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1. AMOS TAN CHI YI FNBE0214 PSYC10103
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
JOURNALS
AMOS TAN CHI YI
0318330
12:00 – 3:00 PM MONDAY
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY PSYC10103
FNBE 02/14
10th NOVEMBER 2014

2. AMOS TAN CHI YI FNBE0214 PSYC10103
JOURNAL 1
24/8/14, 8:24PM
ENTRY 1: SOCIAL LOAFING
There is a saying “a mask reveals one’s true self”, and that is definitely true in when it comes to group projects that lacks distinctiveness in terms of individual contribution. Social loafing is the tendency for an individual to slack, be lazy, or perform poorly in a group if their contributions cannot be identified. For example, one will be lazy and perform subpar work towards a model building, since he knows that it will be impossible to identify who exactly did what and how much.
I have encountered such behaviour quite often; group mates, upon realizing that their contributions would be unidentifiable in the final product, would slack and do work poorly, exploiting the hard work of their more diligent teammates. Once, whilst doing a final project for Creative Thinking Skills (a subject from last semester), not one, but three teammates would mysteriously vanish without a trace, often leaving vague reasons for their disappearance, if at all. They knew that individual contributions would cannot be seen in the final product, so they took advantage of it, and disappeared, leaving only the hardworking ones to pick up the slack. Worse still, those that did not disappear would do their jobs poorly, assembling pieces with poor workmanship, cutting paper badly, and even just not doing any work at all!

3. AMOS TAN CHI YI FNBE0214 PSYC10103
ENTRY 2: SOCIAL FACILITATION
Interestingly, when people are performing with others, and their contributions are distinguishable, they tend to show the opposite effect; namely, they tend to perform better. This is called social facilitation. For example, when one is competing in a public event, they tend to perform better than they do when they practice solitarily.
I have many experiences with such phenomena, particularly during my secondary school days. When I was grouped in a streaming class, i.e. high achievers class, I found that I tend to work far harder and strive to achieve more than I did compared to when I was in a lesser, non-streaming class. I found myself competing with others for the most As, the highest essay marks, and the like. Compared to my days in a non-streaming class, I studied more, competed more, argued more, and performed better. This is evidence of social facilitation in myself; exposed to the presence of more competitive, academic friends, I performed better in my academics.

4. AMOS TAN CHI YI FNBE0214 PSYC10103
JOURNAL 2
3/9/14, 3:52PM
ENTRY 1: FALSE CONSENSUS
There is a saying “bagai katak di dalam tempurong” (like a frog in a well), that refers to people who are close-minded, stagnant in their cognition for years, never improving and having a narrow view of the world. As unfortunate as that condition may seem, it is quite common for us to “fall victim” to the false-consensus effect. That is, a person tends to overestimate the amount of people who act or think as we do. For example, a person who is deeply involved a particular fetish might believe that there are far more people who share that same fetish than there really is.
Now, how does that make us ignorant? Through my observations, this could be seen most commonly through the internet forums, where people believe that they share the same view as the majority of the world, when in fact it is the direct opposite. For example, regarding the repatriation of ex-ISIS fighters back into their home countries, many people believe that they (the ex-ISIS fighters) should not be allowed entry back into their home countries, and be tried for treason. They then go on to claim that the whole world believes that this vendetta is righteous, and that the whole world thinks as they do. This narrow minded belief that the whole world believes as they do is further reinforced when people support and agree with the notion, and even suggest that ex-ISIS fighters be immediately executed. However, this could not be further from the truth. While it is true some countries bar the repatriation of the ex-ISIS fighters, the total number of people who agree with their statement is far less than they would believe. In fact, some countries are repatriating these fighters, to the irk of the internet community. The false consensus effect could be clearly seen here.

5. AMOS TAN CHI YI FNBE0214 PSYC10103
ENTRY 2: INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION
I am very fortunate to not be born of the stereotypical strict Asian parents, who press their children to excel in their academics. In contrast, my parents had a very hands-off approach to me, not caring about what I did as long as I did not end up in jail or anything terrible. This couldn’t be more different than the authoritarian approach strict parents use, forcing their kids to tuition centres and employing corporal punishment when they fail to achieve whatever astronomical standard they have set for their children. However, come SPM result day, my results are exactly the same with the results of their children. How?
On one hand, my motivation for obtaining good results were entirely intrinsic. I enjoyed learning about the subjects taught in school, and I had genuine curiosity for the unknown. I was fully engaged in school; asking questions to teachers, doing my own research, extra homework- the whole nine yards- purely voluntarily. On the other hand, my peers born of those stereotypical strict Asian parents were extrinsically motivated; they were forced to perform well, forced to enter ridiculous 12-hour long tuition programmes and forced to do extra homework. They showed no joy in learning, and the fear of failure was evident in their behaviours, e.g. doing Singaporean maths homework so they would have a greater chance of scoring an A+. They were entirely obligated to do what they had to do, and when the result slips came in, they did not show joy; only relief.

6. AMOS TAN CHI YI FNBE0214 PSYC10103
JOURNAL 3
5/10/14, 9:20PM
ENTRY 1: HEURISTICS (ANCHORING AND ADJUSTMENT)
Heuristics are a mental shortcut we use to quickly make decisions. One such example of heuristics are the anchoring and adjustment heuristics. We use these heuristics all the time, particularly when we are conducting trade or when negotiating.
I love technology, and am always up to try something new, especially when it comes to mobile phones. As it was astronomically expensive and ridiculous to purchase a new phone every 4 months or so, it was more realistic and economical to just sell my current phone and buy a second hand model, use it for a couple of months, and then repeat the process.
Whenever I am shopping for a second hand phone, I realize I employ the aforementioned heuristics. Before even starting looking for a choice, I anchored my price and expected model: RM500 for a phone with such and such specifications. It is a shortcut and guide. And then I start shopping based on my anchoring. Anything 10% higher of my anchored price would be rejected; they are either too expensive or in too poor a condition. However, I’m not lucky all the time, I would have to make changes to my demands. Perhaps the model just isn’t available, or the price I’m asking for is too low. That’s when the adjustment heuristic comes in: I will adjust my asking price depending on the condition of the phone, whether or not it comes with extras, etc. And if it was reasonable, my adjusted price would be agreed upon, and the sale would proceed.
The same happens the other way round; when I sell my device, I anchored my price at such and such, and would adjust it if needed.

7. AMOS TAN CHI YI FNBE0214 PSYC10103
ENTRY 2: OPTIMISTIC BIAS
Optimistic bias is a belief that bad things will never happen to us. We never think that we will be involved in a deadly accident, be unemployed, etc. even though we are surrounded with news about just that all the time.
I never thought that I would get into a car accident; to me, it was just too foreign. Yes, I’ve seen people crash all the time, laughed at their comically morbid stories and read the statistics, but it never felt that it would happen to me. I believed and behaved as if I had a lower chance than everybody else to be involved in an accident.
I guess it would not be a surprise that since then I had been involved in three separate accidents. I remember that after the first accident (where I ripped my front bumper out) I believed that it was not entirely my fault, and that it was the situation at the time (hidden brick on the ground) that caused the accident, and it was truly unlike the accidents of others, which I thought happened because of poor judgment (actor-observer bias right there). But the fact of the matter is that I truly believed that my own judgment and control were superior to that of others.
It took a couple more accidents to clear that misconception out.

8. AMOS TAN CHI YI FNBE0214 PSYC10103
JOURNAL 4
30/10/14, 12:23PM
ENTRY 1: FIRST IMPRESSIONS & THE HALO EFFECT
There has always been a very high emphasis on the concept of first impressions in our education; we are often instructed to wear professionally when presenting, smile always, walk and sit upright, all of that. And for good reason, too: turns out first impressions will effect subsequent judgments made on that person.
First impressions are done unintentionally and automatically. In the first tenths of a second, the way the person behaves and presents itself, no matter how subtle, will be used to judge his/her actions later on. I believe that this has to do with the anchoring heuristic (that we use our first impressions to anchor our expectations from said person). The other day when I saw somebody dressed professionally-with tie, suit and all- approach me to discuss some trivial issue, I held a high view of him due to my first impressions with him. Later on, as we were talking, the halo effect became evident; he was stuttering and unsure of his phrases, but I was unconsciously ignoring that fact and believed still held high regard for him. He was dressed like a finely tuned businessman! It felt really odd thinking that he didn’t act the way he looked.

9. AMOS TAN CHI YI FNBE0214 PSYC10103
ENTRY 2: CONFIRMATION BIAS
I used to be an avid supporter of Android phones, and would go to great lengths to pointless argue with strangers over the internet over the superiority of Android phones over everything else. I firmly believed that the Android phones were better in every single aspect, and that anybody else would opposes that view is wrong. This belief was further reinforced when I joined an Android enthusiast forum, and slowly I became disillusioned with the thought that the superiority of Android devices is common knowledge (see false consensus effect!).
Every now and again, some reviews from technology websites would be released, and I read it, and then preach to my friends about it, reinforcing the positive points and justifying for the weaker points. For example, I would harp over the advantages of having a 1.2GHz processor for developers, the advantages of having a gigantic screen, and, just to look “unbiased”, would talk about the poor battery life, but I would add “but you’re going to charge your phone at night anyway, so who cares about it having a 5 hour battery life?”
I was a victim of the confirmation bias, where I reinforced ideas and information that were parallel to my beliefs (that Android phones are the best ever!) and downplaying or outright dismissing views that ran contrary to my aforementioned belief (2 GBs of memory is more than enough for everyone!)
Today I am still a victim of confirmation bias, but now that I’m aware of this phenomenon, at least I’m not THAT bad now. I guess.
Android phones are still better than Apple devices, though.

10. AMOS TAN CHI YI FNBE0214 PSYC10103
JOURNAL 5
1/11/14, 10:32AM
ENTRY 1: OPERANT CONDITIONING
Operant conditioning is the act of giving positive or negative reinforcement or punishment. I believe everybody has experienced this in some form or another. From positive punishment in the form of the cane and negative punishment by taking away my computer when I was a young misbehaving brat, positive reinforcement in the form of money and negative reinforcement by taking away that silly computer password when I scored well, I think this concept is right at home with us.
Today, as usual, I saw my little misbehaving brother getting his fixed of positive punishment; for screaming in the house naked, he was given a few good hits from the cane, which of course made him scream even loader. Well done. To the parents, this is also positive punishment: cane him and you will receive much more noise.
After the commotion had subsided, my sister revealed that she did pretty well in her UPSR examination, and my parents decided to reward her behaviour with negative reinforcement: they said they will now no longer limit the amount of time she spends on the iPad watching Korean dramas. By taking away that time limit, my parents have negatively reinforced her behaviour (of scoring well), and, by giving my brother the cane, my parents have positively punished his behaviour (of screaming in the house naked).
Pretty normal family, see.

11. AMOS TAN CHI YI FNBE0214 PSYC10103
ENTRY 2: COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
Against all odds, I had gotten a Lenovo laptop.
I never liked Lenovo, and I think that that company should really stop producing their weak and flimsy laptops. I think that their design is terribly bland, and that it wouldn’t last long. But still I bought one anyway. It is quite interesting, really, that my behaviours contradict my attitude towards Lenovo. It appears that I have a dissonant relationship.
Cognitive dissonance is when someone’s behaviours do not match up with their attitude. In this case, I really do not like Lenovo, but yet I went ahead and bought one anyway. When this happens, you would either: change the attitude, explain yourself, or care less about that attitude. In this case, I bought the Lenovo laptop purely because of its value. I get an i5 and a nice graphics card for only RM2300! That’s really cheap! No matter if it’s flimsy and terrible looking or it’s a Lenovo: for that price, it’s a steal! (that’s me justifying my behaviours by adding a consonant element). A few weeks later, I started liking Lenovo (changing attitudes now), and now I just can’t care less about whether or not brand preference is important (I have now reduced the importance of my attitude).
This goes the same for everything I do that is contrary. Singing in the choir even though I hate singing? Well that’s because I felt pity because they were low on manpower! (adding a consonant element) And maybe I was wrong; I quite like singing. (changing the attitude) And maybe this concern is trivial anyway and I shouldn’t be caring about this. (reducing importance of attitude)