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NAME: FONG KAH YAN
STUDENT ID: 0322815
LECTURER: MR.SHANKAR
DATE: 8 NOV 2015
ASSIGNMENT: JOURNALS
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CONTENT
NO CONCEPT PAGE
1. Social Cognitive & Social Learning 3-4
2. Social & Personal Influences 5-6
3. Social Cognition 7-8
4. Social Perception 9-10
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5. Attitude Formation 11-12
CONCEPT 1: SOCIAL COGNITIVE & SOCIAL LEARNING
PERSPECTIVE
STORY : One of my good friend had changed by the influenced of
society after graduated. (Date: FEB 2015)
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Lily is a very beautiful girl. But there is more to her than beauty, I have only begun to tell
you of a wonderful person that I can call my best friend.She can make me smile simply
by being herself, a show that many need to lift their spirits. She loves to listen to my
problems and interject advice that could help ma through my struggles. Many times I am
mystified by her ability to just sit and listen to a poor soul like me pour out my mind, but
she sees it as an opportunity to let someone "unload." She seems to be enlightened on all
aspects of life, such as family and relationships, and finds it easy to relate to almost
anyone or anything.A quality that I find most intriguing about her is that she can take any
situation and make the best of it. To be able to go to Goodwill and use it as a playground,
proves that she can have fun in any situation. Though the most horrible things can happen
to her, like hitting a deer, she never seems to be having a bad day. Laughing comes
naturally to her and she can bring joy into the most barren situation.She seems to be the
most responsible person I know. Just being able to control a full-time job and still do well
in school amazes me. But unfortunately,she turned out to a materialistic girl after
venturing to the society for few years.
I knew that people are becoming more materialistic. They are concerned with making
more money and what money can buy. But what making me so sad is that, she is one of
those materialistic people.She said that money makes the world go round. And indeed it
does as without money, life would be very difficult as in today’s society, nothing is free.
The side effect however is that people are becoming more materialistic; more concerned
with making money and what money can buy. But how much money is enough? Is it ever
enough? To some, it will never be enough.
In my opinion, I truly believe that this statement is true and that people are becoming
more materialistic in nature. Actually, I can understand how materialism has affected
modern society’s way of life on an individual level, the country’s economy as well as our
spiritual and moral beliefs.Each individual is affected by materialism to some extent in
this day and age because hedonism is becoming an uprising trend. This is because today's
generations are geared towards making more and more money so that they can enjoy the
carefree lifestyle that is so popular these days.
Moreover, people now are striving to earn more income in order to afford things that are
more expensive and branded. For example, people spend their hard earned money on
material objects like genuine LV and Coach handbags, expensive gadgets like Iphones
and Tablet pcs and so on which in my opinion is a waste of money when regular goods
may prove to be good enough. Therefore, while individuals become more focused on
their pursuit of material wealth and improving their standard of living, they may forget
that what matters most in life is quality time spent with family and friends and not the
quantity of their material goods. Secondly, when society starts spending in a materialistic
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manner it will surely have a domino effect on the country’s economy. This means that the
spending power of society will help boost the economy and create more business
opportunities for the booming trade. However, when a society overspends, using plastic
money or credit cards, or when they take loans they cannot afford to repay, then the
country’s debt margin will be higher. For instance, Malaysia today is facing an economic
crisis because banks have approved home loans to people who aspire to own bigger
houses than they can actually afford and this is causing the collapse of the country’s
economy there. Thus, while a society’s spending habits helps our economy to grow,
overspending due to materialism will have an adverse effect to the country’s financial
stability.
Materialism affects our spiritual and moral beliefs. This is due to the fact people who are
materialistic may become ‘amoral’ whereby they disregard their spiritual and moral
upbringing and instead turn to crime to satisfy their materialistic needs.
From the reasons above, I can see that how and why a good girl would transformed or
influenced by the society.This is social perception,forming an impression of others based
on available information. Her character was influenced. This is social influence,the
process by which one’s thoughts and actions affected by others.
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CONCEPT 2: SOCIAL INFLUENCES & PERSONAL INFLUENCES
Stories synopsis: How my idol inspiring me and I hope I can be
like him. ( Date: Since my childhood time)
My Dad is my real hero because he is the most special person in my life. He is a very
good athlete & an artist. He is a Civil Engineer by profession. At weekends he loves to
play with me the whole day. During weekdays we work hard & spend maximum time
working at his office. He is among the top ranked employee of his company & has won
many awards for the same. He tries his best to keep our family happy. He works hard to
make money for our family. He loves me a lot & always tries to cheer me up whenever I
am in a sad mood. He has always taught me good values & not spoiling me by buying me
all the things that I wanted. But at the same time he has gifted me many things that I
always wish to have. My Dad has always tried his level best to make me a good human
being. I am his only daughter.
He is very careful regarding what I eat. He always insists me to eat healthy stuff such as
fruits and vegetables that are rich in vitamins and minerals. He is an extremely loving
Dad. I always enjoy spending time with him and learn new things with him. He has
taught me to swim. Till date I have won many swimming championships. My Dad helps
me in my studies too. He does not allow me to take tuition instead he personally sits with
me to get my problems solved. It is because of his grace I perform well in studies. My
Dad is the most precious gift of God to me. He is a loving father and the most gracious
person I have ever seen in my life. He wants me to become a good human being like him.
That is why he always teaches me to differentiate between wrong & right.
Every day he takes out little time for me in the night to acknowledge my day to day
activities & problems if any. He is my best friend. I can discuss everything with him
without any hesitation. Things that I fail to reveal out to my close friends, I can easily
discuss them with my Dad. Whenever I need his help, he is always available for me. He is
like a hero to me. He is a funny, cool, adventurous and smart human being. He loves to
travel and that is why we both always go to long distant places (sometimes abroad) on
vacations. I love to travel too & that is why vacations are always awaited as far as its
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Dad’s company. Apart from domestic cities till date we have traveled to San Francisco,
Beijing, Toronto, New York & Sydney.
Dad says that he started visiting the globe when he was a college student. According to
him his experience has helped him to broaden his horizons. This is the reason he started
me quite early. He wants me to experience the world because he believes that traveling is
an education in itself. When I was at the age of 10 I took my first flight to Sydney. I have
learnt a lot of things under my Dad’s guidance which education fails to teach. The most
important lesson that Dad has taught me is to be discipline & hard working in life. These
2 things are the key ingredients to achieve success in life.
Today I am just 19 years old & at this tender age Dad has taught me a lot of things that
people at the age of 20 fails to understand. He has taught me what life is all about. He has
showed me the way to achieve success. He has showed me the opportunities that exist in
front of me. But at the same time he has left the decision up to me in terms of which path
to choose. He is very confident that his efforts to make me a good human being will never
go in vein. Seeing his confidence in me some day I want to make him proud. I thank God
everyday for giving me such a loving and caring father. This concept is the love of reality
people inspired by the self -esteem boost that I get from favorably comparing ourselves
with others. I want others to see me as I see myself. This occurs even when my
self-concept is negative. It gives me the illusion of control ability and predictability.
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CONCEPT 3: SOCIAL COGNITION
Story Synopsis: How do I think about the90’s generationnowadays.
Strawberry generation is a Chinese language neologism for Taiwanese people born after
1981 who "bruise easily" like strawberries – meaning they can not withstand social
pressure or work hard like their parents' generation; the term refers to people who are
insubordinate,spoiled, selfish, arrogant, and sluggish in work.
The term arises from the perception that members of this generation have grown up being
overprotected by their parents and in an environment of economic prosperity, in a similar
manner to how strawberries are grown in protected greenhouses and command a higher
price compared to other fruits.
Here is the reason why am I hated those 90’s strawberry generation. Based on a true story.
There was a girl,named Angel,was born in 1997 who applied for a temp job during her
holidays as a promoter. On the day to interview, she called the marketing executive,
telling him that she has lost her way and demanded that the poor executive go fetch
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her.Well, at least she made the effort to come down for the interview, so she shouldn’t
belong to the strawberry generation, right?
So she went to work as a promoter. All along, she knew it would not be in an
air-conditioned area—but a few hours later, she decided she wanted to quit and just went
off. Gone, just like that. And when she was confronted and fired, the company told her
that they will issue a cheque to her by the end of the month (it’s already good enough that
she is receiving something for just disappearing as she has shown no remorse).
But guess what? She demanded a bank transfer. She wanted it immediately (because she
wanted to buy something?). She wanted it so much that she repeatedly sent SMS to the
marketing executive. She claimed that she has the rights to get the money, she claimed
that a bank transfer should be very simple, she claimed that……until the marketing
executive called her, and she did not dare to pick up the phone.
Surprised that she didn’t, you know, get her parents to talk to the marketing
executive?And if you think this is exaggerated, think again: this is considered extremely
mild. We have encountered even worse (and because it happens in our office, we won’t
want to offend anyone), and you have, too. What are the things that I hate about the
strawberry generation?
1. They think the world owes them anything they want
Usually, when they were young, all they need to do, when they wanted something, was to
ask for it. Never once have they worked for something. If someone refuses to give them
what they want, they’ll get defensive, aggressive and angry. Their rationale for having
that self-entitlement when you confront them objectively? Any silly, stupid excuse that
insults your intelligence. Like, really.
2. They expect the world to agree with them
So when one hates Justin Bieber, he expects everyone to have the same mindset. If not,
you’re considered an outcast, not cool and simply out of touch. In fact, if you disagree,
they’ll be angry—because the world must agree with their views.
With the Internet, one can gain fame within, literally, overnight. Have you seen how
some people would get super defensive when they suddenly become popular?
3. They don’t stand up for themselves
Remember the viral video of a 29-year-old guy who was abused by his superior, and
eventually his parents were the one who stood up for him? No offence to anyone, but
think about your life in general. Aren’t there many cases of that guy? In other words,
unless you can stand up for yourself, the reality is that people who are strong would go
with this mindset.
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4. They have expectations that are just so illogical
…but to them, it is logical. Just ask any HR manager. Some strawberry generation people
would just sit down and expect high pay, short working hours and tons of benefits—and
their logic is that their friends have it.
5. They argue about “rights” and “fairness” when everyone else has no such issue
Now, this is tricky because they’re just avoiding #3, right? Wrong. They’re apparently
just using these as an excuse to avoid doing something difficult. For example, in NS,
every male Singaporean has done it, but this strawberry generation person would just
argue about human rights and fairness. You honestly think he wants a change for the
world or he just wants a change for himself?
6. They blame everyone except themselves
Self-explanatory, and many people do this, but the strawberry generation people seem to
exhibit more of this trait. To them, blaming others, especially the authorities, would
position themselves as a victim instead of a loser. Who wants to be a loser when you can
be a victim?
7. They go for the easy solutions or just avoid the problem altogether
When they were young, they need not face any consequences—face a problem and all
they need to do is to complain or cry, and their parents or the authorities will step in to
help. In the real world, no one would help, and so it’s either an easy solution or avoiding
it altogether. Their life is all about the Internet. Games? Online. Shopping? Online.
Chatting? Online. Friends? Online. Work? Online. Everything else? Online.
This is the schemas guide the way I think about the world around me. Schema it formed
on the basis of the experiences happened around me by the cognitive frameworks.
CONCEPT 4: SOCIAL PERCEPTION
Story Synopsis: How Do I perceived a people character and why I hate my
neighbor themost. (Date: Last year)
There are lots of people I meet in my life. And I know it is not necessary that all of them I
like. I categorize people in three types. One I like most, second one I don’t like and the
third one who has no impression at all in my life. It is a natural phenomenon that I can’t
be friendly or alien to all people to whom I met. Of course there are always some good
reasons behind as why I like or hate people.
In my personal opinion, it is very awkward to hate person solely on the basis of their
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physical appearance or on such things at which they have no control for example their
face, color, height, race or religion etc. However, there are many other good reasons that
you can hate a person or group of person.
Hate is very hard word and being a human being I don’t feel good to say I hate some
person because I don’t like him. I can only hate the person who bears qualities that I hate
most. Some of the bad qualities I reckon are liar, back biter, bootlicker, hypocrite, corrupt,
those who try to divide the nation, killer, human-trafficker, those who have entrusted
some key position in the Government and failed to discharge their liabilities, drug dealers
and persons having double standards.
One type of person that I hate most is the hypocrite clergymen – one who preaches good
things but doesn’t follow it by himself. Those persons are the wolves in sheep’s clothing.
They are not only dangerous for the society but also cause to portray very negative image
of our religion. Their thoughts have the power to brainwash the naïve peoples. Those
chatterer people are normally very fond of giving lectures on morals and good behavior
but never try to follow with their own.
A person I dislike most is Sunny Soo, my nextdoor neighbor. He is in his late thirties and
is a father of three teenagers.
Sunny is one person who will repulse you at first look. Standing at 1.5 meters, he is skin
and bone with a pimply dark face crowned with wispy hair, the color of steel. He has a
pair of cold, brown eyes, a broad nose and jagged protruding teeth.
I have never met a person who is as crude as Sunny. He talks very fast and as a result,
saliva shoots out from his mouth at an amazing speed that would put an M-16 machine to
shame. So, everyone who talks to him has tissues or even mini umbrellas ready for
emergency use. Apart from that, he likes to use four-letter words that have embarrassed
many a cultured young lady who chanced to meet him.
I have also never met a person as loudmouth as Sunny. Once, my friend, Lily and I were
at a cinema. Guess who was sitting behind us? Sunny Soo ! He kept commenting on the
show so much so that we had no choice but to move to two other empty seats in the front
row. We went home dizzy, cursing him all the way home.
Sunny's 'kiasu' behavior also puts me off. I remember once, there was a sale in town.
Sunny was so afraid of not getting there first that he went to the shopping complex and
camped there the whole night so that he could be the first to enter the shop to get good
bargains. He goes to such lengths so as not to lose out to others.
Added to this trait of being 'kiasu' is his perception of money. To him, fifty cents is like
fifty dollars. He once walked from his apartment to town because he wanted to save the
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$1.00 parking fee. My mum saw him walking, his face bathed in sweat and his wispy hair
plastered on his face. Mum was so tickled that she nearly knocked the car in front of her.
What I also dislike about him is his condescending attitude towards people who are
younger than he is. Once, I forgot to lower the volume of my television. He marched to
my apartment, kicked my door and told me to switch off the television. If Dad had not
prevented me from rushing out, I would have beaten him to pulp.
So now you have read about Sunny, you will understand why I have such a dislike for
him. But a funny thing though, is that his wife is the complete opposite of him. You may
wonder why she married him. Your guess is as good as mine. This is the dispositional
attributions,the cause of an action is due to a person’s internal characteristic.
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CONCEPT 5: EVALUATIONS ABOUT THE WORLD
Story Synopsis: How my attidudes influence my behaviour (Date:
Feb 2013)
I’m always looking to help people out. I’ve heard others talking about me, saying how
I’m one of the most helpful people around. I used to just think that maybe I had dreamt
that up, because a part of me knew that it sounded way too cocky if I actually
acknowledged that I overheard somebody saying that. But then I definitely heard
someone else saying the same thing, again. I’m pretty sure it was somebody different. So
even if the first time was a dream, which I’m not even positive that it was, the second
time had to have been real. Who dreams about the same thing two times? I’ve never done
that. I don’t even think it’s possible.
Always willing to lend a helping hand, that’s me. It’s like my unofficial motto. My
official motto is, “Try to always be on the lookout for an opportunity to help out.” But it’s
a little too official, if you know what I’m getting at. Sometimes you might have a great
concept for a motto or a cool idea and it’s taking shape in your head and your playing
around with it as the words roll off of your tongue. But as soon as you make it official, as
soon as you lay that stamp down upon it, saying, OK, this is it, my official motto,
something happens to it, something immediate. All of the sudden it’s set in stone, it’s too
formal, it’s too institutionalized, and you wish it weren’t your official motto anymore.
But it’s too late, way too late, it’s already official. You’ve already punctuated the whole
motto with official quotation marks. It just doesn’t have that same energy anymore. It’s
stale, stuck. So that’s why I only stick with unofficial mottos.
My helpful nature is just that, natural. A lot of the time I feel like I have to protect it from
outside influences. Like, a lot of the time, because I’m so helpful, people will offer my
services to other people, just by knowing me, just by knowing my helpful nature naturally
wants to help out. But that’s not really me being helpful. It’s like someone else being
helpful. And so I feel like I’m not actually helping out, but the other person, the person
who referred me to help out is actually being the helpful one. They’re providing the help.
It’s like if you asked that person to borrow a screwdriver, and they said yes, that person
wouldn’t sit back and think to themselves, wow, what a great screwdriver. No, they’d
think, wow, what a great friend. I’m nobody’s tool.
That’s why I never use screwdrivers. I always just hold the screw into the wall and push
as hard as I can until it makes a tiny indentation in the drywall. After the indentation gets
as deep as it gets just by my pressing it in there, I’ll try my best to, while still applying
pressure, turn it ever so steadily with my bare hands as it carves its way slowly into the
wall. It takes forever. And you have to use really long screws to get a good grip. And it’s
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much easier if you get screws with really big heads, because it’s much easier for your
fingers. People always come over my house and look at my oversized and often poorly
placed screws sticking out of the walls, doing a terrible job of holding up my pictures and
paintings, sticking out in certain spots where I had once screwed something in, only to
realize a little later that that’s not where I should have put the screw, but now the screw is
in there, and it took me forever to get it in there, and how am I supposed to get it out?
And they’re like, Rob, what did you screw these in with your hands? You know you
could have just borrowed my screwdriver. I have a bunch.
But listen, I’m the helpful one, the most helpful. What kind of a helpful person would I be
if I were always going around to my friends and family asking for help? Then part of me
would feel obliged the next time I was in a conversation talking about who is the most
helpful to bring up that time that I was helped out by this person or that person or so and
so. No, I’d rather just stand back and listen to people feel obliged to talk about how
helpful I am. He’s so helpful, that Rob, but so independent, and so resourceful. He never
asks anything of anybody. That’s what they’ll have to say. Because it will be true. Or it is
true. Or it will have still been true.
