings of doctor-patient interviews in a clinic in Suzhou, China. A fundamental asymmetry was discovered in the ways doctors and patients carried out their conversations. Sequencing, topic development, and diagnostic information revealed this asymmetry. The asymmetry allowed doctors to control the interviews and kept patients more passive. But the doctors also employed mitigation strategies like phatic openings, small talk, and the negotiation of instructions as ways of lessening the relational impact of their dominance. Asymmetry may be acceptable in communication if it is mitigated appropriately.