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FIGURE 2<br />
The 'duck-rabbit'<br />
the congruence may pass unnoticed (it is appropriate to our subject that<br />
the two animals look to opposite sides).<br />
Thinking along this line, it is not unreasonable to entertain the<br />
possibility that physicians may be guided by extraneous influences when<br />
asked to express an opinion on a doubtful sign or diagnosis. Bias in clinicians<br />
has already been suspected in some specific respects. Sexism is one, in<br />
particular the tendency to regard 'women's troubles' as psychogenic (Lennane<br />
and Lennane, 1973; Kelly, 1973 ). The aptitude to confirm the findings of<br />
seniors is another: Gross (1971) called attention to the ubiquitous occurrence<br />
of the 'Emperor's clothes syndrome' in teaching hospitals and claimed it was<br />
even epidemic in cardiology and neurology departments. A similar readiness<br />
to 'play safe' might bias the interpretation of equivocal results from physical<br />
examination or technical investigations towards more pertinent evidence<br />
from other sources.<br />
Nevertheless, proof of these phenomena is scarce. White eta!. (1969)<br />
demonstrated a powerful influence of suggestion on the reading of echoencephalograms:<br />
the frequency of reported midline shifts decreased<br />
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