The document discusses the halo effect and provides examples of how it can influence perceptions and judgments of people. Specifically, it describes how seeing an attractive person may lead one to assume they have other positive qualities without basis. The author acknowledges experiencing this by automatically associating an attractive girl's appearance with assumptions about her family, boyfriend, academics and talents. The halo effect can occur without awareness and influence how people feel about and think of others based primarily on superficial attributes.

1. FOUNDATION IN NATURAL AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT (FNBE)
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY (PSY30203)
ASSIGNMENT 1: JOURNAL
NAME : LEONG LI JING
STUDENT ID: 0323628
LECTURER : MR. T. SHANKAR
TUTORIAL : 8AM-10AM

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ENTRY 1: SOCIOCULTURAL PERSPECTIVE 4th NOVEMBER 2015, 09.30AM
Sociocultural perspective focuses on the relationship between human social behavior
and culture. Culture can help us to understand a person’s behavior. This concept can be
examined by the rules of the social groups which the individual is a member and the rules are
the unwritten guidelines that affect the human behavior.
Plastic surgery is originally for the person who his or her face that already injured badly
until they lost the ability such as eyesight or the ability to eat or speak. In general, everyone
agreed that Korea is a country that is famous in the plastic surgery field. A human that have no
confidence or finding a better-looking self will go for plastic surgery. It had become normal and
mainstream today. As what I know from the resources such as internet, TV show or friends, I
know that many Korean had plastic surgery to make them look good. It had become a trend in
Korea until today. People will try to earn more money just for their plastic surgery because they
influenced by others. Therefore, it is normal when we saw Korean that had plastic surgery
nowadays. However, people in the country that likely lesser influence by plastic surgery such as
Indonesia and etc. are sometimes can’t accept the person who had plastic surgery as their
social culture does not practice this behavior among themselves. As my experience, when I see
a Korean that had plastic surgery before I will think that it is normal and not curious about the
reason. However, if I saw one of my friends had plastic surgery, I will definitely ask for the
reason to accept the fact that he or she had plastic surgery because, in Malaysia, our society did
not practice the behavior of plastic surgery as Korea.
Safety in society nowadays is unstable day by day. Last year, my neighbor’s house
robbed by two Malay and Indian and ran away by motorcycle. It was a terrible evening as we
were not able to help them because the robber ran away too fast. The materialistic culture
causing our society safety became dangerous and the rate of the victim getting rob is increased
rapidly. There is more case of the neighbor that living at my housing area getting robbed. Our
housing area became not safe anymore. Everyone that living here started aware more to the
surrounding and improve their security system in their house. After the incident, I always look
at the back to check whether anyone is following me on the way I get home. I also will give
attention to the motorcycle sounds to avoid any dangerous happen to me. We started to add
more locks to our doors to avoid the robber break into our house.
Malaysia is a colorful country. We have a mix of people here. There are the Malays,
Chinese, Indians, and some other smaller race like Sabahans, Portuguese and more. However,
we are all Malaysian no matter what races we are from. Different people will have different
religion such as Muslim, Buddhist, Christian and etc. We have our own celebration day to carry
out the traditional activities such as Hari Raya, Chinese New Year or Deepavali day. Sometimes
the celebration will affect others such as causing a traffic jam at a big area. We will tolerance

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each other because we want a peaceful society that without any argument. The tolerant
became a culture in our society until today causing us have a peaceful environment.
People always say that the traffic in Malaysia is terrible. I am very agreed with this
statement after I start to drive. Not only are the traffic, the driver in Malaysia terrible too. I
often meet the terrible driver on the way I am going to Taylor’s University from my house. They
tend to behave impolitely such as sticking to the back of my car very closely because the driver
thinks that I am driving too slow or using the high light in front of the car keep on and off to ask
me to give him or her the way. I was very unhappy about this and I did tolerant them. However,
I realized that I started to behave like the terrible impolitely driver after driving for a period. It is
like a signal language among the driver and became a culture because everyone have the same
action when they are in this situation. Other than that, bribery to avoid summon is also a social
culture in our society in Malaysia. Last year, my mother was rushing to take me to tuition
center because I am late causing she gets caught by police due to passing the red traffic light.
My mother gave some ‘coffee money’ to the police to avoid the summon and it worked.
As conclusion, culture can be in different aspects such as race and ethnicity, religion,
gender, social class, family traditions, peer group and etc. Culture can influence the way a
person think and behave where this is known as sociocultural perspective.

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ENTRY 2: UNREALISTIC OPTIMISM 12th NOVEMBER 2015, 09.58PM
Unrealistic optimism is the tendency to imagine that our own outcomes are better than
those of other people and can cause us to believe that we have a lesser risk to experience a
negative event compared to other people. Unrealistic optimism is categorized into two
category which is positive and negative. Positive unrealistic optimism maybe helps us to
indicate a better self-efficacy and help us to speed recover from setbacks while negative
unrealistic optimism maybe helps us to prepare for the worst if any negative event occur.
In the year 2011, there was a disaster happened in my family. Just in one week, my
mother was found that she is having fourth stage cancer while my grandfather was stroke due
to heart vessels blocked at the midnight of 4 a.m. Why will I talk about this in this entry? It is
because this situation very needed the patient to have the unrealistic optimism as it is an
effective coping mechanism for them to become better.
My mother was very upset and she cannot accept the truth that she is having cancer
which is already at the fourth stage. She had a mindset that she will die because of this
however she survived in the end. How she did it? The positive and negative unrealistic
optimism did help her. At first, she started to accept the truth slowly and ready to fight the
cancer cells by receiving the radiotherapy and chemo injection treatment. This treatment is
really torture and suffer for her and also making the family members heartbreak. She said that
she will do anything just wanted a little extra time with her family. She seeks help from the
survived cancer patient and doctors to get every single details and information. She accepted
and prepared for the worst, which is die. So, she started to do what she can do in her to-do-list
before she is very weak. We, as the family members also ready for the worst. We spend more
time and take care of her to appreciate the time we can be together. In the progress, she is
getting better and better until she started to have a very positive mindset that she will survive
from this shit! It is because the doctor told her that the treatment worked out for her and the
cancer cells are reducing after every treatment and the chance she will go back to the normal
life is very big. All of us including my mother was very happy and started to tell ourselves that:
she will survive from this shit and we have to be together now to fight for her although it is not
a 100% chance to recover. Well, things get better and the unrealistic optimism occurred among
my family members that really helped to motivate all of us.
My grandfather was in ICU for almost one week because he was stroke. This happened
just a few days after my mother was found having cancer. The whole family was a mess. Doctor
said that my grandfather’s body is weak at the left side, and also he cannot express himself by
speaking. He was giving up himself. After he went home, we started to teach him how to
pronounce the words that frequently used. We cannot understand what he is saying and he got
frustrated, always. Although he is giving up himself, we are not, we never will, because we

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believe that one day he will be the old him. So, we started to train him to work out on his left
side of the body to become stronger and also we started to teach him to pronounce words
patiently. At last, he got influenced by us and he start to stand up and try to get better. Now, it
has been four years, he did good and he is now able to drive all the way he wants,
communicate with people using simple words, do some chores by himself. The unrealistic
optimism do help him to motivate to fight for better result.
I got my driving license during mid-March this year and start to drive my own car around
April. Well, I was just like a kid thinks that she grown up and can drive whatever she want. Until
two weeks after I got my car, I had an accident at the road outside my house. It was my mistake
because I should step on the brake pedal, but I turned out step on the oil pedal. Okay, shit
happened. The ‘bang’ sound was so loud until I keep shaking my body because I was too scared
if it will be very serious. After saw the condition of both cars, I was so scared that the repair
fees will be very high. So I start to cheer myself up like ‘it is okay, it will be fine, maybe just a
few hundred ringgits will do’ and ‘oh shit, my father will scold me for sure, I need to prepare
myself before that’. Then I reported to my father, I was so shocked that he did not scold me and
he asked me to send both of the cars to repair on the next day. Well, the repair fees are really
terrified me because it is not a few hundred, it is a few thousand. I was so guilty so I promise
myself the drive safe in my life.
As conclusion, I learned that the unrealistic optimism always occurred in our daily life as
a kind of motivation or preparation for everything. Both of the positive and negative unrealistic
optimism are good for us as they are the boost in energy to do things.

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ENTRY 3: STEREOTYPING 14th NOVEMBER 2015, 08.00PM
Stereotyping is an example of a schema. It is cognitive frameworks and automatically
created in our mind. Stereotyping can be defined as a concept that assume all members of a
specific group share some common effect and these beliefs or thoughts may not hundred
percent true or accurately. Stereotypes is also known as the first impression of specific things or
information. Once it formed, it is difficult for people to change or let go of this schema.
As a student of Taylor’s University, it is very normal to be misunderstood by other
people that students are from a rich background family. I feel helpless when my relatives and
friends started to stereotype me as a rich girl when they knew that I am currently studying at
Taylor’s University. Actually, not all students from Taylor’s University are rich. Some of them
might have to get a good result for application of scholarship; some of them might be having a
part time job to earn himself or herself some pocket money; some of them may be starving or
skipping meals to save some money for other necessary expenses. Sometimes I wonder that
why people will not compare the students of Sunway University with the students of Taylor’s
University. My friends and I were having a discussion about the fees of the universities and the
conclusion we got is actually the fees studying at Sunway University is just a little lesser than
Taylor’s University. It is just because of the stereotyping in the society causing the first
impression of Taylor’s University is an expensive and fancy university. Besides of the financial
condition, people also assume that most of the students are arrogant because of their family
background. However, as what I experience since the first step I step into Taylor’s University, I
rarely see arrogant people. The people surroundings are all very friendly and kind and it is not
what I heard about others said.
My friend, Ong Shi Wei, a girl that having a mindset that she want to be different where
by proving the things that is stereotyped by the society is not hundred percent true. Recently,
she went to tattoo shop to tattoo a small triangular symbol at her wrist. She said that the
purpose of doing this is to prove that although she is having a tattoo, does not mean she is a
bad person. I feel that tattoo is becoming normal nowadays and it had become a trend among
the young generation. A tattoo is just a decoration or a symbol on the body, it is not a thing that
determine a person’s heart. This may be hard for my friend to prove this matter at this timing
because the old generation is not open minded to accept or change the schema that already
formed inside their mind.
From the past, nurse is applicable on both male and female. However, the amount of
female in this career is much more than the male from the past until now causing people
always assume that nurse must be a girl. I still can remember that I admitted into hospital for
one week on last year of July due to dengue. There is no male nurse at all at the floor I stayed,
but I keep wondered that what if there is a male nurse suddenly come in and help me? I think I

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will be very shocked if there is a male nurse. Some of the people will have the same thought
with me. Few of my male friends are now studying to be a future nurse. It might be weird that
calling a male ‘nurse’ but this situation is slowly accepted by society nowadays because the
amount of male wants to become a nurse in more than the past. Besides, we can see this type
of career stereotyping occur in primary school or even kindergarten. The drawing of the career
will always show like this: nurse will be female, policeman will be male, bus driver will be male,
farmer will be male and etc. This schema is formed when they are still children causing them to
stereotype the career gender in future.
I was a part-time promoter in a baby accessories shops last year. Well, why I mention
about this? Because as a promoter, we will automatically categorize customer according to
their appearance to promote sales. When I saw a big family coming in with a good appearance
and maybe carrying some stuff that just bought I will try to promote some product that pricing
is above average to boost the sales but if the family is trying to look for some average price
product, I will try to promote some average price product according to their financial budget to
promote sales. This is how a promoter stereotypes their customer, but sometimes it will be a
wrong one. Last week I went to shopping mall to buy some new clothes. I was in a lazy mood
that day so I wear some comfortable clothes and went out to shop. I wanted to buy a formal
dress so I went into VOIR, which is a ladies fashion shop where the product will be a little bit
expensive. I realized that the promoter is not trying to serve me as they are keeping doing their
own stuff although they already saw me but actually I wanted to purchase it. I feel that
sometimes we cannot stereotype our customer as we are a promoter because we cannot judge
a person’s financial problem but the appearance.
As conclusion, I learned that stereotyping is not always the most accurate. ‘Don’t judge
a book by its cover’, we have to think and respect another person in different situation
although we will automatically stereotyping a person.

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ENTRY 4: THE HALO EFFECT 25th November 2015, 01.45PM
The Halo Effect is a type of cognitive bias which one positive attribute will cause us to
attribute other positive qualities to an individual where also is the overall impression of a
person that affect how we feel and think about the person’s character. Besides, the Halo Effect
is also known as the "what is beautiful is good" effect. This effect can occur without our active
awareness.
I realized that people often observe when they pass by someone no matter it is a female
or a male. I did that too. As an example, when I am in campus walking towards class, I always
notice the person pass by me and I will look at their physical appearance. If the girl was looking
good and dress good, I will definitely think that maybe she is also having a handsome boyfriend,
maybe she is from a rich family, maybe she have a good performance in her academic or maybe
she is talented. I will automatically think that she is a good girl just by looking at her good
physical appearance but who knows the real her? Maybe she is a bad girl that different from
her physical appearance? It was like the person who is above the average will be above the
average in every aspect. On the other hand, when I see a girl that is not as good as the good
physical appearance girl, I will also automatically think that maybe she is from an average family
and studying hard to get scholarship, maybe she is single now or maybe she do not have any
talent such as dance and etc. This is the halo effect that occurred on mostly everyone included
me in daily life.
Before I intake into Taylor’s University, I was a normal girl that do not care about my
physical appearance. I can go out with my pajamas and without any makeup. But I have to
change my behavior because I am half step entering the society. So, I started to practice myself
to have a good appearance every time I step out from my house. As I am going into a new
environment that no one knows the old me, I decided to be a new me. I wanted to get a good
impression so I dress politely and put a smile on my face during the orientation week and hide
the negative impression of me. The halo effect will cause people think that I am friendly and
nice.
Walking inside the campus, I can often see that couples are holding hands and chit-
chatting happily. I will automatically think that they must be very sweet and loving each other
deeply. But on the other side, as a stranger I have no idea that maybe they often quarrel on the
tiny things? Or they maybe often have different thought? Or maybe they are just being like this
in public? I have friends that are couple, they look beautiful and handsome. Everyone thought
that they will be in a relationship on a long period because they are looking matched. But soon,
the news of they break up was spread and all of us are shock as we think that they maybe a
sweet couple in future, however it did not work out.

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My friends, Eng Keng and Wei How are now under a marketing business company doing
marketing sales job. From their Facebook profile, I can see that they often went to function of
the company and what products are they selling and etc. Their business is expanding day by day
and I am very impressed about this. I might think that maybe they are very smart to be
successful or because they are looking good where it is a good requirement in their career.
However, they are not smart because they stop their education after graduated from secondary
school. Although they are not smart but they are hardworking to fight and make themselves a
better future although they are not highly educated. They also from an average family which
their parents is not having the same career as theirs. This proved that a person who is
successful does not definitely have to be smart or highly educated, it is about hardworking and
the willingness to sacrifice things in their life. On the other side, people who are smart is not
definitely will be successful in future. What is the usage of a CGPA of 4.0 when you can’t even
change a lightbulb yourself? There was a suicide case of a SPM candidate happened few days
ago. The reason is he can’t accept that he could not answer the question in the test for getting
a result of 8A 1B in SPM. He is also an actor in TV show. Everyone was looking forward to his
future where they think that he will be a successful man. However, things went wrong. The
incident was shocking for everyone. People believe that he is smart and talented enough to be
a successful man in future, but he just gave up his life by suicide.
As conclusion, people often make judgement on their perspective by looking at the
outside. It often occurs without our awareness. They have to know their judgement will mostly
different with the reality. However, the halo effect happens naturally as it is a social behavior in
the society.

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ENTRY 5: OPERANT CONDITIONING 26th NOVEMBER 2015, 12.25PM
Operating conditioning is the learning through consequences. Consequences may be in
form of reward or punishment. Operant conditioning can be defined as a type of learning in
which voluntary behavior is strengthened if it is reinforced and weakened if it is punished.
Positive reinforcement will be given reward while negative reinforcement is the removal
of unpleasant stimuli. Positive punishment is the present of stimuli while negative punishment
is the removal of something that is desirable.
According to what I learnt in the class is the Skinner’s Research which had proven that
repeated responses are followed by favourable consequence. In the experiment, Skinner put a
rat inside a box with only a pedal that had applied with the both positive and negative
reinforcement. Once the rat presses the pedal, the food will be given to the rat. The rat started
to learn the consequence of receiving food by pressing the pedal while the pedal soon added
with electric current, the rat got shocked when pressing the pedal and the behavior started to
be lessened due to the occur of negative reinforcement.
Well, I often shopping with my friends or alone. Most of the shop started to promote
customer to be a member of them to get a free gift during birthday month or by collecting
points. This had increased the behavior of customer where they choose to go to the certain
shop that will give them incentives instead of those do not have membership. My mother’s
wallet is full of membership cards such as VOIR, Watson, Starbucks and etc. because she always
get persuade by the promoter as there are incentives. Sometimes, I will go to Watson instead of
Guardian because I have a Watson member card that can collect points although both of the
shops selling almost the same things. The appearance of incentives had increased my behavior
of going to the shop where had applied the concept of positive reinforcement.
When I was standard 3, I was very naughty that I still can remember I scratch my
mother’s vase by using a stone. Soon, when my mother realized it she started to ask whether I
scratched her vase. I was very scared that I will get scold and punish by mother so I lied to her.
She promised me that she will not punish me if I honest to her. So, I apologized and told my
mum honestly and she ask me do not repeat this mistake next time. The negative
reinforcement occurred that I increase the behavior to apologize and be honest to my mother
every time I did something wrong because she promise that she will not punish me only if I
honest to her.
I am a qualified first aider of St. John Ambulance Malaysia and I always attend to
training course to help to train the new members. In every food drill training, I am the
commander of the squad. Every time my squad did something wrong or inconsistent, I will give
them punishment such as jogging for few rounds or squad down. This action will cause the

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squad to be more focus to the commander to avoid punishment. The positive punishment is
applied where commander will give punishment to every mistake to reduce the mistake being
repeated.
Recently, few of my friends get summons at SS15 because they double parked at the
area. After they paid the summons, they said that they will not repeat the mistake again to
avoid getting summons because it is very troublesome to pay the summons and also they need
to pay it with their pocket money. The concept of negative punishment is applied as the
mistake caused they lose their money and get penalty marks.
After I observe the concept to my daily life, I can give an example of the concept in
parenting. Well, for positive reinforcement, parents can give their children rewards such as
pocket money, compliments or candy once their children helped them to do something.
Children will more likely to repeat their behavior of helping because they get rewards. For
negative reinforcement, parents can make an agreement with their children that once they
done their homework, they are allowed to play video games. Besides, for positive punishment,
parents can gently clap their children’s hand if they trying to eat without washing hand.
Children will start to practice to wash their hand before eating to avoid punishment. For
negative punishment, parents can try to remove or reduce the pocket money if their children
did something wrong. This action of removal will cause children to avoid the punishment by
stop making mistake.
As conclusion, I observed that operant conditioning is a person’s behavior will likely to
be repeated if there is any reinforcement while behavior will tend not to be repeated if there is
a punishment.