My Resistance To Flossing: Why I Avoid
Flossing
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD
LIBRARY RESEARCH
INTRODUCTION
Significance
Motivators
PART I
Explanations
Goals
Chart
DATA Part I
DISCUSSION
Alternate Explanations
Analysis of Data
Results
PART II
Graph
DATA-Part II
DISCUSSION-Part II
Analysis
Results
CONCLUSION
GLOSSARY
REFERENCES
FOREWORD
Greetings, fellow Psychology 250 student. I'm taking up space on this page to
give you a few clues as to how to make this paper as painless as possible
(besides, it adds to the required 20, yes 20 pages). You'll be dealing with
many Psychology terms while you're doing this paper. Therefore, it is a good
idea to read the text, and know these terms like the back of your hand (at
least you can write the terms on the back of your hand).
Never, EVER procrastinate!! I can't say this enough. Even now as I type, the
due date for this paper is fast approaching. I'm definitely looking at
(another) all-nighter. Remember, the sooner you start, the less stress you'll
create for yourself. If you put this paper off like I did, you'll create more
stress for yourself. This creates a vicious called the Exacerbation Cycle. (If
you're wondering, Yes this is a Psychology term. I thought I'd just slip it in
there).
Actually, once you can conquer your laziness, this paper can be quite
interesting. You'll learn a lot about yourself. I sure did. I never realized
how incredibly lazy I could be.
It's also a good idea to get feedback about this paper, although my friends
look at me as if I were crazy for wanting to talk about flossing during
lunch.
Oh, I have one more tip for you: All the Psychology terms I used, will be
underlined in this paper, and if you look in the back of the paper, there
should be a glossary of these terms (if I didn't forget to put it in). Anyway I
hope you enjoy this paper, and good luck on your own paper.
LIBRARY RESEARCH
Much of my research came from my browsing through Psychology Journals (located
on the second floor of Hamilton Library). I wouldn't suggest this, unless you
have a lot of time on your hands.(I spent 5 hours there just browsing through
the journals.)
The formal part of the search for information began with the OPAC. I thought
that it would be hard to use, but it was easy, plus there were pamphlets next
to the terminals to help you if you are confused.
Anyway, I typed " BR S=DENTAL HYGIENE". The computer browsed all subject in
this area and all subjects spelled like this. I punched in the number for
Dental Hygiene, and came up with a list of books, which I printed up. The
majority of these books were located in Hamilton, with the call letters being
RK.
Next I punched in "BR S=BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION" and the listing came up. I
punched in the number for Behavior Modification, and came up with a list of
books, mostly in Hamilton, with the call letters BF. When I got to the areas of
the library that housed these books, I also did some browsing and skimming
through books in order to get a better feel for these two subjects.
Like I mentioned before, I just went to the area where they have the
Psychology Journals, and browsed through the articles, to see if there was
anything that I could use. This process was very tedious, and I had to treat
myself to a frozen yogurt afterwards. This was a positive reinforcement.
INTRODUCTION
Significance
I chose this topic for many reasons. I guess that the most important reason
(deciding factor) is that my father is a dentist. I guess that living with a
person who is always expounding the virtues of flossing, is bound to rub off on
a person. It can even get to the point where you dream about dental floss. My
brothers, sister and I are very aware of the risk factors involved with not
flossing. I think that problem stems from the fact that we, on the average,
have very few cavities. We all figured that if we didn't get cavities
(punishment) then, why should we floss? Although, my father modeled good
flossing behavior for us, we all refused to floss, until we started getting
cavities. Before we got any cavities, we all assumed that brushing our teeth
was sufficient. This idea became a part of our health beliefs. Much of the time
we practiced defensive denial, because we didn't get cavities.
Another reason that this paper holds significance for me, is because of a
friend of mine. For years he had been afraid to go to the dentist. I guess he
figured that nothing hurt, so there wasn't anything wrong. Anyway, it turned
out that, although he didn't have cavities, he had some gum disease, and he
teeth were likely to fall out in the twenty years. He was experiencing
defensive denial at this stage. Since I had this paper, I talked to him about
his hygiene habits. I found out that because of his Type A personality, he had
put off going to see the dentist, but once he decided to, he did everything
right away. So, learning about his had teeth was like a negative reinforcement
for me.
Motivators
Actually, there are quite a few. My father is one, although not as significant
as you might think. ~-~e warns us about the evils of not flossing so often,
it's like crying "wolf", My friend with the bad teeth was a great motivator to
floss. I could just picture all my teeth falling out, and no matter how tired I
am, I will always floss.
I suppose you may think that doing this paper is the best motivator for
flossing, but actually, I found that I floss less than I would when I didn't
have to do this paper. I believe that this is an example of the
Overjustification effect. I'll talk more about this in the body of my paper(I
hope).
The last motivator I can think of, is my sister. When she started flossing
regularly due to cavities, I felt a twinge of competition; and decided to floss
more often, although this happened before I was assigned to this paper. I'm
hoping this paper will help me to determine why I avoid flossing, and to try to
find a way to combat that reason.
PART I
Explanations
I have thought up four alternate explanations for my behavior in regards to
flossing.
1) This reaction is a learned response from some previous event in my life.
2) Avoidance is my way of coping with stress caused by my bad teeth.
3) This whole action comes from force of habit.
4) I have no motivation for flossing regularly.
Goals
Actually, my main goal is to try to get a good grade on this paper. I don't
think this goal is wrong, because it will make me want to work just a little
hit harder. The main goal of this experiment, is to try to motivate myself to
floss every day, and even if I don't floss, to try to figure out why I avoided
flossing at that particular time. This is also a good time to learn my
Psychology terms, because if you use them, you'll he able to better able to
remember them.
This paper is using the field experiment, because of the many factors I can't
control, like my moods, and emotions. This whole paper is dealing with behavior
modification, although Part I is used to determine the causes for my behavior,
so that the behavior can be modified to work around the deterrents to my
flossing on a regular basis.
Day 1- I feel very enthusiastic about this paper. I think that if I get a
sufficient head start, then I won't procrastinate as I usually do. The flossing
is kind of painful, I guess because I haven't flossed in a long while. I think
that I'm flossing too hard, because I'm bleeding... My teeth feel very clean. I
don't have that usual fuzzy feeling between my teeth.
Day 2- I am still feeling a bit enthusiastic about this paper, although
flossing is still a chore. My gums aren't bleeding today, although my gums are
a bit swollen from yesterday's trauma. I did get a piece of food out that was
stuck between my teeth.
Day 3- Well, I'm still feeling a bit enthusiastic about this project, but I can
already tell that I'm going to have to try very hard. It took me a while to
work up enough incentive to floss after brushing. The swelling's gone down, but
I'm watching T.V; while flossing, because this whole process is boring.
Day 4- I didn't floss today. I'm feeling very guilty, because I know that this
will lead to some procrastination on my part. I've been thinking about not
flossing, somehow my teeth feel dirtier than if I would have flossed.
Day 5- I didn't floss today, but I'm feeling a little less guilty about it. I'm
promising myself that I will floss tomorrow. It's weird that I can feel the
cavities forming on my teeth.
Day 6- I didn't floss today. I'm starting to worry that I'm not caring whether
I floss or not. I felt like I brushed well enough that I didn't have to
floss.
Day 7- I decided to floss today. I did feel rather guilty, but not enough so to
make feel enthusiastic about flossing. I didn't spent much time flossing. When
I hate to do something, I tend to try to get it over with as soon as
possible.
Day 8- I did floss today. I tried to work enough enthusiasm to try to do a good
job, but I don't think I succeeded, although I think I did a good job, because
my teeth feel squeaky clean.
Day 9- I didn't floss today, but I'm not feeling too guilty, because I was so
tired last night that I didn't feel like flossing. I guess I'm just thinking of
a good excuse not to floss.
Day 10- I didn't floss today, but I'm not at all guilty. I had so much homework
that I felt justified not flossing.
Day 11- I decided to floss today. I guess I got a little over enthusiastic,
because my gums hurt fight now. I feel pretty good, because I was able to
motivate myself to floss when I really didn't feel like flossing.
Day 12- I flossed again today. I feel very proud of myself, because I flossed.
I feel like I'm back on track right now. I hope that I can keep it up.
Day 13- I'm very impressed with myself. This is the third day in a row that
I've flossed. Right now, my teeth feel very clean, and my mouth feels very
good.
Day 14- Well, this is the fourth day in a row that I've flossed, but I'm
feeling very lazy, and I'm wishing that I took another psychology class. I feel
like all this data taking is a waste of time.
Day 15- I didn't floss today. I'm torn between guilt, and the fact that I'm too
lazy to want to floss. My teeth feel like they're rotting already, but I don't
care right now.
DISCUSSION-PART I
Alternate Explanations
In regards to my first hypothesis (pg. 5), I think that I'm able to eliminate
this from my choices for alternate
explanations. I've never had a bad experience with dentists,to the best of my
knowledge. My fear could also be lessened because of the fact that I see my
father every day, so the threatening image of dentists is destroyed by the
image of a loving father. I also believe that if I had any previous adverse
feelings about dental hygiene, this would also affect my brushing behavior too,
which it didn't (Weinstein, Getz, 1985).
My second hypothesis is also expendable. Although this experiment caused me a
lot of stress, I don't think that I avoid taking care of my teeth. If I were
really all that stressed, I would avoid brushing my teeth also.(Weinstein, Getz
1985).
My third hypothesis, is a possibility. I never really established any type of
routine, or habit(Weinstein, Getz, 19~5)
My fourth hypothesis is also a possibility.(Ackerman, Shapiro, 1985) I need to
be able to establish some good dental hygiene habits. I need to find some
activities that will reinforce my flossing.(Ackerman, Shapiro, 1984).
Analysis of Data
I'd like to say right now that I started this paper with a lot of enthusiasm.
I felt like I would be able to motivate myself enough to be able to floss every
day. I think that I told myself to try to floss everyday, just to see if I
could control my behavior. Anyway, after starting with a bang, I fizzled out. I
tried to figure out why I did, then I realized that flossing was creating
stress for me. So, I avoided flossing, because changing behavior causes stress,
and then the new behavior is stopped if it interferes with a person's routine
(Weinstein, Getz 1985). After awhile, I began to tell myself that I know that
I
couldn't be able to floss everyday. This is an example of a self-fulfilling
prophecy, because if I told myself that I knew that I couldn't floss everyday,
then I unconsciously altered my behavior to produce that
outcome[Watson,l984).
This inability of mine to overcome my resistance to flossing, is a stable
attribution, because this is something that is recurring in my behavior, and
because it's from my lack of control over this situation(Watson, 1984).
This situation is also dispositional, at least for most of the time.
Sometimes, people misplace the dental floss, and then I'm not able to floss
(although, I don't really put a lot of effort into looking for the dental
floss)(Watson, 1984). I think that for the most part, it is dispositional. I
might feel lazy, or I might feel like it's a waste of time to floss, because I
felt like I brushed my teeth well enough that I could forego the
flossing.(Watson, 1984).
Results
In part I, I learned quite a few things about myself. I never realized hew
lazy I could be. I would come up with the lame excuses for not flossing. Things
like, "I'm too tired" or I'd only remember to floss when I was in bed, ready to
go to sleep. At that point, I figured that It was too much effort to get out of
bed, must to floss. Although I would feel guilty about not flossing, the guilt
wasn't enough to get me out of bed to floss. Not flossing produced guilt, which
leads to stress, so to be able to try to cope with this stress, I avoided the
flossing altogether.
The only time when guilt overcame me, would be when I hadn't flossed for a few
days, and my teeth were feeling fuzzy. I tried to avoid thinking about the
cavities that could have been forming, because I can't see, or feel cavities,
so it doesn't seem harmful (Watson, 1984).
I feel that the risk factors from not flossing is perceived as
non-threatening. This is called defensive denial. This paper is fast becoming a
stressor for me. The ideas of flossing, are intruding on my everyday thoughts.
I still am trying to cope with the guilt. In order to combat the guilt, I'm
brushing for longer periods at a time.
Because I didn't perform the given task, I am an example for Management
deficiency, (Weinstein. Getz 1985). This gave way to a lot of frustration on my
part.(Watson, 1984).
DATA - Part II
The time of day had some effect on my brushing habits, but there were a lot of
factors that weren't taken into consideration.
At 12:11 AM, I flossed for 1:23. The yellow line indicates that I wasn't
adverse to the flossing, but I also wasn't exactly enthusiastic about flossing
either. I had just finished studying, and I was feeling very tired. But for
part II, I decided to floss whether not I wanted to, or not. To combat my
forgetfulness, I placed a container of dental floss right next to my alarm
clock, which is right next to my bed, and which I have to set every day. I
figured that it would remind me to floss, even when I was too tired to remember
on my own.
At 2:15AM I flossed for 1:01. I had come home from going
out on a Saturday night, and I was really tired, and all I wanted was to fall
into bed. When I set my alarm clock, I saw my dental floss, and told myself to
floss. I really was reluctant, but I got out of bed and went to floss. I did it
as fast as I could, just to get it over with.
At 4:25AM I flossed for 1:04. I had fallen asleep while studying, and hadn't
gone to my room, and therefore couldn't be reminded to floss. When I went to
the bathroom to brush, I saw the dental floss container, and remembered to
floss. I was so tired, and my neck was stiff, that I really didn't want to
floss. In fact, I tried to rationalize not flossing for a few minutes. After
that time, I remembered my promise to myself, and flossed. I did a very poor
job, just going through the motions.
At 6:50 AM I flossed for 2:19. I had woken up on time for school, and found
that I had extra time to floss that morning. Usually, I'm always late, and
never have time in themorning. But since I had some free time, I decided to
floss. I was feeling good that I had extra time that I actually enjoyed
flossing that morning.
At lO:lOAM, I flossed for 1:14. The only reason I flossed at that time was
that someone called me up at about 10am and I had to answer the phone. I had
been sleeping late on a Saturday morning. I decided to floss then, because I
had come home the night before and not flossed. As I climbed back into bed, I
saw the dental floss, and remembered my promise, so I got back up and went to
floss. I tried to get through it as fast as possible, so that I could go back
to sleep. I'm sure that I didn't do a good job at all.
I flossed for 1:48 at 1:09PM. I was just feeling lazy about flossing, but I
wasn't feeling adverse to it. I had just finished eating lunch after church. I
don't know what it is about Sundays, but I always feel lazy, especially after
church and lunch. Anyway, my teeth were feeling very fuzzy, which is why I
decided to floss at that particular time.
At 3:01PM, I flossed for 2:03. I had just gotten home from school, and my
teeth had something stuck between them. In fact that stupid piece of food had
been stuck there for a few hours, and it had been bugging me all that time. I
couldn't get the food particle out with my toothbrush, so I was extremely happy
to see the dental floss waiting there for me.
At 10:50PM, I flossed for :53. I had had a very hard day, and I was feeling
especially grumpy. when I saw the dental floss container, I wanted to throw it
threw the window, so that I didn't have to think about it. Anyway, I tried to
calm myself down, and then attempted to floss. Anyway, I did such a poor job,
that I could have forgone the flossing, and the result would have been the
same.
Flossing at a set time for me was very hard. I find that since my schedule is
different every day, that I have a hard time establishing a set time to floss.
Instead, I tried to floss at the time I want to bed. I let the container of
dental floss next to my bed to remind me to floss every day. Even is there
wouldn't be a set time every day, at least it would gradually become part of my
bedtime ritual, like brushing and washing my face is. The thing was that is I
decided to sleep in the livingroom, then I would forget about flossing.
I tried to put the dental floss next to the sink in the bathroom, but when my
mom cleans the bathroom, she puts the container in the cabinet. I guess that
she has some sort of cleanness habit.
I also had trouble motivating myself to floss at bedtime everyday. Sometimes
when I wanted to floss, I'm usually not somewhere where there is dental
available.
DISCUSSION - Part II
Analysis
As I have talked about before, in order to reduce the stress that flossing
causes for me, I avoid, or shorten the amount of time I spend on flossing. In
Part II, the time
I spent each time I flossed, is reflected in the graph ( pg. 13). This event is
called behavior control (Weinstein, Getz, 1985).
During Part II, in order to remind myself to floss, I placed the dental floss
container where it would remind me to floss. This is a conditioned response
(Watson, 1984).
Results
After looking at the data from both Parts I and II, I have concluded that both
hypotheses 3 and 4 are valid as they pertain to my situation. I couldn't, or
was not able to establish a set schedule for flossing. I tried to do this in
Part I of this experiment. I didn't succeed as you can tell from my chart of
flossing frequencies. I tried to figure why I was having such a hard time
establishing a set pattern for flossing. I found that my moods largely affected
my decision of whether or not to floss. When I'm feeling lousy, I tend to avoid
flossing, or (conveniently) forget to floss. I have also noticed the
overjustification effect in myself. I used to floss more often, just because I
liked the clean feeling, but when I could get a good grade for flossing, It
became a chore (Watson, 1984). I've also noticed that I'm the type of person
who starts with a lot of enthusiasm, and then I fizzle out. I did this with
exercise, and with my music lessons. It's also hard for me to establish a set
pattern to my flossing, because my schedule for work, school, church
activities, and my boyfriend is so varied, that I never I know when I'll be
home. When a new activity is interfering with a routine, then the new activity
is likely to be interfering with a routine, then the new activity is stopped
(Weinstein, Getz, 1985).
In regards to hypothesis 4, I think that I would be
encouraged to floss more, if I had some kind of positive
reinforcement that could encourage me to floss (Blount, Stokes, 1984). A good
reinforcement would be a picture of rotting gums, with the teeth falling out.
The key is to put these pictures where I will be sure to see them everyday
(Blount, Stokes, 1984).
One very good motivator for me, is to have someone do the activity with me.
This person acts as a support group, and because of this, they can help to
reduce the stress of flossing for me. The other person can also give me some
mild competition. This feeling makes me want to work just a little harder.
CONCLUSION
After reviewing all the datum and the analysis that I have done, I have come
to some conclusions. One of the reasons for my flossing avoidance, is pure
laziness on my part. Another reason is to avoid the stress caused by flossing.
The third reason is because it's hard for me to fit flossing into my schedule,
because it interferes with my regular routine. If I decide to try to implement
flossing into my daily routine, I need certain things:
1) Positive reinforcement (Blount, Stokes 1984).
2) Self-control- This included planning ahead of time, before the actual
implementation of the change in flossing behavior . Behavior programming
(rewards) is also a part in this area. Thoresen, Mahony 1974)
3) Self-observation- This seeing when it's best to implement changes and to see
when I'm most willing to change (Thorensen, Mahony 1974).
I found this whole experiment very interesting I was able to better understand
the principles behind my behaviors.
SUMMARY
This paper allowed me to gain some insight into the theories that underlie the
behaviors that I show. I think that these principles will be able to be put to
use in other areas in my life, such as in my schoolwork. I have learned not to
procrastinate, and not to be so lazy when it comes to things with a due date. I
also learned to keep an eye on the due date for library books(I ended up paying
$4 in overdue fines). I thought that it was strange to have to observe myself.
I found myself thinking about my teeth a lot of the time (like right now, they
feel dirty). I also try to do a good job flossing, because rushing just creates
more stress. Well, here comes the end, and I have to admit this was a very
enriching experience.
GLOSSARY
Alternative explanations- Several possible explanations
for an experiment, and the researcher must eliminate all but one.
Behavior control- Being able to shorten, stop or lessen
an unpleasant event, which reduces stress.
Behavior modification- A treatment approach to psychological problems that
emphasizes the role of a person's learning history and current behavior in the
causation and maintenance of their problems.
Behavior programming- Self administered consequences following the occurrence
of the target response.
Competition- A situation in which people seek goals that
can only be attained at the expense of others.
Conditioned response--A learned response that gives a reaction that was taught
by being paired with another stimulus.
Coping- The way people attempt to deal with stress.
Defensive denial- Distortion of one's judgment to protect oneself from some
unpleasant consequence.
Dispositional attribution- Inferences about the cause of
behavior that emphasize an aspect of the individual.
Exacerbation cycle- A vicious circle in which people attribute their
undesirable behavior to their negative qualities, and then these produce
feelings such as anxiety that make the undesirable behavior worse.
Field experiment- An experiment carried out in a natural
setting.
Frustration- The blocking of goal-directed activity.
Habit- A behavior that is well practiced, that we perform without thinking.
Learned response- When we are taught to respond in a certain way.
Management deficiency-Managing behavior poorly so that
proper tasks aren't performed.
Motivation- The underlying causes of people's desire to
perform particular behaviors and their willingness to expend effort on them.
Negative reinforcement- Strengthens behavior by being taken from the
situation.
Overjustification effect- When people are rewarded to an
they originally performed for it's own sake
Positive reinforcement- .Strengthens behavior by being added to the
situation.
Risk factors- Behaviors that increase the risk of certain diseases.
Self-fulfilling prophecy-A belief that a particular event will occur, leading
the person to act in a way that causes the event to occur.
Stable attribution-A person's lack of control that is long lived and
enduring.
Stress-Condition that occurs when environmental or psychological events.
Support groups-Having other people there to help us
cope with stress.
Type A personality-A person who has high competitive drive, intense ambition,
and is very work meticulous.
REFERENCES
Ackerman, A.M., Shapiro, E.S. (1984). Self-monitoring
and Work Productivity with Mentally Retarded Adults.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 17, 403-407.
The use of self monitoring to increase the productivity
of mentally retarded adults.
Blount, R., Stolces, T. F. (1984). Promotion Effective toothbrushing by
elementary school children. Journal of
Modification, MY, 79-92.
A study examining the effectiveness of public posting of ,photographs for low
levels of dental plaque.
Thoresen, C. F.., Mahony, R.J. (1974). Behavioral Self-
Control. USA, Rinehart, Jinston, Inc.
Using self-control and to understand what controls actions,and how one observes
them for change.
Watson, D. deBortali, G., Frank, J. (19~4). Social
Psychology. Illinois: Scott, Foresman, and Company.
Basic introduction to basic science of social psychology
and how these theories are demonstrated.
Stein, P., Getz, T. (19~5). Oral Self Care. Virginia:
Reston Publishing Co.
Talks about the psychological aspects of dental health,
as if affects both patient and dentist/hygienist.
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