1. NAME: LIM JOE ONN
ID NUMBER: 0318679
SUBJECT: SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
COURSE CODE: PSY 30203
TITLE: FIRST INDIVIDUAL JOURNAL

2. SETTING
This event happened at Trafalgar Square, London during evening hours.
SCENE
A man used his tools to create many bubbles in the air. The children reacted by jumping,
putting their hands up and tried to pop the bubbles. The adults just stood aside and observed
the children.
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY THEORIES AT WORK
When people at Trafalgar Square saw the man creating bubbles, they observed his physical
appearance first. It is natural for human beings to do so. It is shown that the man is wearing a
small Jewish kippah and brightly coloured pants, which is different from the other people in
the square. Thus, heuristics made people assume that the man is Jewish, an ethnic group
different from theirs even though they did not ask him. Availability heuristics were done

3. when people analyse his clothing whereas representative heuristics were applied when people
think that he looks similar to other Jewish people they had met.
At first, only one of the children tried to pop the bubbles out of curiosity. Then, the other
children followed suit. This is called mimicry. People tend to observe the actions of others
and imitate them due to mirror neurons rooted in our brains. Apart from that, the adults did
not join the fun as they think that it is embarrassing and inappropriate to do so. They assumed
that people will think that they are immature if they played with them. This is due to their
awareness of the social setting.
Moreover, the children were happy when they played with the bubbles. Hence, mood-dependent
memory will be formed as they remember Trafalgar Square as a place where they
had fun. This makes them recall that place more easily in the future. Nostalgia might occur if
they revisit Trafalgar Square.
(296 words)