individual journal

1. School of Architecture, Building & Design
Foundation in Natural and Built
Environment (FNBE)
Assignment 1: Individual Journal
Name: Chan Yi Fung
Student ID: 0323057
Group/session: Monday / 1p.m. - 3p.m.
Course: Social Psychology (PSYC0103)
Lecture: Mr Shankar
Submission Date: 16 November 2015

2. 3 October2015
Journal 1 : Social Facilitation
Social facilitation isaconceptthatrelatedtothe wordmotivationandimpress.The wordmotivation
can be the wordbehindalot of success.If u are givena taskonlymotivationandimpresswillboost
the performance tothe highestlevelwithputtingall the effortinit.
Social facilitationisthe tendencyforpeopletodobetterontasks wheninthe presence of other
people.Thisimpliesthat,wheneverpeopleare beingwatchedbyothers,theywill dowell onthings
that theyare alreadygoodat doing.Social facilitation islikeaboostertohumanperformance andI
mightbe a game changing.ThisSocial facilitationwillleadtoalarge marginof error duel to
nervousnesstothe personif the taskgivenisnoteasyor not confidenttoit.The side effectof Social
facilitationwill leadtodepressionif erroroccur.If isseriousthe personmightnevertrytodo
somethinginacrowd because he don’twantto underlookbyotherscause of hismistake andthis
mightbreakhisconfidentdeepdown.Unlesshe overcome thatincident.
The social facilitationtheoryfirstcame tolightwhenNormanTriplettbegantostudycompetitive
nature withchildren.Todothishe gave eachchildstringand had themwindit.Whenthe children
were competing,theyweremuchmore productive.Thisthoughtmade Triplettthinkaboutremoving
the competitionandreplacingitwithsome formof personwhowouldsimplyoversee the process.
Gordon Allportcontinuedthe processbycreatingastudywhere people were toldtowrite listsof
words(theywere told thattheywere notcompeting,buttheywere inaroom withothers).This
processproved,yetagainthatpeople performbetterwhentheythinktheyhave toprove something
or whentheyare in competitionwithanotherperson.
In mystudylife Iam alwaysthe moderate studentinthe studysociety.Iwasnevera futsal player
until Iform 2 myfriendaskme to joinhimina futsal game withhisfriendatfirstI thoughtfutsal was
easy,all u needtodo isjustkick the ball to the goal.WhenI reach the pitch I playand is wasn’twhat
I expectedismuchmore complicated.Rulefornew comereitherbe akeeperordefenderandI was
chosento be a defender.InfirstmatchI wasmotivate bymyfriend’sfriendbecauseIamtryingto
be betterthan theminthe pitch but thenI all I do isjust losingthe ball.Ikeeponplayingwiththem
everyweekendbutmypositionisstill adefender.Afterperiodof time Ilearnedaloton the pitch
and nowI am the bestdefenderamongall myfriendwheneverthere isanew teamthat joinedus,I
am alwaysmotivatedbytheirappearance.The strongertheyare the more motivatedIam.Now my
favourite sportisfutsal.

3. Social facilitationoccur,thishave tostart withcomputergames.Istartedto playcomputergames
whenI was7 yearsoldthe firstgame I playedisbomber-manthisisamultiplayerandIplayeditwith
my sister.Until then,myfriendintroduceme amassive multiplayeronline game namedDotaatfirst
I treat thisgame as a game to relax myself butthe more Iplaythe more I get usedtoit and the more
I getseriousaboutit whenIplay.Till now Dota isnot justa game to me but a challenge.WheneverI
playwithmy friendIfeel motivatedandIwantto be the bestandthe mostwell performplayerin
the team.
For normal persondrivingisjusta skill thatshouldbe requiredbutforme Ithinkdifferently.Forme
drivingisnotonlya skill buta hobby.I like todrive aroundthe citywithmy favourite musicturnon
and enjoythe viewof cityandstreets.Ialwaysmotivatedbydriverthatequipbetterdrivingskill
than me and improve mydrivingskilltothe nextlevel.Notmatterwhatcar we are drivingaslongas
we learnedsomethingthoughtoutthe journeyandenjoyit.
Hence conclusion,Social facilitationislikea dice sometime umightget6 but sometimesumightget
onlyjust1. When u are energize andmotivatedandugetto impressthe otherthenthe outcome for
it isa six.Whenu are energize andmotivatedbutthe erroroccur and it mightbe a breakerforhis
confidential.Forme Social facilitationisboostthatcanpush me off the ceiling.

4. 5 October2015
Journal 2: Social Comparison
Comparisonisa processthat people usuallydon’treallylike becausecomparisontherewillbe one
bad and good.Comparisonisbasicallyaprocessthatbringintwo or more personand compare with
each other’sstandardinmanyway.Comparisonbetweentwoormore personmake people feel
inferior,disrespectful,frustrated.
For whatI feel aboutthe wordcomparison,we can’treallycompare a personwithanotherbecause
everyone hassomethingthattheyare goodand bad.We can onlycompare stuff and significantbut
we can compare feelinglikehappy,sad,love,painandmore.The thingwe can’tcompare ismore
importantthanthe thingwe can compare.Social Comparisoncanleadtomotivation,self-enhance,
depression.
Social comparisontheoryisdevelopedbyLeonFestinger.Festinger’stheoryof Social Comparison.
The study of Social Comparisonwasinitiatedbythe social psychologistLeonFestinger(1954).In his
model,Fes-tingeroutlinesthe central processesunderlyingthe formationof the beliefsaboutone's
ownabilitiesandopinionsheldbyaperson.Social comparisontheorystatesthatwe determineour
ownsocial and personal worthbasedonhow we stack up againstothers.Asa result,we are
constantlymakingself andotherevaluationsacrossavarietyof domains(forexample,
attractiveness,wealth,intelligence,andsuccess).Mostof us have the social skillsandimpulse
control to keepourenvyand social comparisonsquietbutourtrue feelingsmaycome outinsubtle
ways.We can enhance ourself-esteembyfeelingbetterthanotherpeopleoritcouldbe vice versa.
GoethalsandDarley(1977) definedsimilarityintermsof relatedattributes.Therefore,comparisons
are more useful whenthe comparisontargetsharesrelevantattributes(forexample,genderorage)
withthe personcarryingout the comparison.Comparingone'smathperformance withthe math
performance of a same age studentismuch more informative thancomparingthe math
performance withayoungerorolderstudent.
Social Comparisonalwaysexistbetweenstudentsnomatterinwhatgrade. Asa studentI
understandwhy.Some of the studenttheywill askuaboutthe grade and comparedaboutit, this
situationdoesn’tonlyexistbetweenstudentandtheirparentwill dothe same bycomparingtheir
child’sresultwithothers. Justrecentlymyeconomicslecturegave usa test.I get34 over40 forthe
test,I wassurprise there issomeone inthe classwholiterarygetfull markforit.I comparedmy
resultandI motivatedtostudyevenharderbecause I feel thattheircando it whyI can it. Inthe

5. otherway roundI comparedmyresultwiththe studentthatget lowergrade thanme and my self-
esteemisenhance.
I am a huge fan of Star Wars. WhenI wasa kidthe firstthingthat comesto mindfromthe movie is
the lightsabre carryby sithand jedi.Itattractive cause of the glowingcolour,abilitiesandstuff.
RecentlyElectronicArtandDice justreleasedStarWars Battlefrontbetaforplayertotry out.I
invitedfewof myfriendthatare skilledinshootinggamestoplaywithme.Iplayedwiththemfew
timesandtheirscore are alwayshigherthanme and my deathare alwayshigherthankills.Ifeel
depresswhenIcomparedmyscore withthem, because we usedothersasthe standardby whichwe
compare ourselves.Myself-esteemdiminishbycomparingmyfriend’sscore andmine.
Nightmarketas we call in BMis pasar malam.I like walkalongthe nightmarketwithmyfriend,chat
aroundand buysome streetfood.There isone day I wenttothe nightmarketwith myfriendandI
encounterthere isone childrenroughlyaround10 – 12 walkinginthe nightmarketaskingpeopleto
buyprawn crackers.WentI and my friendare leavingthe nightmarketwe saw thatgirl again and
the amountof prawncrackers on herhand isthe same whenwe firstsaw her. I and my friend
bought2 pack of prawn crackersfrom herin orderto helpherup.On the journeybackhome I
comparedmy life andherlife.WhenIwasaroundthat age andthistime I wouldbe inthe shopping
mall withmy parenthavinga joyful familytime.Insteadthatgirl issellingprawncrackersinthe night
market.I am grateful thatI am born ina good familyandIfell happydeepdownfrommyheart.
Againforwhat I feel we peopleshouldn’tcompare witheachother. There isaquote inChinese 人比
人, 气死人meanthathumancomparingwitheachotherinthe endonlysuffertheywill get.

6. 8 October2015
Journal 3: Counterfactual Thinking
ThispsychologyconceptCounterfactualThinkingisincludeaveryimportantword“imagine”.
Imagine meancreate somethingthatisnotreal that onlyexistinthe mind.Imagine isawordthat
createda lot of impossibleinthisworld.Ourentertainmentare createdfromthe imaginationfor
example superheroesmovie are all imaginationof the comicwriter. The technologywe usedtoday
isa conceptthat imaginedbysomeonethenstartedtodevelopthe conceptasgroupuntil todayand
thisishow newtechnology keeponimproving.
For whatI thinkaboutthis Counterfactual Thinkingisaprocessthatwill happentomostof the
people whentheyencounteranegative event.Theywill rethinkwiththe line “whatif I”and if “I had
only”thenimagine the outcome ina positive way.Forsome of the eventwe mighthave a chance to
regretwhatwe done exampleanaccidentoccur duel todrivingrecklesslyanditonlycostdamage to
the car, Inthiseventthere isa chance for u to regretand say I will be more careful forthe nexttime
. For some seriouseventexample accidentlykill someonewhenthe angerisuncontrollable,inthis
eventevenuregretforwhat u have done butthere isno turningback.
Counterfactual thinkingisaconceptinpsychologythatincludesthe humanpropensitytomake
conceivable distinctoptionsforeveroccasionsthathave asof now happened;somethingthatisin
oppositiontowhatreallyhappened.Counterfactual intuitionispreciselyasitstates:"countertothe
actualities."Thesecontemplationscomprise of the "whatif i?"andthe "if I had only..."thathappen
whenconsideringhowthingscouldhave turnedoutinan unexpectedway.Counterfactual
contemplationsare thingsthatcouldneverhappeninall actuality,onthe groundsthatthey
exclusivelyrelate tooccasionsthathave happenedbefore.Thispsychologyconceptiscreatedby
KahnemanandMiller(1986) proposedthe normtheoryas a theoretical basistodepictthe method
of reasoningforcounterfactual thoughts.Normtheoryrecommendsthat the simplicityof
envisioninganalternate resultdecidesthe counterfactual choicesmade.Standardsinclude a
pairwise correlationbetweenanintellectualstandardandanexperiential result.Aninconsistency
evokesanemotional reactionwhichisimpactedbythe size andbearingof the distinction.For
instance,if aservermakestwentydollarsmore thana standardnight,a positive influencewillbe
evoked.Inthe eventthatanunderstudygainsalowergrade than isordinary,a negative influence
will be evoked.Forthe mostpart,upwardcounterfactualsare likelytoresultinanegative state of
mood,while downwardcounterfactualsinspire positive mood.

7. WhenI firstjustget mylicence mydad tookme to a drive sothat I can improve mydrivingskills.My
dad ask me to drive himfrommyhour to my aunthouse inUSJ5. Onthe wayI was drivingquite fast,
my dadkeepon remindingme don’tdrivingfastandalwaysalertthe surroundingduel Iamnotan
experience driverbutIdidn’tlisten.WhenIwasonthe road I am onthe middle lane andIjustdrive
to the leftlane withoutlookingthe side mirrorandaccidentoccurred.The guycame downfromhis
car andsaid “howcan u justdrivingintootherslane asu wish”my dad managedtosettle withhim
by promise topayfor the car damage.Onthe waymy dad didn’tscoldme butexplainthe mistakeI
make and he said“is ok to make mistake forthe firsttime andlearnfromthe mistake udone and
neverrepeatit”.UpwardsCounterfactual occurwhenIreachedhome I went upto my roomand
rethinkIshouldlistentomydad inthe firstplace thenaccidentwon’thappeninsteadIfollow my
ego.
I go throughmy primaryschool dayswithmostlybadacademics.UPSRis an examthateverykid
shouldsitbefore enteringsecondaryschool.Istudy3 daysbefore UPSRand my momtoldme if I fail
thisUPSR I will have totake studyanotheryearbefore goingintosecondaryschool.Iwentintothe
examhall withoutfearandtake the examon.Afterthree daysof the examisfinallydone.I enjoy
dayswithoutstudies.Justone weekbefore myUPSRresultreleaseddayIstartedto worried.Onthe
UPSR releaseddayIsawI myresultI getan A and othersall are B andC. I rethinkif I putin effortmy
resultcouldbe flyingcolour,inthe otherwayroundI toldmyself Istudyforthree before the exam
and at leastI managedtoget an A andpassedthe exam.
SometimesCounterfactualThinkingimprove orworsenmymoodbutI use thisconceptfrequentlyin
my life.

8. 12 October2015
Journal 4: First Impression
Nowa days our societyjudge apersonwithfirstimpressiontheysaw fromthe person.If the person
aren’twearingsomethingnice meanhe mostprobablypoor,if the personwithtattooall aroundhis
bodyhe most probablya gangster.Thistwoexample are the schemasforhow now a day we people
judge othersbyfirstimpressions.Inthe otherwayroundhe mightfeel aslongas the cloth is
comfortthenis ok,the personwithtattooaround hisbodydoesn’tmeanthathe is a gangster.
From my pointof viewof thisconceptFirstImpressionsisamassage u receive fromthe personu
don’tknow.I don’tobserverathowtheydressor whethertheysmoke ornotinsteadIobserve in
other.Howcan we getthe massage?Bylookingatthe personaction,behaviour,walkingstyleand
talking.All three criteriaImentionrepresentthe personalitypersonbecausethatwhathe is.For
example inthe ancientChinadynasty,primeministeristhe mostsecondpowerpersoninthe
country.Prime ministerequipthe skilltoknow the personattitude andpersonalitybyjustobserver
at the person’scriteriahowhe act,behave,walkandtalk.Prime ministerequipskillsistochoose a
rightpersonto accomplishthe jobassignbythem, withthisskillstheywill notassign the jobtothe
wrongperson.
In psychology,afirstimpressionisthe occasionwhenone individual firstexperiencessomeone else
and formsa mental image of that individual.Impressionaccuracyvariesrelyinguponthe observer
and the objective example individual,object,scene,andmore beingobserved. Firstimpressions
dependonan extensive varietyof qualities:age,race,society,dialect,sex,physical appearance,
accent,stance,voice,numberof individualspresent,andtime permittedtoprocess. The early
introductionspeople provide forotherscouldincrediblyimpacthow theyare dealtwithandsaw in
numerousconnectionsof ordinarylife.
AlfredAdlerdevelopedapsychologytheorycalledIndividual Psychology.The term"individual
psychology"doesnotmeantofocuson the individual.AlfredAdlersaidone musttake intoaccount
the patient'swhole environment,includingthe people the patientassociateswith.The term
"individual"isusedtomeanthe patientisanindivisiblewhole.ThisIndividual Psychologyisrelated
to the FirstImpression. Accordingtoindividual psychologyeachandeveryactionthatwe take,even
if thisactionwas uselesssuchasprocrastination.Sowhatdoesthishasto do withthe psychologyof
firstimpression?Muchthe same as we dothe activitiesthatassistsuswithcomingtoour objectives
we assessthe looksof othersby figuringouttowhat degree canthose individualsassistuswith
psychologyobjective.Inthe eventthata man detestslazinessandinthe eventthathe was

9. mistakenlytaughtbythe mediathatcorpulentindividualsare lethargicthenhe mayneverbe pulled
into stout individuals.Thisisacase of how mutilatedconvictionsaboutsomethingcaninfluencethe
firstimpressionwe formof individuals.
My dadis a contractor inhis earlytime.Mymom isa workerin a tilesshop.Mydad alwayswentto
the shopfor tilesforconstructionpurpose.There isone daymydad came to the shoponlunch time
to collecttiles.He sawmymom didn’twentforlunchand he started a conversationDad: “Why
aren’tu goingto lunch?”, Mom : “There are many file toworkon” , Dad : “Come letgo lunchI treat
u” , Mom : “OK” . That howtheystartedtheirrelationship.Aftersome periodmymombroughtmy
dad to meetherparentsandsiblingsatherhouse.My dad’sappearance isnot fancyat all,justa
shirtwithlongpant andwithhisworkingboots.The firstimpressionformymom’ssiblingisthatmy
dad isa smoker,drinkerandothernegativestuff duelhisworkingenvironment.Butmydad was
nevera smokeranddrinkeruntil now.
There isa time Iwas chillingwithmyfriendinthe mamakstore andwe chat abouthighschool’s
time.Iask my friendabouttheirfirstimpressionsof me.All of themhave the similaranswer.They
toldme that whentheyfirstsawme theythoughtthatI am veryseriouskindapersonbecause I
don’treallysmile topeopleIdon’tknow andI alwayshave the seriousface.Theysaid: “After
knowingme fora fewday confirmuwill sure getscoldmyteacherduel laughinginthe class”.I am
crazy bombbecause I alwaysmake upstupidjoke froma simple thing.
Firstimpressionforcanletus understandapersonfromit outside butmore importantlyisto
understandthe personfromitinside.

10. 15 October2015
Journal 5: Observational Learning
The main keywordinthe psychologyconceptof Observational Learningisthe wordobservational.
Observerisa personwhowatchesandnoticessomething.Mostof the people thinkthat
Observational Learningisanimportantprocessforchildrenbutforadultsandteenagersitcarry the
same importantweight.
For whatI feel aboutthispsychologyconceptObservational Learningisthe mostbasicof learning.
Whena baby isstartingto learnsomething,itwill startwithobservefirst.Babiesdon’tknow how to
speakand the onlythingthathelptheminlearningwhentheyare youngage isobserve.
Observational Learningisveryimportantforthe childrenlearningintheirearlystage of learning,it
will affectthe children’scharacteristicanditfuture.Whensomethinggetsapersonattentionthen
the personwill startto observe the processandanalysiswhatisgoingonand whywill thishappen
and thisispart of the learningprocess.Mydad alwaystell me toobserve whatothersare doingno
matterwhat thenwe analysisthe informationwe receive,if isgoodthenwe willlearnfromit,if is
bad we will keepitasmemoriessothatonce we encounterthe same scenarioandstraightawaywe
knowit isbad.That’s the way we keeponimprove ourselvessothatwe won’tfall backbehind
comparedto others.
Observational Learningisbasicallyobservingthe others(models) engageinbehaviourandthe
repeatingthose action.Thistheoryisdevelopbyapsychologistname AlbertBandura(1977).
Observational Learningisatype of social learningwhichtakesdifferentforms,basedondifferent
processes.Inhuman,thistype of learningseemtoappearsnotrequire supporttohappen,but
instead,requiresasocial model,forexample,parent,sibling,friend,orteacher.Especiallyin
childhood,amodel issomeone of higherstatusorauthority.Increatures,observationallearningis
oftentakingintoaccountestablishedmolding,inwhichanatural conductis inspiredbywatchingthe
behaviorof another(e.g.mobbinginbirds),howeverdifferentprocessesmaybe includedtoo.
Bandura's social cognitive learningtheorystatesthatthere are fourstagesinvolvedinobservational
learningattention,retention,initiation,motivation.InhisfamousBobodoll test,Bandura
demonstratedthatyoungchildrenwouldfollow the aggressiveandviolentactivitiesof anadult
model.Inthe experiment,youngsterswatchedafilminwhichanadultoverand overhita big,
inflatable balloondoll.Afterwatchingthe videoclip,childrenwereallowedtoplayinaroom witha
real Bobo doll simplylike the one theyfoundinthe video.WhatBandurafoundwasthat children
will probablyfollow the stepof the adult'sviolentactivitieswhenthe adultdidn'treceive any
consequencesorwhenthe adultwasrewardedfortheirviolentactivities.

11. In 2008 Chinese New Yearmydadbroughtme togetherto visitone of hisoldfriend.Whenwe first
reach hishouse he wasverypolite andinvitedusin.Afteranhourof conversationbetweenhimand
my dad,hiscell phone rang.He answerhisthe call,he useda lot of swearwordswhile he isonthe
phone call.Afterdone answeringthe phone call he andmydad continue withthe conversationfor
half an hour thenwe decide toleave.Onthe wayback home mydad toldme don’tnot to swearlike
hisfriend.Mydad explainedtome whyswearingtoomuchis badit isbecause whenusweartoo
much itwill become the nature wayof u speakingandthiswayof speakingwill representyouras
uncivilizedanditmightbe affectyourfuture.Mydad gave me an example:if yourbossare having
conversationwithuandout of suddenu accidentallyusedaswearwordbecause u are so usedto it
and itmightgive bad impressiontoyourboss.After 5 yearsmy dad decide togive hima box of
mandarinorangesonChinese NewYear.Whenwe reachhishouse,Irang the doorbell andItry to
pass hissonthe box of orangesbut the doordidn’topenupso hisson shoutedonhisbrother“ Diu
can u fuckingopenthe doorthere issomeone out”thenthe door openupaftera few secondhisson
shouted.Iand mydad leftstraightawayafterpassinghimthe box of oranges.Ifeel thatwayof his
son speakisobservationallearningfromhisfatherduel tohisfather oftentosweara lotwhile ina
conversation.
Conclusion,Observational Learningforcanbe the majorcause of a person’scharacteristic.LastlyI
have to say fora childrenbehavioural change iseasybutforanadult behavioural change isveryhard
because theyare so usedto italready.Thatwhy everychildren’smodelmustequipgood
characteristic.