The topic was focused on the effect of beliefs and perceptions on the development of knowledge. Address the questions related to this topic using a case study.

Case Study:
Barbara has an appointment with her dentist to have a cavity filled in her tooth. Unfortunately, the only appointment available was on Wednesday or Thursday at 1:25 PM. Barbara has no choice but to take time off from work to make her appointment.

Once Barbara gets to the dentist’s office, she sees a waiting room filled with patients. The nice lady at the reception window warmly greets Barbara and invites her to have a seat. After waiting over an hour, Barbara is finally escorted to one of the many dental rooms. By now, she is irritated because she had to wait so long to see the dentist. The dentist does not introduce himself, and immediately calls Barbara by her first name, so she feels he knows her. The dentist informs Barbara that before he can fill her tooth, she must have her teeth cleaned. Barbara hates having her teeth cleaned because it hurts and she is now going to be late getting back to work due to the initial hour wait.

Forty-five minutes later, after the pain and discomfort of the cleaning, the dentist finally begins the process of filling the one cavity. Now Barbara is completely incapacitated. She is in a horizontal position with her feet higher than her head. She has her mouth open with an array of tubes running into her mouth, most of which are making a loud sucking noise. Naturally, gauze is placed in the mouth to add to her discomfort. At this point, the doctor chooses to study the x-ray taking a good ten minutes to carefully examine each tooth.

Now comes the fun part, the dentist removes a syringe, with what appears to be a foot long needle, and begins making injections in multiple places within Barbara’s mouth. The one that hurt the most was into the back of her jaw. Feeling compelled to distract her patient, the doctor now begins an inane conversation beginning with ”How was your weekend?” This process takes an exhaustible amount of time but it is obvious that the injections are working because Barbara’s bottom lip has now become completely numb. At this point the dentist asks Barbara to rinse her mouth out and, on cue, Barbara proceeds to drool water all over the front of her dress. Now the dentist announces he will be back once the Novocain takes effect. Barbara is now left in a prone position with an assortment of shiny instruments around her, anticipating the potential pain to come.

Finally, the dentist returns and he begins the drilling the tooth. In order to pass the time, Barbara continues to think happy thoughts to drown out the ringing of the drill and the burning smell. Finally, the dentist announces he is finished drilling and will begin filling the tooth. Finally, the filling is in place, and Barbara can now leave. Unfortunately, she must suppress the urge to bolt out of the dentist’s office because she has to first see the office receptionist. The receptionist warmly apologizes for the fact that Barbara has now been in the doctor’s office for three hours, followed by a bill for several hundred dollars. Finally, to add insult to injury, the receptionist has the audacity to ask when Barbara would like to make her next appointment. Naturally, Barbara cannot answer because the Novocain has numbed her lips and tongue.

Questions:

1. What was Barbara's initial belief about going to the dentist? (Answer in 6 sentences)
2. Did Barbara's perception of going to the dentist enhance or detract from her belief? (Answer in 6 sentences)
3. What evidence do you have to support your position? (Answer in 6 sentences)
4. After her cavity was filled, what do you think Barbara's belief is about going to the dentist? (Answer in 6 sentences)
5. What perceptions do you think Barbara has developed which may affect her next visit? (Answer in 6 sentences)
6. From a business standpoint, do you think people's perceptions matter? (Answer in 6 sentences)
7. How do you think it affects dentists? (Answer in 6 sentences)
8. What impact do societal beliefs play on your thinking? (Answer in 6 sentences)