Trust, trait theory, and collaboration in telemedicine: a circumplex perspective

Abstract

More than a process-automating tool, telemedicine is increasingly recognized for its ability to facilitate collaboration and knowledge creation between disparate healthcare providers. As trust is being demonstrated to affect positively the collaborative effort of practitioners and the concomitant, as well as subsequent impact on quality of health care delivery, the questions arise, What are the interpersonal traits of practitioners that contribute to a constructive and continuing telemedicine-centered collaboration? Furthermore, how do these interpersonal traits translate into specific types of interactions that maximize telecollaboration? These questions are especially germane as much telemedicine equipment remains underutilized, and administrators concern themselves with sustainability. Previous work has largely centered on relational variables affecting trust in collaboration, such as competence, reputation, and trustworthiness, but has neglected the personal characteristics that might impact participants' proclivity to collaborate and trust. This paper introduces the circumplex model as a framework for understanding the development of trust in collaborative telemedicine. The circumplex posits that interpersonal interaction can be explained along the two dimensions of power and affiliation. Sixteen personality traits may be arrayed in a circular or clockwise fashion around the psychological axis of Dominance and Nurturance. Recent causal modeling studies - of the relational relationships between the dimensions of the circumplex theory of interpersonal interaction and measures of interpersonal trust - have found that the circumplex dimensions of Dominance and Nurturance are sign positive predictors of interpersonal trust. Understanding these interpersonal characteristics of individuals may help address the constraints impeding telemedicine usage.