Bound Volume Number
Volume V
Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-2016
Capstone Advisor
Randall Jorgensen
Capstone Major
Psychology
Capstone College
Arts and Science
Audio/Visual Component
no
Keywords
dental phobia
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
no
Honors Categories
Sciences and Engineering
Subject Categories
Psychology
Abstract
Individuals who fear the dentist or have dental phobia, actively avoid routine care and dental procedures, leading to deterioration of their oral health. Consequently, research into possible triggers of dental related anxiety is of interest. The purpose of the current study is to develop a standardized set of images and sounds to use in future cue reactivity studies for a specific population: namely, college students varying in their fear and anxiety based reactions to the dentist and dental procedures. Participants were given questionnaires assessing their personality, oral health behaviors, and dental anxiety. Participants were also asked to assess negative dental images and sounds using measures of valence and arousal.
No significant correlations were found between dental anxiety and participant’s response to the negative images. However, significant correlations between sound arousal and dental anxiety were found. Significant correlations between Conscientiousness and participants’ dental anxiety and fear were obtained. Further high dental anxiety and fear were correlated with the experience of not knowing what is going on, not having control, and lack of sympathy from dentists.
Recommended Citation
Deya, Josue, "Psychological Reactivity to Dental Images and Sounds" (2016). Honors Capstone Projects - All. 977.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/977
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
