Social Psychology Journal//

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Name: Nor Syarianna Neo
Student Id: 0318236
SuBJECT: Social Psychology
Session: Monday 8AM
course: FNBE FEB 2014
submission date: 10 NOV 2014
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Journal 1 Concept: Confirmation Bias

As I skimmed through my Facebook page, here and then, I would always manage to see posts
lamenting about how mediocre our government and politics is. Of course, this was nothing out of
the odds. We Malaysians certainly like to talk about our politics, go to any kopitiam or mamak stall,
youll find the Aunties and Uncles and also the working community in general, chit-chatting about
politics as their favourite pastime. Or perhaps, condemning and complaining rather than chitchatting, would be a more appropriate word. Sure, a nation that is actively engaged in its political
and democratic activity is good, but then when you look into the conversations,the posts and the
comments, they are more oftenly biased and harsh than justified.

And so it got me thinking about the concept of confirmation bias that we had talked about in class,
the Confirmation Bias which is a persons tendency to fixate on only the things that support what
they believe. A phenomenon wherein decision makers have been shown to actively seek out and
assign more weight to evidence that confirms their hypothesis, and ignore or underweigh evidence
that could disconfirm their hypothesis.And so it can also be thought of as a form of selection bias in
collecting evidence.

I find that the concept was particularly evident during our election period last year. Who could
forget the major hoo-ha surrounding the heated election event? I lived in Johor, the south of
Malaysia. In South, there was a major breakdown between two political parties which was UMNO
and the opposing party and also between it main followers, the Malay and also the Chinese. Back
then, the movement of majority of the Chinese supporting the opposition, demanding a political
reformation, was really heated. Almost every weekend, you would see the Chinese community
gathering at a specified venue, thousands of them clad in the oppositions color, filling up the space,
chanting and rooting for their favoured party.

And then along with the reformation movement, came upon the supporting pages on the social
media, and this is where confirmation bias really is evident. For the whole pre-election period, my
Facebook page was bombarded with links, news and photos, to show how clean and righteous the
opposition party was, and how dirty and corrupted the government party was. You see, Im no
political expert, nor is politics my daily cup of tea, so Im in no place to say which party is superior
and which is inferior. But one thing that I can say is that it is obvious that these news and posts are
undeniably biased to favour their preferred political party. Some of the times, the posts can be quite
outrageous and harsh, but still people supports it to justify their stand. Even if theres a news thats
on the positive side for the other party, they would disregard it, saying that it probably just is a
publicity stunt by the particular party.

Of course, everyone is entitled to their own personal opinions and ideas as we are a democratic
society. But I also believe for the prospects of the nation well-being, all pieces of information must

be throughoutly processed and think over first rather than just simply laying out a uncredible fact
and start to bash out ruthlessly. Confirmation bias can be a powerful thing. When you have a strong
personal need to believe something, you set out to verify your belief with a mixture of motives.
You want to know if what you believe is true, but the cost of disappointment may be so high that
you become susceptible to any number of tricks we play on ourselves to make sure our lives are not
too greatly disturbed. Confirmation bias happens when we preselect for our attention only those
data which support the beliefs we had before we even began our quest to find the truth. As long as
we can find quick and easy ways to dismiss and ignore all data which contradict our preconceived
ideas, we will find that the remaining evidence perfectly supports whatever we thought from the
very beginning.

Its a clever trick our minds play on us, but if we are ever to learn how to think critically, we must
learn to recognize this process before it blinds us to the things wed rather not allow ourselves to
see. To truly help our nation rise up the occasion, I think we all still have much to learn. More
oftenly, we are too blinded to see not only with our own perspective.

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Journal 2 Concept: Self

What destroys us most effectively is not a malign fate but our own capacity for self-deception and
for degrading our own best self.
George Eliot, Adam Bede

I believe that the most difficult journey in life, is not one to find fame or success, but the journey
to find our own self.

My sophomore year in high school was the year I broke down. Since young, I have this
subconscious idea that I have to be nice to people so that people would like me back. I did not know
why nor when did the idea ground rooted in my mind, but it just did. And so, that was the projection
of me, ingratiation, the nice girl that is never rude, the nice girl that always thrive for the best, the
nice girl that never refuses other people requests. And that was also how people received me. And
for that reason I was content, because people received and reacted back to me in the way that I had
wanted. My classmates were especially nice to me and even the roughest guy in the class would talk
to me nicely. Like the Looking-Glass Theory, my self-concept was enhanced.

But with that it came with a price,it meant that I was to keep up with that facade for as long I was
in publics eye. Anything that I did must be coherent to the projection of nice, or surprise,shock
and dismay from the public will come upon me. And it dawned upon me at the time, that I had no
more say, only the projection of the nice me. It didnt matter what I really wanted to say, nor did it
matter what I really wanted. The projection of the nice me was the guide and compass to
everything that I am, how I am suppose to act, how I am suppose to converse, because that was
what people have attuned to and expected out of me. And for as long as I could remember, that was
who I became.

With that guiding compass, I achieved to become the model student in school consecutively for
three years, the acting president for the prefectorial board in school and also was privileged to be
able to represent Malaysia in a competition in China. But, guess what, even with all that, I felt no
real joy, only accomplishments that served purpose that I no longer comprehend. And slowly my
facade began to crack because I no longer have the energy nor motivation to maintain it. But after
living with such an image for years, its not that easy to discard. Because if I lose the facade, Im
scared. Who am I without that facade?

To cover up my cracking facade, I subjected to small lies and deception. Of course, one small lie
needs a bigger lie to cover it up, and it goes on and on and on. Until one day the lies doesnt aligned
anymore.

11 July 2012, that was the day everything broke loose. I was confronted by my committee
members of the prefectorial board, and that was the day my cracking facade was hammered into
pieces. I was confronted about my little lies, about how I was getting too controlling over the board,
and how the teacher always favoured me. And so I sat there and listen two whole hours to seven of
my closest member or so i thought, spilling out everything that was utterly wrong with me. I had to
leave after that two hours as my parents were waiting for me. Once I was out of their sight, I let go
the final piece of pride I had and slumped into the most agonising cry ever before wiping off the
tears and meet my parents. I never let my family knew because I felt like I cant lose that final piece
of me. And after that day, I went into a slump and stayed at the schools counselling department for
three solid weeks before I could bear to go back to my normal routine.

In that three weeks, I spent my time thinking and reflecting, reluctantly answering the questions
that the counsellor is asking. And she asked me what troubled you most. And after hesitating for a
while. I replied that Im a child out of wedlock. And having a child out of wedlock is bad in Islam.
Then she ask, do your parents love you? Yes,I said. Do you love your parents? Yes,I said again.
Then there seems to be no problem isnt it?

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And there and then, I got my answer.
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When I was nine, my mum came clean about it and explained it to me that even though Im a
child out of wedlock, it made no difference to them and they still love me very much. Perhaps I was
too confused to digest it. Perhaps back then being nice was my resolution so that it can become my
barrier, my safety blanket, so that people would never dislike me.
I lived most of my life with my negative self-image. Most oftenly, I looked like I was on top of the
world to everyone else, but all my achievements will not have the desired effect of convincing
myself that I am finally good enough because I simply do not felt I deserved it. Though Im still
hurt by the fact that my closest friends turned the table on me, Im glad they did so. For that they
forced me to remove my facade that I couldnt for so long. They gave me a wake-up call that I
needed. Yes,Im still discovering who I really am and who I want to be rather than who Im suppose
to be.

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Self is not a static, stagnant thing thats present to a child when they are born. It is ever-growing.
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Journal 3Concept: Stereotyping

Stereotyping happens everywhere and anywhere sadly. Why? Perhaps because we believes too
easily in what we see and what we hear without actually processing whether its right or wrong.
Perhaps we take Seeing is Believing much too literally.

There are various types of stereotyping happening all over the globe, gender stereotyping, racial
stereotyping, religion stereotyping and these are just some of the types of stereotyping. And the
stereotypes I would like to talk about in this journal is transgender stereotyping.

Transsexuality is highly controversial in any parts of the world. It is immoral in the word of
religion, odd and out of place in the context of social norms. When most people are asked about
them, most probably would show repulse and disgusts. Transgender who came out of the closet,
probably got shunned by friends and family, not to mention the public society. But in reality, how
many people really knows the stories behind it?

Transgender people are systematically silenced on a daily basis.They are not adequately
represented in politics, government, or media. They are not encouraged to freely express
themselves in a society that fears them. They are often not even safe on their own streets.We dont
know them because, frankly, we dont see them.When transgender people do live their lives in the
open, they are deemed freaks, deviants, and perverts. They are told that who they are is wrong.
They are even hated, hurt, and killed.When transgender people are represented in the media, they
are often portrayed as over-sexualized, uncontrollable freaks. Or are presented as drugged out
prostitutes .Or are misidentified as flamboyant drag queens. Its easy to fall into the trap of
stereotyping this group simply because this is what the media is potraying to the masses.

People who identify as transgender or transsexual are usually people who are born with typical
male or female anatomies but feel as though theyve been born into the wrong body. For example,
a person who identifies as transgender or transsexual may have typical female anatomy but feel like
a male and seek to become male by taking hormones or electing to have sex reassignment surgeries.
Perhaps a lot people might say that they should have just tolerate it and overcome it, but were
not the ones who are in their bodies, thus we could never truly understand what it feels like to be
them. If we cannot feel what they feel, what gives us the right to dictate what they should feel and
do?

According to studies, the most hurtful comment made to transgender people are that they arent
real men or women. This basically dictates that transgender people are somehow less human
because of their gender identification and that they do not have a place in proper society. It is
hateful and unacceptable.Everyone should have the right to be men and women, regardless of sex
category or anything else.

I believe that everyone is entitled to their own freedom of their bodies, be it transexual,
homosexual etc. They do not have the intention to harm others with their bodies, only the intention
to seek comfort in their own. And who are we to dictate what they can do and cannot do to their
own body? Religious-wise, I believe that what he chose to do to his body is between him and God,
that and nothing else.

Imagine if you were stripped and put into another persons body for the rest of your life, how
would you feel? If you cant embrace them, do not discriminate them, they do no harm to you.

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Journal 4Concept:Self-fulfilling Prophecy

I have studied under a chinese education system for 12 years and one thing I can conclude from it,
it certainly is stressful and competitive. Everyday, were trained and taught to be as hardworking
and diligent as we can

Journal 5 Concept: Mere Exposure Effect

Even when the public knows that McDonalds is bad for our health, the queuing line at the
McDonalds franchise never seems to be lesser. In fact, people seems to enjoy more out of their
delivery and drive-thru services. If you were to ask a child what they would like to eat, most
probably 90% of them would say they would like to eat McDonalds. In short, people just love
McDonalds.

According to a small study, Hamburgers, french fries, chicken nuggets, and even milk and carrots
all taste better to children if they think they came from McDonalds. In taste tests with 63 children
ages 3 to 5, there was only a slight preference for the McDonalds-branded hamburger over one
wrapped in plain paper, not enough to be statistically significant. But for all the other foods, the
McDonalds brand made all the difference.

Almost 77 percent, for example, thought that McDonalds french fries served in a McDonalds bag
tasted better, compared with 13 percent who liked the fries in a plain white bag. Apparently carrots,
too, taste better if they are served on paper with the McDonalds name on it. More than 54 percent
preferred them, compared with 23 percent each for those who liked the unbranded carrots and those
who thought they tasted the same.

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So why is is that the McDonalds brand made all the difference?
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Psychological studies suggest that by introducing a product to a consumer numerous times and in
different forms, the consumer will become familiar with the product and be more liable to buy it. In
social psychology, this term is called The Mere Exposure Effect. It is first discovered by Robert
Zajonc, a psychologist at Stanford in a seminal 1980 paper, Feeling and Thinking: Preferences
Need No Inferences, .

Thus,this explains the preference shift in children. Even though little children have yet able to
comprehend the meaning of the advertisement, through repeated exposure in the television and also
the social media, they become familiar with the golden arch logo, and familiarity soon become a
preference, making them like the brand.
Another example of The Mere Exposure Effect is the public preference of iPhone. Its no secret
that each time Apple release its new iPhone, thousands or people camp out and stand in line and
compete with other Apple die-hard fan to get their hands on the newest iPhone. So why is it that
iPhone creates such buzz among the public? Was is the better apps? The better specs? Do most
people even know why they wanted so bad to get a new iPhone?

As how McDonalds is, the public are constantly bombarded with countless advertisements,
billboards, reviews, news, tweets etc. in newspaper, TVs, social media, public spaces and so on.
The repeated exposure slowly but effectively seeps into the mind of the public, creating a
favourable impression and preference over the iPhone.

Not only McDonalds and iPhone, many of todays popular fads and global brands are created and
marketed through such medium. The concept is pretty much simple: The more times we see the
product advertised, the more we grow to like it. Just think about it. Like the Psys Gangnam Style
fad a few years ago, you hear a song on the radio and, initially hated with your gut. But after
listening to that station for two weeks, and hearing the song numerous times, you might even be
singing along to it unconcsiously!