Apology in cases of medical error disclosure: Thoughts based on a preliminary study.

This study highlights how the act of apology can be seen as a "language act" as described by philosophers Austin and Searle, and how it functions as a technique for making amends following a wrongdoing and as an action undertaken in order that neither party should lose face, thus echoing the sociologist Goffmann's interaction theory. This interpretation also accords with the views of Lazare, for whom the function of apology is a restoration of dignity after the humiliation of the error. This approach to the apology illustrates how meaning and impact of real-life language acts can be clarified by philosophical and sociological ideas.