Physician stereotypes about female health and illness: a study of patient's sex and the informative process during medical interviews.

Three hundred and thirty-six tape recorded interactions between a stratified random sample of physicians and a sample of their patients are analyzed in order to compare male and female information-seeking behavior in the medical interview and to contrast the response of doctors to male and female requests for information. Some of the underlying attitudes on the part of the physicians that may affect the information-exchange process are discussed.