STUDENT NAME: KIRALY ANTHONY ADRIAN RENAUD

STUDENT I.D.:0320322

TUTORIAL GROUP: MONDAY 2-4PM

SUBJECT: SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

JOURNAL ASSIGNMENT

LECTURER: MR. SHANKAR

SUBMISSION DATE: 27/4/2015

Self-Concept

I believe self-concept is a mental representation of one’s self. It is how people see themselves, how they

would describe themselves and the thought processes of what beliefs and convictions someone has

about themselves. It can also be thought as a collection of self-schemata.

24/05/2011

These were the days when I started to take gym and fitness seriously. I think I was about 18 at that time

and the only thing I used to look forward to after school was beating my current PR which means

personal record on bench or deadlifts. But there came a point when I realized that I didn’t want to only

look good. I wanted to be more functional. More athletic. I had the strength and stamina. I thought of

myself as a beast, a king among kings. These were the days I didn’t smoke so my confidence was through

the roof. I had become friends with one of the personal trainers there and at that time he was a brown

belt in kyokushin karate. So one day I came up to him and asked him if he could take me to one of his

training sessions and he agreed. The next Saturday after meeting him at the gym we drove up to the

“young lions dojo” where all the beginners and advanced students trained together. As they were

training I would think to myself “this is easy”, “these guys have nothing on me” so then and there I

signed up and I didn’t look back. I trained with them consistently and the sessions did not get easier. I

learned proper form, kicks, punches, katas, the body’s energy pathways, discipline and most importantly

respect. For couple of months I would go train with the black belts and their sessions made Saturday

classes look like nothing. I knew things were only about to get harder but I kept going at it. It had been 6

months since I was training with the young lions and I thought I was ready to take on the best. Then

came the time for the retreat. This was done at one of the schools on another island during semester

break. They higher belts used to make us wake up at 5 a.m. every day to run and me seeing myself

better as the students with the same colored belt I would hold my own with the black belts. This went

on for 3 days where we would practice katas and form. On the last day of the retreat there was a

grading session where all lower belts had a chance to demonstrate they deserve to be promoted. I aced

the kata portion with flying colors but the fighting part was the worst. Although in the beginning I was

trading punches and kicks with students of a slightly higher rank and knocking them back. To be honest I

got really cocky. You are supposed to show respect during fights meaning no emotions shown and keep

hits under control. At that point I’d forgotten all about that and I was smiling my through each fight. I

think this caused shi han (the head of club) to intervene by sending three of the best black belts to fight

me. I didn’t know what happened I was being punched and kicked left and right. At that point I realized

maybe I’m not the biggest bad ass here. Maybe I should have kept control over my emotions and not

have been a major “douche bag”. They literally beat respect into me. But all in all it was a good

experience. I know my capabilities and I believe I can grow more emotionally, physically and spiritually

as a human. I’m not “THE” biggest bad ass on the block but I am one of them.

Motivation

In class we learned that motivation are the internal and external factors that stimulate people to be

continually interested and committed in something whether it be a job or activity. There are two types:

Intrinsic which states that we perform an activity for the sake of enjoyment which means we are not

forced to do it and extrinsic which is contrary to the former which is done due to an obligation or an

activity done to avoid punishment and gain a reward. I believe my first entry for motivation is extrinsic

which then becomes intrinsic.

15/03/2013

I was not always the most physically adept teenager back in the day. I was more into my studies.

Reading a book to brush up my vocabulary rather than watching movies and revising questions for

future topics were what I’d rather do than going out and chilling with my friends. I also had some

unhealthy habits like eating junk food and sleeping late at night which I sorely regret now that I am in

university. Life in school was not perfect but satisfying I would say. Sometimes the older students would

tease me but deep down I knew they were only doing it because of their own insecurities so it didn’t

really bother me. Going a bit further down the line unbeknownst to me my little brother had picked up

on my bad habits and started to suffer the consequences. He gained quite a bit of weight and was being

bullied at school. This had to stop immediately. I mean my friends and I dealt with the bullies but what if

in the future I wasn’t around. My brother had to handle his business. He would have to take care of

himself if I wasn’t present. So from that day forward we set a fitness goal and started to work on it. It

was difficult at first for him. I had been in the fitness game for a while now but he was still new. He had

trouble sticking to a routine of eating properly and exercising. It’s hard to diet when you live with a

grandmother that cooks delicious food every day that don’t stick to your macros(how much protein,

carbohydrates and fats one should eat during a meal) but we kept at it and also the days where you feel

too lazy to do anything. But that didn’t stop us from achieving our goal. Always remembering why we

started the journey in the first place. To stay inspired we would watch videos on YouTube, do research

on different types of exercises to enhance our basic knowledge, find pictures and quotes on social media

whether it was for fitness or success and even read books about it. All that we did was too improve

ourselves and make progress. In our minds we always knew that perfection would be impossible but we

were going to come damn close to it. Not only did we improve physically but also mentally. His attitude

showed great improvement from being the lazy and spoilt to becoming hardworking and devoted. In the

words of CT fletcher “if you want something be obsessed about it, take it and never look back”. I know it

sounds like we were being vain at the time. With the thought that to stop something bad as bullying

from happening you have to look good but what started as something to end this vicious cycle turned

into something that brought us closer together. He is my competition and I am his and not only that we

motivate each other to being the best that we can be.

The Confirmation Bias

To my understanding the confirmation bias is when we consciously find facts that support our beliefs

whether there is a discrepancy in our reasoning so we deny this information.

23/04/2015

It was a bright, hot day. I performed my morning routine as usual before going to on campus for a long

day of lectures. A couple days before this I had made dinner and of course there were dishes left in the

sink. In my apartment we had a rule when one person cooks for the whole apartment this person is free

from cleaning up. The days passed nobody washed the dishes and it kept piling up. I don’t know if

everyone was lazy or just didn’t give a damn. Coming back to present day, I had a day full of lectures so

at the end of the day it was only natural that I would want to relax for a bit. In my country we have a

tradition of having tea time between the times of 4pm -6pm. So moving to the kitchen I noticed that

there were no clean dishes, cups and cutlery. It was really disappointing and filthy and the way I was

raised this was unacceptable behavior so even if it wasn’t my turn to clean I washed everything, made

my cup of tea and took a nap. A couple hours later my roommates came back laughing and so I woke up

to confront them. I asked both of them “who’s turn it was to wash?”. They both fell silent and started to

point at each other. We stood there for quite a while arguing about who’s turn it was. They had the

audacity to say it was my turn and after quite a bit of arguing they retracted their accusation and started

giving lame excuses why they couldn’t. One even said that he just washed and that’s why all the dishes

are clean. Honestly it was too funny. They began fighting over who washed last. This lasted for an hour

without them both admitting it was their turn. In the end I had to step in and set the new schedule

which they both agreed to. This was not the first time this had happened and I suspect it won’t be the

last.

Self-Serving bias/attribution

From my understanding of this concept during lectures it is when we make positive attributions that

allow us to see ourselves in the best possible light. So to say we take credit for the good things that

happens and deny the responsibility of failure. I find that it is only in our human nature to react this way

not everyone is cut out to be a saint and most of us cannot accept our faults.

17/08/2011

I had just began my studies at A-levels and since it was the first couple of weeks the lessons were quite

easy. My friends would always bunk class to go out and play pool or go hang out on the beach. But I

would always stay in class even if the lectures were boring as hell. The months went by and we started

getting test and exams. I personally thought my performance during those tests were more than

satisfactory. My parents would always praise me for my good results. And this made me feel good about

myself. My dad was proud of my work and it gave me a boost in my confidence. But also it got me

thinking, maybe if I skipped one day of class wouldn’t hurt. I mean with my current performance being

positive. So I did just that. My friends and I went to play pool then headed to the beach, played football

and by the time we got back all classes had ended. Little to my knowledge we had a test the next day

which had been discussed in the prior class. Hence due to my incapability of foreseeing future events I

was absolutely unprepared for the test. On the day in question our lecturer presented us with the test

papers. I sat there dumbfounded. My friends knew that there was a test due to a third party but they

failed to mention it to me. I had never been so disappointed in them and they’ve pulled some dumb

stuff off before this. I started to question their loyalty. I began to panic. The test was about a topic we

had covered recently and it was twenty percent of our final grade. I knew I wasn’t prepared for the test

but I attempted it anyway. A few hours later our lecturer gave us the results. I had barely passed by a

mere one percent. I was mad but not at myself. I was furious at my friends for neglecting to inform that

there was going to be a test as important as this. The worst part was when my father found out. I’ve

always tried not to disappoint him but in this instance he was pretty calm about the entire situation.

That was when I told him the truth about why I almost failed. He gave me the longest lecture of my life.

He said it was my decision to skip class so it is my fault that my results were not on par with my other

work. I still believe that it was their fault for leaving me out of the loop.

Persuasion

This is not really something new to me but in psychological terms it is an attempt to influence others

attitudes or behaviors.

7/03/2015

Persuasion happens on a day to day basis for me. My group of friends particularly are all strong willed

people and take a bit of convincing before any activity gets done. My story starts on the day the DVBBS

concert was announced in KL. Coincidentally the concert was playing on the Friday two days after my

birthday. My friends came up to me with a proposition to go to the concert since it was my birthday. I

being someone who doesn’t like going to clubs and bars refused in the beginning and that started the

pleading and guilt trips. For the next 24 hours they tried everything to make me go. They tried to fool

me into believing in obscure bets I made in the past, they made me listen to music from the two DJ’s.

My best friend even got my mother to ask me to go because she knew I had been studying non-stop and

needed a break. I wouldn’t give in immediately. Then as the day dragged on the guilt trips slowed down

instead they started hinting as to what I’ll be missing out, that this would be a onetime chance. My

closest friend said “bro think of the girls” in an attempt to make me go.

In the end all the requests and persuasions were too much so I caved in and agreed to accompany them.

It was my birthday so I guess on night of fun wouldn’t hurt. Before this I did not really appreciate

Electronic dance music or EDM for short but I had awesome company which changed my perception of

what I thought would be an uneventful night into a fun one.