When an orthodontist makes treatment choices and evaluates evidence, we aim to make those decisions on facts. Most doctors are looking to provide the best care to their patients. For example, we discuss facts and findings from our diagnosis and problem list. The same applies to treatment presentations to patients at their examination appointments.
The challenge is that as much as we like to separate fact from emotion, we must accept that both are involved in our behavior and decisions. As orthodontists, information and the feeling we attach to it has a powerful influence. The feedback loop between facts and emotion affects the orthodontist and patient decisions towards treatment.
Decision-making
Human beings repeatedly make emotional decisions and rationalize them with logic. We tend to believe we make decisions based on facts, but we underestimate the role emotions have in our decision-making. We use our senses to guide our behavior and rely less on information than on emotional connection. All choices are, in fact, based on the feeling we attach to that situation. Furthermore, there is an overwhelming amount of evidence in behavioral science to back up that statement.
Behavioral research has found positive emotions and facilitative feelings guide decisions (Kwortnik et al., 2007). In contrast, negative emotions tend to lead to preservational behavior. In addition, decisions “may be very sensitive to relatively subtle differences in the way information is presented” (Vining, 1987).
Facts and senses
Some information that we can assume is all about the facts and nothing but the facts, but it does involve the emotion we attach to this data. All human beings are emotional beings, and our senses relate in many ways. Let’s take the example of temperature. We can consider if today’s temperature is sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit, but is today hot or cold? Someone getting out of the winter season may feel 65°F is warm, while someone from the tropics will find it chilly. It is the same information or fact, but the response to that temperature is relative to each person’s perspective.
Like temperature, presenting treatment options can lead to a different perspective on the preferred treatment choice. We can present facts and findings, but linking those issues to the sentiment towards starting treatment can vary on how a patient feels about the course of treatment proposed.
Storytelling
When we present facts to patients, our team, and our colleagues, the best way to weave both information and emotion is to tell stories. Storytelling is a critical human behavior that helps us process all the data around us and make it relevant. When we take advantage of this skill, used for millennia, we can best communicate and influence the chairside, at the new patient exam, and at the next team meeting. Information is all around us, but by mastering the art of storytelling, we can better tie in facts and emotions to make a positive impact.
