Media and Legal Influences on Decision-Making

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How does culture influence decision making? Specifically, this research examines the role that culture plays in whether and how people come to think of medical problems as legal problems. Uncovering how media and the civic and legal social climate influence what people think and what they do when it comes to law not only helps explain the role of these types of culture in shaping people's decisions, but also helps practitioners and activists understand how when the media can encourage citizens to mobilize their rights. Additionally, the study contributes to understanding how legal resources may be translated into health advantages. One crucial resource that is often overlooked by medical sociologists is legal assistance. Under what conditions do families turn to law to help remedy a child's medical problems? Findings may encourage medical sociologists to more routinely consider law as an additional kind of resource that families mobilize for health.In each of four cities selected to reflect distinctive characteristics, the PI will interview 25 families of children who have experienced the same serious, but often preventable , medical injury (Erb's Palsy, a brachial plexus birth injury) about their decisions whether or not to pursue legal action against their doctor. The four cities vary in terms of overall civic climate and extent of exposure to recent media activities surrounding tort reform initiatives. The possible influence of such media is unclear, especially because the messages surrounding different interests in tort reform initiatives are in tension with one another. A message that plaintiffs are "greedy" and "ruining the system for everyone" could make people more reluctant to sue, while a message that "plaintiffs usually win large amounts" may increase people's likelihood of suing. Moreover, these messages may play out differently or have more or less salience in cities with different social characteristics. The expectation is that individuals' decisions are shaped by their social contexts and the unique combinations of civic, legal, and media climates.