1. the influence of a patient’s personal characteristics (e.g. age, gender, race, class) on the type and finality of treatment provided to him or her. 2. a practitioner’s or researcher’s unrealistically positive or negative attitude toward a particular type of intervention strategy. 3. an overly favorable view held by healthcare consumers toward providers (e.g., physicians) who offer more treatment options even though their benefits may be equivocal.