Introduction to Behavioral Sciences

What is behavioral science ?

Why to teach ?
What to teach ?
The schedule of teaching
Learning resources
Evaluation

What is behavioral sciences ?

A new subject, to be taught to students of

medical college.
Behavioral Sciences are the fields of study
that are primarily concerned with the
understanding, prediction, and control of
human behavior.
Related fields are Anthropology, Sociology
and Psychology.

Why to teach ?

To increase students knowledge and understanding

of human behavior, in the context of psychological
& sociological factors
To understand the behaviors of patients, their family
and community in different clinical settings.
To understand their own behavior and attitude
towards patients & their problems and the roles they
are required to play in addressing the issues faced by
humanity.

Why to teach ?

Recommended by PMDC to be taught as a

separate subject
Helpful for students appearing in USMLE &
Board exams

What to Teach ?

Syllabus of Behavioral sciences would include

components of :
Psychological development
Component of Sociology
Physician patient relationship
Medical Ethics

What to teach ?
FIRST YEAR SYLLABUS

Communication skills
Stress management
Anger management
Time management

What to teach ?
SECOND YEAR SYLLABUS
Motivation
Emotions
Memory & recall
Learning

What to teach ?
THIRD YEAR SYLLABUS
Intelligence
Perception
Personality development
Cultural beliefs, stigmas and misconcepts
Health, Illness and sick role
Death, Dying and Bereavement

What to teach ?
THIRD YEAR SYLLABUS

Informational care
Crisis intervention
Breaking bad news
Rights and responsibilities of patient

What to teach ?

Ethical dilemmas
Informed consent
End of life issues
Research ethics
Environmental ethics

Teaching Schedule

The subject is scheduled to be taught in first

three years of MBBS.
Few topics would be covered in first year and
second year.
Major topics would be taught in third year.

Learning Resources

Books on psychology and Behavioral

sciences are available in the library
Internet sites
Presentations on different topics would
be available on the network.

EVALUATION

The subject of Behavioral Sciences would be

assessed at the end of third year.
Students who fail in their first attempt may sit in the
subsequent exams to pass this subject.
All the students will have to pass this subject to
become eligible to appear in final professional
examination.
Assessment methodology would include MCQs /
short answers questions

Summary

Behavioral sciences is a new subject

It is also being taught in other medical colleges
It would help you to learn different patterns of
behavior in routine life as well as in clinical
situations
Behavioral Sciences will be evaluated at the end
of this module and all the students would be
required to pass it to be eligible to appear in
final year exams
Learning resources are books in library, internet

Culture Beliefs
Stigmas & Misconcepts
Dr. Sohail Ahmed
Associate Professor
Dept. of Psychiatry

Introduction to topic

What is Culture, Beliefs, Values and Norms

What is Stigma ?
What is misconcept ?
Stigmas related to physical illnesses
Stigmas related to mental illnesses
Misconcepts related to illness in our culture
Factors leading to stigmas & misconcepts
Dealing with stigmas & misconcepts

Culture

Culture is the pattern of behavior and thinking

that people living in social groups learn,
create, and share.
Culture distinguishes one human group from
others.
Culture is always a dynamic process and
therefore continues to evolve.

Beliefs, Values, Norms & Stigmas

Beliefs have got a shared meaning in a culture that

are held to be true.
Values are those aspect of a culture that are held in
high regard, are desired to be achieved
Norms refer to principles of right and wrong action
and the rules and laws that govern the acceptable and
unacceptable behavior
When the beliefs are wrongly directed they can give
rise to stigmas and misconcepts in a society.

What is Stigma ?

Stigma marks an individual out as being different

(shameful difference) and evokes some form of
sanction.
In common usage the word signifies a disgrace or
defect.
Stigma is a Greek word that in its origins referred to a
kind of tattoo mark that was cut or burned into the skin
of criminals or slaves, in order to visibly identify them
as blemished persons

Stigma Classifications
(Goffman, 1963)

1. Tribal identities
2. The body disorders
3. Blemishes of individual character

Tribal identities
Social groups into which individuals
are born :

religious groups
ethnic groups
racial groups
national groups

The Body Disorders

Physical ailments:
deformities
illnesses

Blemishes of individual character

Moral transgressions, weakness of will :
drug addiction
prostitution
homosexuality
Illegitimacy
criminality
mental illnesses

Victims of stigmatization

Stigmatized groups regarded by many as

flawed (at fault) and are thus disliked by the
majority
Individuals with stigmas are victims of
prejudice, discrimination and hate crimes
They are deprived of any treatment or care
which they deserve
If not taken care of, they are likely to develop
psychological disturbances in the form of
depression and anxiety

STIGMAS

Can you mention any stigma related to

some diseases ?

STIGMAS RELATED WITH A I D S

Person suffering from AIDS are generally

disliked by the society and their socialization is
not welcomed by many. WHY ???
AIDS is considered to be a punishment (e.g. for
immoral behavior)
AIDS is considered to get spread solely
through illicit sexual contact.
AIDS is considered as a contagious illness with
belief that it can spread through touching,
sharing utensils, talking etc)

EPILEPSY

Tonic-clonic jerky movements of body

during an epileptic fit presents a horrible
scenario for those who have got no
knowledge about it.

Epilepsy is considered by many to be a result

of possession by super natural forces.

An epileptic patient can be treated by the

smell of shoes ?

EPILEPSY

WHO estimates that in developing

countries, esp. in rural areas, 60% to
90% of people with epilepsy receive no
treatment, which they attributed to
access to care and stigmatization.

TUBERCULOSIS

Many people still believe that every case of

TB is contagious !

LEPROSY

Being treated like a leper is a phrase that

refers to stigmatization of people with leprosy
Leprosy, if untreated can give rise to physical
deformities due to damage of nerves and
tissues
These diseases are also considered to be
contagious

Stigmas and Mental illness

Persons with mental illness are stigmatized

because of their odd behavior.
People try to avoid social contact with them
considering them unpredictable.
People are afraid of persons with mental
illnesses, considering them violent and
dangerous
Relatives of mentally ill people try to conceal
their illnesses, to avoid embarrassment

Misconceptions

Misconcept is simply a wrong concept which

is not based on logical grounds

Misconcepts about mental illnesses

Mental illnesses are the result of some magic, or

evil action by superhuman forces
Mental illnesses are brought on by a weakness
of character
People with mental illnesses are violent and
unpredictable.
Mental illnesses cannot affect everyone.

Misconcepts about mental illnesses

Once people develop mental illnesses, they

will never recover
Drugs used to treat mental illnesses are habit
forming
Dealing with mental illness can induce
psychological problems
Psychiatrists / psychologists are themselves
mentally disturbed

Misconceptions

Stigmas and misconcepts are not limited to

illiterate people especially those belong to
lower socioeconomic group but are also
frequently seen in middle and upper class.

Name some other misconceptions in our

culture related to health.

Misconcepts related to use of vitamins

Vitamins are essentially required for every

ill person as well as healthy people.

Misconcepts related to our diet

Parhez is a very important aspect of

treatment in every patient

Misconcepts related to our diet

Some food items are considered hot (e.g.,

Garlic, ginger) and others are considered
cold" (e.g., citrus fruits)

Misconcepts related to Sexual Development

Misconceptions regarding the normal sexual

anatomy and physiology.

Misconcepts related to Blood Donation

Misconceptions regarding blood donation/

taking blood samples for investigation)

Misconcepts related to certain illnesses

Non pharmacological approaches towards

treatment of certain viral illnesses like
hepatitis, measles, chicken pox.

Factors leading to Stigmas & misconcepts

Illiteracy
Cultural Beliefs
Misinterpretations of Religious beliefs

How to deal with stigmas & misconcepts

To clear our own misconcepts

To increase literacy level in society
Effective use of media to remove misconcepts &
stigmas
To increase community awareness regarding these
issues by arranging lectures, seminars and
discussions at community level
To counsel patients and their relatives in clinical
setting

SUMMARY

Cultural beliefs when misdirected can give rise to

stigmas & misconcepts
Stigmatized persons are considered to be shamefully
different from others and are therefore maltreated by
society
Stigmas are also related to some physical and mental
illnesses
Misconcepts are also very commonly seen in our society
and in clinical settings
Dealing with stigmas and misconcepts require combined
efforts of clinicians, social scientists, media personnel
and all those who come in contact with general public