Disconfirmed expectancies and imagined distress in a role-play of a visit to the dentist

A modified role-playing technique was employed to examine the effects of no information, misinformation, and correct information on discomfort during imagined dental treatment. After listening to relaxation instructions, subjects read a scenario in which they were given no expectancy, led to expect a filling replacement (mild threat), or led to expect an extraction (severe threat). Subsequently they were told to imagine the occurrence of either the filling or the extraction treatment. For the mild stressor, different expectancies had no effects. When the actual treatment was an extraction, subjects given an inaccurate expectancy reported more pain and shock than those given accurate information. Compared to no information, inaccurate information resulted in more fear and helplessness. Males rated themselves as less distressed than females. The data compare favorably with findings from studies of actual patients and suggest that misinformation minimizing the severity of treatment increases distress upon receipt of treatment.The author wishes to thank Dr. J. Luginbuhl for preparing the tape recording used in this experiment.