Name: Jacquelyn Vanessa Tee

Student ID: 0320021

Group/Session: Monday (2pm-4pm tutorial class)

Subject: Social Psychology

Course: Foundation in Natural and Built Environments (FNBE)

Submission date: 27th April 2015

Lecturer: Mr. Shankar

25th April 2015

Journal 1: Social Psychology

Entry 1: Social Facilitation

As one said by Francis Bacon, “No man is an island, entire by itself”. We as

social creatures rely on one another whether emotionally, physically, or spiritually.

Spending time alone is sometimes therapeutic but too much of it in some cases, can

lead to having really weak communication skills. In the year 1898, Norman Triplett

undertakes the study on the speed records of cyclists. Triplett noticed that these

cyclists performed better with speed in the presence of others rather than racing

against the clock alone, and that basically defines what social facilitation is all about.

Most people perform a whole lot better with the presence of others, me included due

to the fact that they have a boost of confidence and motivation to do nothing else but

be the best to create a good impression on others. I am pretty sure that everyone has

included social facilitation in to his or her life on certain situations to achieve a

specific goal.

In my whole 18 years of living, I can honestly say that social facilitation has

been present in my life since the day that I made acquaintances. I am not really sure if

it is something that I should be proud about but that is the truth. On this present day, it

is clear and safe to say that the world is filled with individuals who are incredibly

talented in drawing, photography, singing, and a whole lot more. I, personally do not

think I am any good in anything that I am passionate about, which somehow resulted

me into being better in my performance with a confidante, or a few confidantes by my

side, or at least in the same room where I can visibly see them from a distance. I wish

this was changeable but it is practically habitual for me since it is something that I

have practicing since a very young age therefore it is inevitable for me.

Social facilitation is usually applied in my life whenever I make a so-called

courageous attempt to sing. I am actually an aspiring singer that hopes to grow big

and expand my career after I complete my bachelor degree in architecture. But every

day when I tell myself to finally make that move to upload my covers on YouTube, I

chicken out. Whenever a family friend asks me to perform for a wedding, I would

always ask for permission to bring my band mates along or someone who could

perform a duo or a trio with me. I am ultimately ashamed of myself for not being

confident enough to perform alone but that is just my human nature. I feel better and

less afraid of what people would think of my voice when I am performing with others.

Personally, I also tend to let out better falsettos as well as do better runs while singing

when I’m second voicing with someone else.

In a nutshell, I hope social facilitation will eventually turn into social loafing

and be applied into my life when it comes to singing. This way, I am able to make my

initial dream and career come true although it somehow seems like a pipe dream and

absolutely nonsensical.

25th April 2015

Journal 2: The Self

Entry 1: Self-Verification Theory

Convincing others that we are what we perceive ourselves, as is basically what

some people are struggling with. As once stated by Miyamoto Mushashi, “Perceive

that which cannot be seen with the eye.” It is most definitely reassuring knowing that

I am not the only person living with the self-verification theory applied to my

everyday basis. Self-verification theory proposes that people prefer others to see them

as they see themselves, even if their self-views happen to be negative. The best

example to define this theory clearer is those who see themselves as likeable wants

others to see them as such, and people who see themselves as mean and fierce want

others to perceive them that way. One of the most rational reasons why people seek

self-verification is because self-verifying evaluations smoothens the social interaction

between one another by guiding actions and also by letting people know what to

expect from others. Nevertheless, those who possess negative self-views are only

going to prevent the good changes and make their lives unpleasantly rough than they

would be otherwise.

I myself am struggling with the self-verification theory because I perceive

myself as an anti-social, and what’s worse is that I want people to see me that way.

Sometimes I just enjoy solitude a bit too much, maybe. That is only because I like

keeping things to myself, and opening up can be a little laborious to me due to the fact

that I have trust issues. Being able to have the ability to let others understand what I

am indirectly trying to tell is very therapeutic. One very vivid and memorable

experience that best describe my self-verification theory story is when I plastered a

straight face whilst studying alone in the library. I was in a state of being pressured

and stressed to a very great degree due to assignments and projects. Hence, I sat alone

with all of my stationaries and whatnot that were scattered all over the table I was at

to steer clear from the possibility of my friends joining the study date I was having

with myself. To my surprise, it actually worked. A few of my course mates who were

only few tables away from me did not even bother approaching my table. I had a pair

of earphones plugged into my ears and had an unwelcoming facial expression whilst

wrapping up my assignments with my face drawn to my laptop screen. Truthfully

speaking, I am not proud of this but desperate times call for desperate measures and

being an anti-social was inevitable, especially when I was rushing against time to

finish the assignments and projects that I was aiming an A for.

All in all, I know the self-verification theory will be applied throughout my

whole life in situations that are applicable due to how stubborn I am to avoid it.

Although it has its pros and cons, I am still going to use this theory the same way I

have been using it from the start because that is just the way I am. I quote a sentence

said by Justin Timberlake that I can relate so much to, “The best part of being alone is

that you really don’t have to answer to anybody. You do what you want.”

25th April 2015

Journal 3: Social Cognition

Entry 1: The Optimistic Bias

It is obviously human nature to some people who are optimistically bias that

they will always convince themselves that they are less at jeopardy or in trouble when

what they are actually experiencing is the total opposite. I quote Noreena Hertz whom

I totally agree with, “All of us show bias when it comes to what information we take

in. We typically focus on anything that agrees with the outcome we want.” A few

examples that can provide an in-depth understanding about what optimistic bias is

when people who are sexually driven have unsafe sex with different individuals whilst

believing that they are unlikely to contract STD and other deathly diseases. But

according to the research done by psychologists, the optimistic bias is much more

stronger for negative events. When the optimistic bias occurs, it usually leads to only

positive consequences or negative consequences. This will often lead to a state of

feeling happy and feelings of self-esteem, or lead to even more risk than they were

initially in.

I can relate to the optimistic bias because of a few life experiences I went

through that made it inevitable to not apply. For instance, there was this one time I

participated in an interschool competition called International Understanding Day. In

the year 2014, I was the current president serving for my school’s Interact Club and I

had to lead my whole club to glory in order to raise and improve the name and image

of my high school. Basically, each school that participated in this competition must

chose a country that they desire and start researching about the history, culture, food,

dance, costumes and traditional decorations. It will all be extracted to a 10mx10m

booth on the competition day decoration-wise, and dancers will need to perform a

dance of 8 minutes that best represent the dance done in that country whilst wearing

the traditional costume while the other members sell the food that their country is best

known for, as well as present a detailed and clear understanding about their selected

country to the Rotarians when they arrive. For me to be in control of such a high post

in the Interact Club and be under the pressure of my principal, it was dreadful

everyday coming to school knowing that I will either be scolded or pressured even

more. Despite all the mishaps that happened while preparing for the big day, I have

always reminded my club members and myself included that even though our

progress is unhurried we will at least get 1st-runner up. But realistically, our props

were absolutely humiliating, our food tasted really plain, and our dance only reached

up to 4 minutes. Fortunately, with the power of my optimistic biasness I was always

cheery and happy-go-lucky, and eventually my club members sped up their pace in

the prop-making and food-baking. In the end, to my surprise my school actually

emerged as 1st-runner up and I was immensely ecstatic and laughed and cried oh-so

terribly because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

In conclusion, being optimistically bias in a positive way is definitely

something everyone should make a habit of. This is because it will not just make one

feel better about themselves, but also the individual affected will not carry too much

burden on their shoulders. I quote Ambrose Bierce, “Optimism- the doctrine or belief

that everything is beautiful, including what is ugly.”

25th April 2015

Journal 4: Social Perception

Entry 1: First Impressions

The moment you walk into a room filled with a crowd of people, you

undoubtedly judge a person in an instant by the way they walk, talk, look, and dress. I

fairly recall Billy Zane saying, “For me it’s always about first impressions. I trust my

instincts. I love to prepare if it’s something that requires training. But I don’t like to

prepare the psychology too much. I enjoy the psychology of the character but I work

better from a first impression.” It is inevitable that we humans, as social creatures tend

to judge each other every time we encounter other people. Judging others has its pros

because you may be able to detect the ones who have a two-faced personality, but it

also has its cons because you may misjudge someone who is the total opposite of who

you perceive them to be.

I immensely believe that every single human being that encounters someone

else for the first time will instantaneously create a mental image of that specific

person. As for me, I have made tons of friends and formed my own first impression

on them. One of the most picturesque memories that I can remember about my first

impression experiences was when I met a friend whom initially seemed shy, soft-

spoken and innocent. I would like to refer this friend of mine using the pronoun ‘it’ as

I do not want to reveal its gender. In the beginning, I met its parents when I was with

my family enrolling for something I would not like to mention. Its parents seemed

really calm and enthusiastic about everything in general whereas it was very quiet but

smiled at me anyways. I thought it was a nice gesture for it to actually reciprocate a

move to ask for my number to keep in contact. Little did I know, it turned out to be a

python on the inside. It has a really high sex drive, it turned out to be an introvert, it

turned out to be someone who is oblivious about their education and it turned out to

be someone who just hates humans in general. My first impression of it is the total

opposite of what I thought it was actually like.

In a nutshell, first impressions are not usually precise and should not be

entrusted too easily. It could sometimes be right, but it could also be a wrong

perception of others. That is why, everyone should not exactly trust their first

impression a 100% because they might differ from what you perceive of them after

spending a little more time to understand each other. As quoted from a statement that

was once agreed by Vincent D’Onofrio, “It’s pretty simple, pretty obvious: that

people’s first impression of people are really a big mistake.”

25th April 2015

Journal 5: Attitudes

Entry 1: Cognitive Dissonance

On any occasion in every person’s life, they are bound to meet someone who

instantly shares the same belief, humor, personality, etc. However in some situations,

there are people who are also bound to make acquaintances who have opposing

behaviors, which will make everything a little more uncomfortable and strange. This

could either mold a healthy relationship or possibly an uneasy one. As once said by

Simon Mainwaring, “The role of social media is critical because it helps to spread

cognitive dissonance by connecting thought leaders and activists to ordinary citizens

rapidly expanding the network of people who become willing to take action.” The

psychologist who proposed this theory was Leon Festinger, who suggested that people

try to reach internal consistency and strive for their best.

The cognitive dissonance theory has been applied into my life throughout my

whole 18 years of living. The people I meet do not always instantaneously fall into

my best-friends list. Those who do not have the consistent flow of perceptions and

beliefs would mostly be labeled only as my acquaintances. It is impossible for me to

play along of being in a state of comfort with someone that I do not ‘click’ with at all.

For instance, I have this one friend who seeks after alcohol to release her stress. Me

being me, who is not fond of the taste of alcohol detected by my taste buds, I do not

tag along to any of her drinking sessions as I would like to stay sober. She is the type

of person that looks forward of the idea of getting drunk and loosing her thoughts in

whatever drink she chugs down. Due to the fact that I will distant myself from people

that do not share the same habits as I do, our friendship is very detached because of

our opposing routines. Even though deep in my heart I do feel the feeling of remorse,

I still cannot contemplate with what she is used to and I do not want to fall into her

insidious lifestyle.

In conclusion, as much as I want to avoid cognitive dissonance I know it is

inevitable for me, at least.