My Resistance To Flossing Properly: The
Effects of
Self-Regulating Behavior Towards the Resistance to Flossing
Properly
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION
a) Why Flossing?
b) Background of Why I resist flossing
c) Content of Paper
II. EXPLANATION OF THE DATA GATHERED
a) Intervention Period
b) Purpose of Table and Graphs
III. DATA GATHERED: Flossing without Intervention
IV. DATA GATHERED: Flossing with Intervention
V. TABLE OF RATINGS
VI. GRAPHS
VII. DISCUSSION: Modifying my Behavior
a) Setting Goals
b) Reason of Resistance
VIII. LIBRARY RESEARCH EXPERIENCES
a) Valuable Information or the Library
b) Map of the Library
CONCLUSION
AFTER THOUGHTS
GLOSSARY OF CONCEPTS
REFERENCES WITH ANNOTATIONS
INTRODUCTION
Life for many of us is a constant struggle whereby we are unaware of the events
that happen to us in our everyday lives. We go through a day without knowing
what we have done or who we have talked to. We simply neglect our thoughts and
feelings towards certain behaviors that are projected towards certain events or
stimuli. However, we, the students in Social Psychology, an attempt to
understand how thoughts, feelings, and behavior of individuals are influenced
by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others, (Allport, 1968) are
fortunate to be able to examine one of our behaviors which deal with our
resistance to do certain things. We are expected to concentrate on our behavior
towards the resistance of either flossing or driving properly and how is it
affecting us in our way of modifying our behaviors.
WHY FLOSSING?
Probably, one might ask, why flossing instead of driving,? Well, I thought
that flossing is more of an advantage for me because I have not flossed my
teeth for quite a while. One prominent thing that convinced me to choose the
topic is that there were times when I did not want to floss; while there were
times when I just had the urges of flossing my teeth. In this project, I
thought, I would be able to find what are the main reasons of my resistance.
Consequently, I want to have the consistency in flossing my teeth to improve my
dental hygiene. Consistency is the degree to which a person has acted in a
similar way in the past ( Watson, deBortali-Tregert, and Frank, 1984).
BACKGROUND OF WHY I RESIST FLOSSING
The simple factor of why I resist flossing is that I have not had someone in
the family modeling- the behavior of flossing. Therefore, I have not come to
appreciate flossing my teeth. Modeling is learning by observing others perform
some behavior and then imitating them (1984). My family members hardly floss
their teeth and still have good teeth. Therefore, when my dentist advised me to
floss, I had the attitude of why should I floss; my brothers and sisters do not
floss their teeth and still have good teeth. Also, I sometimes do not floss
because I do not have the time for it and that I was not aware of the
consequences of not flossing properly. Lastly, I hardly floss because I have no
motivations and are not informed well of how to floss properly.
CONTENT OF PAPER
Since the paper is to find out why I resisted flossing, according to Dr.
Jakobovits, I needed to observe my affective, which is my feelings, my
cognitive, which is my thoughts, and my sensory motor, which is my sensations,
behaviors before, during and after flossing. By knowing the things in my mind
and thoughts, I was able to "define the problem by asking myself the "why's"
and "where's" questions" (Mahoney, 1979). Consequently, I have theorized that
my resistance to flossing properly is caused by lack of self-regulating
behaviors which have been influenced by many factors. Self-regulating means
"control not only over overt behaviors that can be associated with an emotion,
but of the entire organized state under the emotion construct" (Bernard, 1974).
Therefore, in modifying my behavior I will be using the two data which I have
gathered for at least two weeks. I will be discussing my level of my
self-regulating behaviors through motivation, resistance, effectiveness, and
pleasantness during the intervention period. There will be graphs along with a
data table to demonstrate the progress of my behavior towards self-regulation
to flossing properly. Finally, I will include how did I go about modifying my
behavior through intervention of the findings from the library research.
EXPLANATION OF THE DATA GATHERED
For this paper, I have taken two sets of data. The data I have gathered are
merely observations of myself flossing: one without the intervention of what I
have researched on and the second is during the intervention period whereby I
incorporated what I have gained from the library research into my flossing
behavior.
In the first part of flossing, I have gone through and internalization process
whereby I have incorporated my teacher's value of taking care of oneself.
Internalization involves one's behavior in a certain way because he has
incorporated other's beliefs in his own system of values"(1984). Through
internalization, I have become motivated to floss. The data that I have
gathered during the period "flossing without intervention," I have wrote down
my affective, cognitive, and sensory motor behaviors. The data are just plain
observations of how much I resisted flossing without self-regulation
behaviors.
INTERVENTION PERIOD
However, in the second part of the data gathered, I have implemented the
concepts that I have gained from my library research. Before I began to floss,
I have studied the process of how to floss properly. According to Anne Krueyer,
the first step to take into flossing my teeth is to saw the floss between my
teeth and moving to an unsoiled area. Also, at the gumline curve the floss into
a-C-shape against one tooth and slide it into the space between the gum and
tooth. Finally, she says that hold the floss tightly and scrape the side of the
tooth away from the gums" (1986).
In this observation, I have become more sophisticated for the fact that I have
rated my behaviors. They are levels of motivation, resistance, effectiveness,
and pleasantness. I have used numbers to represent the levels of my behaviors
towards flossing properly. Moreover, I have used negative numbers as negative
behavior towards flossing while I used positive numbers as progressing or good
behavior towards flossing properly. For instance, the number that I have used
for motivation runs from -10 to +10. The -10 represents my behavior of no
motivation at all while zero represents a little of both: not having motivation
and having motivation. Finally, +10 is the ultimate number that represents my
behavior of having the motivation without anything forced on me. It's just a
feeling of wanting to do it. Moreover, the ratings that I have used on the
remaining behaviors can be similarly interpreted as the way my motivation
behavior is interpreted.
PURPOSE OF TABLE AND GRAPHS
The table and graphs are there to guide those who will look at my paper
concerning the final product of my intervention period. It can be easily
interpreted that as the line moves up across the graph, it means that my
behaviors of motivation, non-resistance, effectiveness, and pleasantness
towards flossing have progressed for the past five days of intervention period.
The numbers in these graphs are taken from the raw data of rating during
intervention. One thing that I did not expect to appear in the graphs is the
dropping of my motivation level from +3 to +2 during the period of November 6
and 7. However; the change of my motivation is of no significance because
according to Watson and Tharp, the cause it is that flossing with intervention
has "not been practiced enough" (1972). Therefore, in the future, knowing this
fact, I will anticipate in the rise of my motivation level towards flossing
properly due to
practice.
DATA: FLOSSING WITH INTERVENTION
( At Night)
November 3, 1987
No one in the house. I am eager to find the toothbrush and floss. Today,
receiving social influence from my Psychology 250 professor, I was motivated to
floss my teeth tonight. Social influence can be
understood as any of the things that a person can do to change the attitude,
behavior, and feelings of another (1984). Moreover, because of the fact that
social forces are reduced, I had an easier time flossing my teeth properly.
Affective, Cognitive, & Sensory Motor
I'll watch first and then I'll floss my teeth later. However, I was eager to
floss after having set a goal of having good dental hygiene.
Well it's time for me to floss.
I was very aware of what was going on. I made sure that my teeth were cleaned
properly. I have had the self-efficacy, a personal judgment about one's ability
to cope with various events; efficacy, the effectiveness, having the power to
produce a desired effect, (1984) because I was pleased to see my teeth sparkle
and my mouth feels clean.
My mouth hurts.
November 4, 1987
Before flossing my teeth, I was in an introspection situation, the act of
reflecting one's self and examining one's motives and behavior because I had to
floss my teeth. Tonight, is as an extraordinary night because I did the things
that were "fogging" my mind first, so that when I floss my teeth, I want to be
attentive to my behavior during flossing. Whenever, I brushed my teeth, I have
a conditioned
response. Therefore, after several pairings of brushing my teeth with flossing,
I tend to elicit a positive response towards flossing because I seem to like to
brush my teeth now.
Affective, Cognitive & Sensory Motor
While I was flossing, I was motivated to see the outcome of flossing my teeth,
sparkle.
I had less resistance to flossing tonight because I have a goal to reach.
My mouth hurts a little but it's worth it.
I was effective because I tried implementing how to floss properly. Oh! Boy did
it take long, but my
rnouth feels clean.
November 5, 1987
My sister is calling me, tempted to get away from flossing, but I managed to
floss first, then helped my sister. In coping, the way people attempt to deal
with stress (1984), with this situation, I thought of my goal which is to have
a good dental hygiene. Also, starting to deal with my resistance to flossing
properly will help me to finish up my paper and to begin to take good care of
my teeth. Tonight, doing my flossing has not caused me any anxiety, severe
nervousness, tension, and apprehension (1984), unlike the prior nights of
several weeks ago in which I was immobilized by the thought of flossing.
Affective, Cognitive & Sensory Motor
I had the urge to do it because my mouth felt dirty. I was looking forward to
it.
I'm tired but I am alive to floss my teeth tonight
I thought of my flossing as very effective for I was aware of what was going on
and I made sure that
the floss was forming a C-shape in between my teeth and took at least 5 seconds
for every teeth.
My mouth still hurts but the thought of my mouth being clean is pleasant for
me.
November 6, 1987
I'm tired but I can't put myself to sleep unless I floss my teeth. Tonight, the
prominent concept that had come up in my mind is symbolic interactionism
because I was thinking- of the people that I will meet as well as my friends
complimenting me of having such healthy and beautiful set of teeth. Symbolic
interactionism is that people imagine symbolically how they appear to others
and then guide their behavior to fit that imagined appearance (1984).
Affective, Cognitive, & Sensory Motor
Being able to do a part of my paper tonight was my motivation to floss.
I had a little of resistance because I was tired but thinking of my teeth being
invaded by plague, I had convinced myself to have non-resistance.
I am quite sure that it was effective because I made sure that the floss had
passed and sawed every teeth and that they sparkle. No more food particles.
My mouth still hurts but thinking that my teeth and mouth are clean, I have a
pleasant feeling which will put me to sleep tonight.
November 7, 1987
Boy am I sleepy. Oh I hear my father calling me to play cards with him. But I
must floss first. Thank God, I have the self-control to be able to overcome the
temptation of playing cards. If I played, then, I would have not had the time
to floss my teeth because I would have gone directly to bed. Tonight was
another interesting night, because I became a model for my sister of flossing
her teeth. Now each night, I have become interested in flossing.
Affective, Cognitive & & Sensory Motor
I had the urge to floss my teeth early this morning but I wanted to floss my
teeth tonight.
Boy am I sleepy. I want to go to sleep-Nah I want to floss first.
Very cautious. Take a long time to finish all, the in between my teeth has been
flossed. I made sure that the dental floss shaped like a C and pulled it back
and forth.
I have a pleasant feeling towards my accomplishment. I have once again flossed
my teeth without a problem.
DISCUSSION: Modifying My Behavior
As it is shown in the data gathered during the intervention, one might question
the phenomenon of the remarkable change in my behavior towards flossing
properly. In order for me to have had the change taking place, I have gone
through a process of behavior modification through self-regulation. Behavior
modification can be understood as "treatment approach to psychological problems
that emphasizes
the role of a person's learning history and current behavior in the causation
and maintenance of his or her problems" (1984).
Behavior modification has been possible for me through the incorporation of new
information from lectures, journals, and books in my behavior towards flossing
properly. The first step that I have taken was to set my schema into action
whereby feeding it with new information that deals with modifying my behavior.
Schema is "a general knowledge structure in understanding and serves to filter
and organize incoming information into an integrated meaningful framework"
(Mayer, 1983). After I have set my mind to modifying my behavior, I needed to
convince myself that I must willingly accept the hardships that are involve in
this process of behavior modification as well as being committed to what I must
do. "The nature of one's personal commitment is a significant factor... for no
one is free of pain.. " ( Gardner, 1987).
Since changing a behavior or a habit is not an easy task to do, I will
anticipate the need for adjustment. Adjustment is define as " the ability to
balance the demand" (Brennecke and Amick, 1971) of the new task that must be
undertaken. Therefore, I must be able to endure the pain that will be required
of me to change my behavior of resistance to flossing properly.
SETTING GOALS
Moreover, since my resistance comes from learning through the environment, I
have tried to produce new learning for myself in specific situations(1972)
particularly in flossing properly. In order for me to have produced new
learning situations having to set short-term and long-term goals was
important(l979). The purpose of short-term goals was to keep me "motivated to
reach my long-term goal" and that the results can be immediately obtained
(1979). Because this is so, short-term goals help me to reach my goal of having
the consistency to floss properly, thus, having good dental hygiene. My
short-term goals were reinforcements that I have received each time I flossed
my teeth properly. Some of the reinforcements that I have used are: being able
to watch television after flossing; having the pleasant feeling of a clean
mouth and teeth; and having my mind put at rest because if I did not floss, my
mind will always be on flossing.
REASON OF RESISTANCE
Because the ultimate reason why I resist flossing is through the lack of
self-regulation, I have learned to control myself whenever a better offer was
in competition to flossing properly. I have learned to control myself through
"direct control of my emotions which is focused on ways of reducing the motor
reactions that are part of the stress emotion generated by troubled
environment" (1974). In other words, I needed to floss my teeth properly more,
so that I will eventually become immune to flossing properly and that no matter
what the environment might offer, the stress of flossing properly will be
reduced. Lastly, I needed motivation to just floss, having this sentence, "
you only have one set of permanent teeth, and they are meant to last a
lifetime" (Senz, 1987), has made me think twice because what one set of teeth
that is better than mine, none! Therefore, I am more motivated towards taking
care of my teeth now and what better way to care for it is to floss
LIBRARY RESEARCH EXPERIENCES
The moment Psychology 250 was dismissed, a week after school has started, my
mind went crazy because one of the requirements for this class was to be able
to use the library and its resources. Boy was I nervous because I did not know
my way through Hamilton Library where most of the materials that are needed
for the paper are located. After class, I dragged one of my friends from that
class to take a trip to the library and directly went to the Psychological
Abstract. Here, I did not find anything that was relevant to the topics of
research that were given to us. Moreover somewhat the trip was a waste of time
because I had the least of idea what kind of information to look for because I
had not thought about any specific topics that were related to either the
resistance of flossing or driving. I just had a broad idea which unfortunately
did not help. However, taking- the trip to the library has opened a part of me
which is the part of me that hated going to Hamilton Library. I felt good after
going to the library because I felt that at least I tried. After this incident,
I was constantly thinking of what topics to look for and then go to the
library.
VALUABLE INFORMATION OF THE LIBRARY
Maybe a couple or several weeks have past, a speaker came to our class to talk
about the use of the library and how to utilize the machines to search for the
materials that were needed. Boy! Was I glad to have had the opportunity to
listen to the speaker about -the library. For me, this talk was very invaluable
one because I was able to learn which machines that can be used to search for
journals and which one is for the books. I have found that INFO-TRAC is mainly
used for locating journals while the On-line Catalog is used for books. In
addition, I have found out that the On-line Catalog has two ways of searching
information: 1) to "Browse Search" which is to browse through either tittles,
subjects, or authors and must be in the correct order. 2) "Key Searching is
also involved in searching for either the title, subject, or the author, but
does not necessarily follow a certain order. Having gained these knowledge, I
have invited two of my friends to join me make a fool of ourselves, trying out
the information that were given to us. We have learned to use the INFO-TRAC and
the On-line Catalog,. With to these machines, we were able to locate our
materials for the paper.
MAP OF THE LIBRARY
Another important information that the speaker has given us was giving us the
map of the library particularly Hamilton Library. It consisted of the different
floors and what kinds of information belonged there. This was very helpful
because we cannot afford to waste our time looking for our resources
in the wrong floors. After going through these troubles, we just had to look
for our material and tried to select the ones that were relevant to our papers.
I would lilke to close this portion of the paper to include the person who
really gave me the motivation to start. The concern of Dr. Jakobovits towards
our paper has helped rne to go to the library early.
CONCLUSION
Having gone through the process of behavior modification has been a very
enriching experience. As a result of it, I believe that I will continue to
floss properly and that the experience that I have gone through will further on
my self-awareness towards the caring of myself. Also, having been exposed to
many types of information concerning behavior modification, I feel that these
information will be of great value for me in the future if I will need to
modify a habit or a behavior that will not enhance my well being. What I have
learned very much from this paper is that for a person to tackle or change a
behavior, he needs to have an-open mind and be able to have self-control
towards his own behaviors. Lastly, I strongly believe that I have really tackle
my problem of resistance to flossing properly by making rules for myself and
following them as closely as I can.
AFTER THOUGHTS
Going through the trouble of doing this paper was worth it because I have
learned a lot in the process. My experiences were full of new information which
I would have not touched upon if I have not taken this class. Now I am able to
use the library, Hamilton and Sinclair, with competence. One thing that I can
advise those who will have to use the library is to find out what the library
offers and what is it all about. Try to overcome the fears o-E going in there
because there are many valuable information that may or will be useful to
someday change your lives. Besides using the library, if you happen to have a
research paper, have a topic ready and start looking for your books early
because there are a lot of students in competition with you. If you wan-t -to
have a good paper work hard at it and have the best books, not the books that
were leftovers from the choices of other people. Be smart and get into the
motion of doing your paper. Get the best out of what you learn, don't wait till
the last minute because when you will get the "hang" of doing the paper and
looking for your resources, you'll regret that you did not start early.
GLOSSARY OF CONCEPTS
AFFECTIVE BEHAVIOR- Feelings and motives. (2)
ANXIETY- Severe nervousness, tension, and apprehension.(12)
ATTRIBUTION- An inference that a person makes why an event
occurs or about a person's disposition.(7)
AVERSIVE CONDITION- One wanting to avoid because it is
unpleasant or noxious.(7)
BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION- Treatment approach to psychological
problems that emphasizes the role of a person's learning
history and current behavior in the causation and
maintenance of his or her problem.(18)
COGNITIVE BEHAVIOR- Thoughts and reflections.(2)
CONDITIONED RESPONSE- A response after having been exposed to
a stimulus whereby it is paired with another stimulus
that elicits an unconditioned response. (8)
CONSISTENCY- The degree to which a person has acted in a
similar way in the past. (2)
COPING- The way people deal with stress.(12)
EFFICACY- The effectiveness, having the power to produce
a desired effect. (10)
INTROSPECTION- The act of one's self and examining one's motives
and behavior. (11)
INTERNALIZATION- It involves one's behavior in a certain way
because he has incorporated other's beliefs into his own
system of values.(4)
MODELING- One, learning by observing others perform some
behavior then imitating them. (2)
REINFORCEMENT- Any event that strengthens the probability
that the behavior that led to it will be repeated. (7)
SCHEMA- A general knowledge structure in understanding and
serves to filter an organize incoming information into
an integrated meaningful framework. (18)
continuation
SELF-EFFICACY- It's a personal judgment about one's ability
to cope with various events. (10)
SELF-REGULATING- A control not only over overt behaviors that
call be associated with an emotion, but of the entire
organized state under the emotion construct. (3)
SELF-REGULATORY SKILLS- Skills or habits that permit a person
to control his or her behavior. (9)
SENSORY MOTOR- One's sensations and verbalizations.(2)
SOCIAL FORCES- Forces which consist of gravity, attraction,
and repulsion that are produced by the society that
affect the well being of individuals. (9)
SOCIAL INFLUENCE- Any of the things that a person can do to
change the attitudes, feelings, and behavior of another.(10)
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY- An attempt to understand how thoughts,
feelings, and behavior of individuals are influenced by the
actual, imagined, or implied presence of others.(l)
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM- People imagine symbolically how they
appear to others and then guide their behavior to fit
that imagined appearance. (13)
UNCONDITIONED RESPONSE- A reaction or response before the
process of conditioning.(8)
REFERENCES: With Annotation
1. Allport, G. W. (1968). The Historical Background of Modern
Psychology. In G. Lindzey & E. Aronson Eds., The
Handbook of Social Psychology (2nd ed.) (Vol. 1. ~.1-80).
Ready, MA: Addison-Wesley.
The only thing that came from this source is
the definition of what social psychology is about.
2. Brennecke, John H. & Amick, Robert G. (1971). The Struggle
for Significance. California: Glecoe-Press.
What Brennecke and Amick discusses in this book
that was mainly significant to my paper is his idea
of adjustment towards the demands of the task that is
to be undertaken. They also attempted to create a
universal definition of what adjustment is whereby it
will be understood and agreed upon by all nations.
3. Gardner, John W. (1987). Self-Renewal:Mental Outlook and
Psychological Survival. National Forum: Phi Kappa Phi
Journal, 67, 16.
In his book, Gardner talks about the idea of ~l}
renewal. He noted that if we are willing to learn,
the opportunities are everywhere and that the nature
of one's personal commitment is a significant factor.
Also, He added that tough minded-optimism is best.
4. Krueger, Anne. (1986). Tooth and Consequences. Working
Women, 11, 182.
Krueger, in her journal, she gives some pointers of
how one should floss properly. She also discusses
that brushing can't remove plaque away from between teeth
and under gumline but flossing can.
continuation
5. Mahoney, Michael J. (1979). Self- Change. New York: W. W.
Norton and Company.
Mahoney's book consists of some steps towards
self-change. He says that defining your problem is the
_p to self-change. Also changing your thought
patterns is important and having long-term and short-
term goals are useful.
6. Mayer, Richard E. (1983). Thinking, Problem Solving,
Cognition. San Francisco: W. H. freeman and Company.
Richard presents the idea that setting the schema
to work is a way in understanding the problem because
the schema is used in a wide variety of situations as a
framework for understanding incoming information.
7. Senz, Laurie S. (1987). The Battle in Your Mouth: Gum Disease.
Saturday Evening Post, 259, 78.
Senz discusses how oral diseases are caused as well
as how to prevent them. She says that the proper
brushing and flossing are the basic ways that we use to
prevent the diseases from being processed in the mouth.
She also comments that prevention is the key to controlling gum diseases
8. Watson, David L., deBortali-Tregert, Gail, & Frank, Joyce.
(1984). Social Psychology. United States: Scott,
Foresman, and Company.
This is our Social Psychology textbook whereby
most of the concept that helped me to my way of modifying
my behavior came from.
continuation
9. Watson, David L. & Tharp, Roland G. (1972). Self-Directed
Behavior: Self-Modification for Personal Adjustment.
California: Books/Cole Publishing Company.
Watson and Tharp discuss the role of the
environment as one of the influential factor to our
behavior. Also, they say that we are conditioned
to respond to certain stimuli in the environment
that will guide our behavior towards certain things.
They also include that if one wants to modify
certain behavior he or she must create new
learning in that particular environment.
10. Weiner, Bernard. (1974). Cognitive Views of Human
Motivation. San Francisco: Academic Press, Inc.
Weiner talks about what self-regulating is all
about. Also, he believes that coping is concerned
with the effort by which the person is to deal with
his or her problem(s). He also includes in his book
that direct control of emotion can reduce the
motor reactions that are part of the stress emotion.
*11. Psychology 250 Lectures
From this source, I have used some of the concepts
that Dr. Jakobovits discussed in his lectures
Back to
the Flossing Homepage
Instructor's
Home
Sharla
Supnet's Homepage