Psych report

The psychology behind selfies
/ A Social Psychology Experiment + Skit /
Names:
Nor Syarianna Neo (0318236)
Nge Jia Chen (0317738)
Tang Ju Yi (0317735)
Tan Jo Lynn (0318518)
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session:
Monday 8am
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subject:
Social Psychology [PSYC0103]
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course:
Foundation in Natural and Built environment
[FNBE0214]
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Submission date:
8 December 2014
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Lecturer:
Mr.Shankar
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Table of Contents
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1. Acknowledgement……………………………………………………..
2. Introduction…………………………………………………………….
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3. Method of Research
-Design
-Participants
-Materials
-Procedure
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4. Discussion
-The Skit : Theory And Concept
-Experiment 1: Results and Statistics
Conclusion:Theory And Concept
-Experiment 2: Results and Statistics
Conclusion: Theory And Concept
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5. References
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6. Appendix
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1. acknowledgement
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A great gratitude to group members, Nor Syarianna Neo ,Tan Jolynn, Nge Jia Chen and Tang Ju Yi.
Special thanks to Mr. Shankar for giving us support and guidance in accomplishing this assignment.
In addition, we would also like to thank the participants involved in our psychological experiment
for their time and willingness to cooperate with us.
!!!!

2. Introduction
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It’s no longer a odd sight to see someone holding a camera or smartphone and start taking pictures
of themselves, it happens all around us every single day and we call it selfie. A selfie is a self-portrait
photograph, commonly taken with hand-held cameras or camera phones. With the invention
of smartphones with forward-facing cameras, we only need a second to capture every moment that
we favors.
!
The cameras focus automatically from arm's length, invite us to snap pictures on the spur of the
moment, regardless of locations and time. There's the high angle photo, awkwardly featuring the
taker's arm to exaggerate the size of eyes and give the impression of a slender pointed chin. There's
the mirrored self-portrait. There are posed selfies, with pouting lips and Bambi-eyes. There are
group selfies too, featuring friends or strangers depending on the taker.
!
Not just that, with the existence of applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and so on, the
images taken can be shared with thousands of other people just within seconds. Rihanna, Lady
Gaga, Madonna and Justin Bieber are all serial uploaded of selfies. The Obama children were
spotted posing into their mobile phones at their father's second inauguration. The astronauts, Steve
Robinson even took a photo of himself during his repair of the Space Shuttle Discovery.
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Self-ism is worldwide. The word "selfie" has been discussed so much in the recent years to the
extent that it is currently being monitored for inclusion in the Oxford Dictionary Online. Selfie is no
more an uncommon occasion as it already set foot unto part of our daily activities. It's not just a
culture anymore but it's becoming more of a habit to everyone right now.
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Little did we know that behind taking selfies actually involves a lot of social and psychological
factors leading toward the action. The appeal of selfies comes from how easy they are to create and
share, and the control they give self-photographers over how they present themselves. For example,
many selfies are intended to present flattering images of the person, especially to whom the takers
expects to be supportive.
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The aim of the experiment is to explore how the selfie culture affects people individually and
socially through a short act and a simple experiment.
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2. Method
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-Design:
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A short skit and scenario experiment is designed, to portray the culture of “Selfie” among students
in the Taylor’s University and also to explore and observe how the students perceive and respond to
other people’s “Selfies”. In the skit, the process of taking selfie and the uploading of selfie onto
social networking platform is performed and recorded, while in the experiment, the observation of
how people perceive a certain individual based on their first impression of their selfie is made. In
the experiment, students selected randomly in campus were asked to complete a survey on their
“Selfie” habits and give feedback on how they think the person is based on their first impression of
a selfie photo. The selfie photo that are shown to them are of two different selfie shots portraying
two different and contrasting images of the same individual selected from the social networking
site, Instagram.
*Please refer to Appendix.1 for the storyline of the skit and Appendix 2 for the survey questions and Appendix 3. for
the pictures and questions asked for the experiment in Appendix.2.
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-Participants:
Our target setting is limited within the boundaries of Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus, aiming
the students who represents the young adult group which is the predominant group in the selfie
culture. A hidden camera is carefully placed around the happening area to record the participants’
physical traits and reaction.
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-Materials：
The photos which is already available in the social networking platform,“Instagram” is used as a
tool of the experiment, and a camera is used to record the whole skit and experiment process.

-Procedures:
[The Skit]
1. The team was assigned into different roles : a videographer, two on site-analyser, the main
character of the skit.
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2. An appropriate setting was chosen to perform the skit.
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3. A group of students in the setting was asked to take a spontaneous group selfie to be included in
the skit.
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4. The whole process of being exposed to the trend of taking ‘Selfie’, the taking of ‘Selfie’ and the
process of uploading the ‘Selfie’ and the subsequent events were performed and recorded.
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[The Experiment]
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1. The team was assigned into different roles: a videographer and three ‘interviewer/analaysers’.
2. An appropriate setting was chosen.
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3. Before starting the shooting process, we have chosen two different selfie shots portraying two
different and contrasting images of the same individual from the social networking site,
Instagram.
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4. Each ‘interviewer’ confronted different group of students selected randomly around the
university campus.
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5. During the survey, each student are asked to complete two online survey form, one focusing on
their own ‘Selfie’ habits while the other focuses on questions regarding on how they perceive
other people’s selfie photos based on their first impression.
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6. All the participants’ physical traits ( Race, gender, age group, grouping ) and the responding
feedback given back within the selected area were recorded down by the analysers.
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7. The whole process of the survey and the reactions of the participants were fully recorded by
the videographer.
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8. After the experiment was completed, the analysers proceeded to analyse the results of the
survey.

3. Discussion
-The skit:
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The Skit- “Taking Selfie” !
The whole storyline of the skit revolves around 3 main process, which is the exposure to the trend
of taking selfies, the process of taking selfie and also the process of uploading the selfie and getting
likes and approval for the selfie. These 3 main process are each accompanied by one main concepts
respectively, which is the ‘Mere Exposure Effect’, the ‘Self Looking Glass’ and ‘Maslow’s
Hierarchy of Needs’.
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Process 1: Exposure to The Trend of Taking Selfies - “Mere Exposure Effect”
If one were to type the word ‘Selfie’ into the Twitter Search bar. Or take a look at Instagram . Over
90 million photos are currently posted with the hashtag #selfie and #me. It’s a fact that the public
are constantly exposed to the phenomenon of taking selfie. From celebrities to models to politicians
to your neighbour next door, our Instagram feed are full of their selfie photos.
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Adolescent pop poppet Justin Bieber has over millions of Twitter followers and he constantly tweets
photos of himself with his shirt off to the the shrieking delight of his huge online following.
Rihanna has treated her fans to Instagrammed selfies of her off-stage daily events. Not only
celebrities, the political classes have started doing it too. President Obama’s daughters, Sasha and
Malia, took selfies at his second inauguration. The trend has even reached the outer space: In
December, Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide took what might the greatest selfie of all time at the
International Space Station. The resulting image encompassed the sun, the Earth, two portions of a
robotic arm, a spacesuit and the deep darkness of the infinite beyond.
!
As the public was constantly exposed to this trend, selfie became something so familiar within the
social schema that it is slowly becoming a communal practice of the society. This phenomenon is
caused by the psychological phenomenon, the ‘Mere Exposure Effect’ by which people tend to
develop a preference for things or people that are more familiar to them than others. Repeated
exposure increases familiarity and consequently leads to more positive feeling about it. Therefore, it

is also known as familiarity effect. Initial impression of a person can be strengthening by exposure
without conscious cognition.
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Process 2: Taking Selfies - “Looking Glass Self”
Selfie has become such a communal practice in the society and in some cases, an obsession, that
psychologist is looking into as to why people continuously take selfies. Psychologist links Charles
Horton Cooley ‘Looking Glass Self Theory’ to the motivation of why people take selfies. Charles
Horton Cooley defined the ‘Looking Glass Self Effect’ as people’s conceptualization of their own
views of self, based on how they perceive that others view them. The concept states that a person’s
self grows out of a person’s social interactions with others. The view of ourselves comes from the
contemplation of personal qualities and impressions of how other perceive us. In other words, how
we see ourselves does not come from who we really are but rather from how we believe others see
us. Central to the existence of the looking glass self effect is the presence of social audience.
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Cooley would have looked at the selfie phenomenon as a celebration of that social self, since selfies
posted online are consumed not only individually, but communally as well. On Facebook, likes and
comments made by others under selfies provide the individual a glimpse how others perceive him
or her and this becomes a crucial component in the formation of his or her self-concept. Cooley
would have been the last to say that something as socially shared as this could be accused to be a
practice of selfishness, or worse, self-absorption.Critical to the development of selfhood is its ability
to accommodate social construction. And the greatest strength of the selfie phenomenon lies in its
ability to lend material support for the construction of selves online.
Mark R. Leary, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University states that “ By
posting selfies, people can keep themselves in others people’s minds. Through the clothes one wear,
one’s expression, staging of the physical setting, and the style of the physical setting, and the style
of the photo, people can convey a particular public image of themselves, presumably one that think
will garner social rewards.’
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In other words, people are investing in their social persona by staging everything in the right way,
getting the angle just right, the clothing just right, the lighting just right to make themselves look
more appealing and flattering, in hopes of pursuing gratification from vanity and the admiration of
their own physical and intellectual attributes. By taking selfies, the individual is in control of the

image that he or she is portaying, and he or she will try to stage and project an image that he or she
believed is approved or appreciated in the eyes of others.
!
Process 3: Uploading of Selfies and Garnering ‘Likes’ - Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Human constantly crave for approval and appraisal. There is nothing new about this, of course.
Human beings are social animals and have long been driven by the need for approval and self-affirmation
– albeit on a smaller scale. The desire for a pictorial representation of the self goes all
the way back to early handprint paintings on cave walls more than 4,000 years ago. In a fast-paced
world of ever-changing technology, it could be argued that the selfie is simply a natural evolution of
those hands dipped in paint.
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The human need to fulfil the cravings of approval and appraisal can be explained by Maslow’s
Hierarchy of Needs. Maslov’s Hierarchy of Needs is a motivational theory in psychology that
argues that while people aim to meet basic needs, they seek to meet successively higher needs in the
form of pyramid. It is presented as a pyramid. Forming the base are the physiological needs that are
essential for survival. It is only when these lower-level needs are met to some degree that one can
move up to fulfill other needs. The second level is composed of safety and security needs while the
third level refers to love and belonging needs. The fourth level is composed of esteem needs, which
may include the need for recognition, respect, dignity, confidence and sense of achievement. As for
the highest level of all is the need for self-actualization. It is the continuous need to fulfill one’s
potential and to be the best person one can possibly be.
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In the case of ‘The Selfie Culture’, Selfie fulfil the third and fourth level of love and belonging
needs as well as esteem need, the need to be recognised and approved by others. As they take selfies
and upload them to various social networking platform, the garnered ‘Likes’ and positive comments
boosts their confidence and satisfy their need of Maslow’s third and fourth level of needs. This
continues to serve to them as a motivation to continue to take selfies and upload them online to
garner more approval and more recognition.
!!!!!

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-the experiment and its’ results:
The experiment is conducted in a survey form, students in Taylor’s University was approached
and given two online survey form to complete, both concerning the selfie culture. One of the online
survey form focuses on their own ‘Selfie-ing’ habits while the preceding survey form focuses on
how they perceive other people selfie photos.
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Online Survey Form 1 - “ The Selfie Culture” Survey
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Description: The first online survey form, named “ The Selfie Culture” Survey, focuses on the
students own habit of “Selfie-ing”. Questions include frequency of taking “Selfie”, frequency of
browsing photos on social networking platform, whether if they apply filter their photos before
uploading the selfie etc.
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Results and Statistics:
1. No. of Students who Partake in the Experiment
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2. Age of Students who Partake in the Experiment
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No. of Students
Male Female
0 5 10 15
No. of Male Students: 15
No. of Female Students : 12
Age of Students
16-20 Y.O. 20-25 Y.O
0 8.5 17
Age of Students (16-20 Y.O.): 17
Age of Students ( 20-25 Y.O.): 10

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3. No. of Students who have Taken a Selfie Before !
Have Taken Never Taken
0 7.5 15 22.5 30
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No. of Students who have Taken a Selfie Before
Have Taken Selfie Better: 26
Never Taken Selfie Better: 1
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4. Frequency of Students Taking A Selfie of Themselves !!!
Frequency
Frequently Moderately Seldom Rarely
0 2.5 5 7.5 10
Frequently: 2
Moderately: 10
Seldom: 9
Rarely: 6

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5. Where Do You Usually Upload Your Selfie?
Social Networking Platform
Instagram Facebook None
0 5 10 15 20
Instagram:19
Facebook: 5
None: 3
6. Do You Usually Filter Your Selfie Before Uploading Them?
Yes: 24
No: 3
Do you filter your selfies?
Yes No
0 7.5 15 22.5 30

9. How Often Do You Browse Other People’s Photos on Your Instagram Feed?
Frequency of Browsing Instagram Feed
Everyday Every Few Days
Every Few Weeks Never
0 7.5 15 22.5 30
Everyday: 24
Every Few Days: 2
Every Few Weeks: 1
Never: 0
10. Based on What, Do You ‘Like’ A Person Photo on the Instagram?
Reason Why They 'Like' A Person's Photo
Attractiveness of the Person
Closenesss/Proximity to the Person
Clothing and Fashion Sense
Others
0 3 6 9 12
Attractiveness: 9
Closeness to the Person: 7
Fashion Sense/Clothing: 9
Others: 2

11.Would you upload a selfie of yourself that's blurred/without filter/not good looking?
Would you upload a bad looking selfie photo?
Yes No
0 5 10 15 20
Yes: 7
No: 20
12. If no, why?
If no,why?
It's embarassing
Might be teased or commented badly by peers
Others
0 4 8 12 16
It’s embarassing: 15
Might be teased or commented badly
by peers: 12
Others:2

13. Do you feel happy/satisfied when other people ‘Like’ your photos on Instagram/Facebook
etc.?
Do you feel satisfy?
Yes No
0 7.5 15 22.5 30

Conclusion of Online Survey Form : ‘The Selfie Culture’ !F
rom the survey, where a total of 27 students participated in, it is safe to say that “Selfie” is a
popular trend and prominent culture among the youth as only 1 student out of the 27 students have
never taken a selfie. And statistics show that all of the students browsed their Instagram feed,
looking at other people’s photos and selfies, and most of them browse in very high frequency, once
again proving the popularity and the wide exposure of “The Selfie Culture”.
!
The three main concept ,which is the ‘Mere Exposure Effect’, the ‘Looking Glass Self Theory’ and
‘Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs’ from ‘The Skit’ was also reconfirmed within the survey. Survey
shows that students were widely exposed to multiple selfie photos constantly through social
networking platform, proving the ‘Mere Exposure Effect’. The ‘Looking Glass Self Theory’ is
reconfirmed by statistics that shows that above 90% of the students filter their photos and prefer to
take selfies when they are dressed up nicely before uploading them on Instagram. Besides that,
‘Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs’ theory are also reconfirmed by statistics that showing that all
students feels a certain degree of satisfaction and confidence to post more photos from garnering
‘Likes’ from their peers.
!
Online Survey Form 2 - ‘How Do You Perceive Her?’

Photo 1 - The Less Better Looking
Selfie of the Same Individual
(15 people Took Survey with this
Photo in the Survey Form)
Results and Statistics:
1. Do you find this selfie to be appealing?
Photo 2 - The Better Looking Selfie of
the Same Individual
(12 people Took Survey with this
Photo in the Survey Form)
Photo 1
Photo 2
Yes No
0 3.5 7 10.5 14

2. Will you ‘Like’ this photo on Instagram?
Photo 1
Photo 2
Yes No
0 3.5 7 10.5 14
3. Do you think she is a confident person based on your first impression of the photo?
Photo 1
Photo 2
Yes No
0 2.75 5.5 8.25 11

4. Do you think she is a friendly person based on your first impression of the photo?
Photo 1
Photo 2
Yes No
0 3 6 9 12
5. Do you think she is a positive person overall?
Photo 1
Photo 2
Yes No
0 3.5 7 10.5 14

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6.Would you follow her on Instagram?
Photo 1
Photo 2
Yes No
0 3 6 9 12
Conclusion of Online Survey Form: “ How Do You Perceive Her?”
!
Two psychological effects are evident through this experiment: 1. ‘The Halo Effect’
2. ‘First Impressions’ !
Through the experiment, statistics strongly shows that the students have more positive feedback on
the second photo,which is the better looking selfie photo as compared to the first photo which is the
less better looking selfie photo. Students who gotten the first photo in their survey form mostly
rated the photo in a more negative manner, stating that she looks less appealing and less friendly
and confident, and rated her as a generally negative person due to her gloomier selfie photo. While
the other group of student who gotten the second photo in their survey form mostly rated the photo
in a much more positive note, stating that she looks more appealing and flattering, as well as
looking more friendly and confident, and rated her as a generally positive person due to her more
fashionable, stylistic selfie photo. The result are quite a contrast despite the fact that both selfie

are originated from the same individual. This experiment validates the theory that beautiful faces is
a strong first impression and usually contributes to a better overall first judgement. It also validates
the hypothesis of people usually connects positive qualities and attributes to a more positively
perceived image, as shown in the experiment, where the public rated the individual in a more
positive note because of her more attractive and well-received selfie photo which is precisely ‘The
Halo Effect’.
!
This experiment contributes as a proof to as to how selfie photos make a strong validation tool to
their self persona, image and identity.

References
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1. Dale, T.M. (2006). An invitation to social psychology: Expressing the self. United States:
Thomson/Wadsworth. !
2. Dweck, C.S. (1999). Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and
development. United States: Psychology Press. !
3. Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and self-identity: Self and society in the late modern
age. Stanford: Stanford University Press. !
4. David, L.W., & Roland, G .T (2007). Self-directed behaviour: Self-modification for
personal adjustment. United States: Wadsworth. !
5. Saul, M. (2008). Self Identity Theory. Retrieved December 1, 2014, from http://
www.simplypsychology.org/social-identity-theory.html !
6. Erickson, S. (February 16, 2013). The social psychology of the selfie. Retrieved
December 1,2014, from http://mashable.com/2013/02/15/social-media-and-the-selfie/ !
7. Sunstrum, K (March 14, 2014). How social media affects our self-perception. Retrieved
December 2, 2014, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2014/03/14/how-social-media-
affects-our-self-perception/ !
8. Kendra, C. (2014). What is halo effect?. Retrieved December 2, 2014, from http://
psychology.about.com/od/socialpsychology/f/halo-effect.htm !
9. Stangor. C. (2014). The self concept. Retrieved December 2, 2014, from http://
catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/2105?e=stangorsocial_1.0-ch04_s01 !
10. Oxford University Press (November 19, 2013). Scholarly reflection on the selfie.
Retrieved December 4, 2014, from http://blog.oup.com/2013/11/scholarly-reflections-on-
the-selfie-woty-2013/ !!!

Appendix
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1.storyline of the skit
One of our group member, Tan Jolynn walks up the stairs from Taylor’s University Block E ground
floor. She reaches the level two open space and continued to walk to Block C. On her way, she saw
a group of people taking selfie happily. Jolynn stopped and starred at them for a while. Later on, she
continued walking to meet her friends at Block C level two open space. When she reached there,
she immediately started to scroll her Instagram page. She saw a selfie photo taken by the group of
people just now. She taped and viewed
one of their friend’s account. There were lots of selfie taken by that person, besides that, lots of
people liked her photo and gave positive comments. Jolynn was motivated to take a selfie. She took
numerous selfies by acting out different poses and angles. Later on, she asked her friend to provide
opinion on which selfie is better. After deciding which selfie to post, she filtered her selfie like
adding effects. Finally, she posted her selfie on her Instagram account. She kept on checking her
Instagram and felt satisfied when more and more people liked her photo and gave positive
comments.
!!
2. online survey form 1 - ‘the selfie culture’ questions
1. Your Gender
2. Your Age
3. Have you taken a “Selfie” before?
4. How often do you take a “Selfie”/OOTD?
5. Where do you usually upload your 'Selfies'?
6. Do you usually filter/add effects before uploading your videos?
7. Do you usually alter you photos to cover up your blemishes/pimples/eyebags etc.?
8. Do you prefer putting your own selfie as your profile picture on a social networking site or
do you prefer to put a picture taken by others?
9. When and why do you take selfie?

10.How often do you browse pictures on Instagram?
11. Based on what do you "Like" a people selfie?
12.Would you upload a selfie of yourself that's blurred/without filter/not good looking?
13. If no, why?
!
3. online survey form 2 - ‘how do you perceive her?’
questions
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Version One- !
!
Photo 1
-The Less Better Looking Selfie Photo of
The Same Individual
1. Will you 'Like' this photo when you see it while browsing your Instagram feed?
2. How would you rate her in term of attractiveness in a range of 1-10?
3. Do you think she is a confident person based on your first impression of the photo?
6. Would you follow her on Instagram?

Version 2
Photo 2
-The Better Looking Selfie Photo of
The Same Individual
1. Will you 'Like' this photo when you see it while browsing your Instagram feed?
2. How would you rate her in term of attractiveness in a range of 1-10?
3. Do you thinkThe three main concept ,which is the ‘Mere Exposure Effect’, the ‘Looking
Glass Self Theory’ and ‘Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs’ from ‘The Skit’ was also
reconfirmed within the survey.

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