"The most dramatic effect of Tarasoff can be seen exactly where one would expect it: in increased willingness to notify potential victims, public authorities, and police. Those who feel legally bound have become more willing since Tarasoff to employ warning interventions than those who believe themselves only ethically bound, and clearly more willing than those who don't consider themselves bound by Tarasoff at all.

Tarasoff also appears to have influenced willingness to take notes, and to initiate involuntary hospitalization. Here, however, the ethically bound psychiatrists prove slightly more willing than those legally bound, although the differences are neither great nor entirely consistent. These findings provide support for the view that Tarasoff may encourage efforts to document patient treatment and some slight support for the claim that Tarasoff will lead to an increased use of involuntary commitment. Such conclusions must be viewed with caution: these findings could reflect general changes in views over time regarding the treatment of the potentially dangerous patient. It is also possible that changes in therapeutic practice reflect differences in the patient populations seen by our respondents." [Daniel J. Givelbe, William J. Bowers and Carolyn L. Blitch, "Tarasoff, Myth And Reality: an Empirical Study of Private Law in Action," 1984 Wis. L. Rev. 443, 476-478].