Table 2 Categories of claimants reported by physicians which form the basis for stereotypes and their characteristics

Active coping with disabilities

- Remain active

- Problem-solving ability

- Take responsibility

- Take control of their lives

- Have adequate introspection

- Search for opportunities to continue working or return to work

- Think in possibilities

- Justify the claims

- Possible serious disabilities

Motivated behaviour during interview

- Open

- Honest

- Straightforward

- Willing to co-operate

- Claim the disabilities they really have

- Accept physician's conclusions

Clear physical diagnosis

- Unambiguous physical disability

- Easily understandable disability

Common claimant with 'average' behaviour

- "Just normal claimants"

- Rather relaxed

- Say things the way they are

Anxiousness

- Tense before interview

- Tense during interview

- Lack self-confidence

- Insecure

- Dependent

- Uncommunicative

Passive coping with disabilities

- Negative or passive attitude

- Lack motivation

- External locus of control with regard to coping with their disabilities and continuing work or returning to work

- See problems everywhere

- Focus on what they can not do

- Stress the negative

- Suffer from their disabilities

- Do not want to work

- Feel that they are a victim

- Possibly the result of a different cultural background

Communication difficulties (practical limitations)

- Hearing problems

- Difficulties with speaking and understanding Dutch

- Low level of intelligence

- Intellectual disabilities

Mental or unclear diagnosis

- Psychiatric disorders

- Personality disorders

- Non-specific disorders

- Disorders that are difficult to objectify and have an unclear cause (e.g. somatisation, chronic fatigue)

- Claim many different disabilities and medical complaints

- Inconsistent disabilities

- Physical claim, but mental disabilities

Unmotivated behaviour during interview

- Uncommunicative

- Elusive

- Silent

- Passive and uninformed

- Dependent

- Claim many disabilities

- Unwilling to co-operate

- Do not say anything spontaneously

Hostile

- Look for confrontations

- Intimidating

- Threatening

- Aggressive (verbally or physically)

- Put physician in inferior position

- Dominate interview (verbally or physically)

- Might "explode" when disagreeing

Deceitful/unreliable

- Deliberately deceitful

- Unreliable

- Stubborn

- Invent disabilities

- Have a hidden agenda

- Manipulate

- Give contradictory and inconsistent information

- Might also be "too nice"

Excessive and unnecessary information

- Give an overload of information

- Keep talking (physician does not get a chance to intervene)

- Autonomous

- Elaborate

- Pay a lot of attention to relevant as well as irrelevant details

- Immediately place all their points on the agenda

- Keep changing the subject

- Need structure

- May exaggerate disability claim in order to justify it