Asymmetry and mitigation in Chinese medical interviews

Discourse analysis was used to examine audio recordings of doctor-patient i nterviews in a clinic in Suzhou, China. A fundamental asymmetry was discove red in the ways doctors and patients carried out their conversations. Seque ncing, topic development, and diagnostic information revealed this asymmetr y. The asymmetry allowed doctors to control the interviews and kept patient s more passive. But the doctors also employed mitigation strategies like ph atic openings, small talk, and the negotiation of instructions as ways of l essening the relational impact of their dominance. Asymmetry may be accepta ble in communication if it is mitigated appropriately.