Social Psychology Report

(PSYC 0103) Assignment 3

Monday Slot: 1.30pm till 4.00pm

Carmen Chee Cha Yi (03138 3) !i"#y $ong Yii (0313%8&)

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-ie. Chia (i/ (0313338)

Story Synopsis.

The story begins with two friends, Celene and Carmen who both were too engrossed in discussing about course assignments. They did not pay much notice to the surroundings as they made their way to the usual walkway after class ends. A boy then walked the same pathway were having his eyes on his phone and that causes Celene and him to bump into each other accidentally. The papers that Celene was holding fell across the floor as she and that particular boy started to pick up the papers anxiously as they were afraid that the papers might fly off due to the strong wind. As the two were going to pick up the papers, Carmen got a call from her other group members that required her to attend a group discussion urgently and she needed to leave. She told Celene bye and began ran off to another walkway.

Celene and that particular boy introduced themselves right after picking the papers up. They made a lovely conversation and Celene was soon attracted to him, which he goes by the name oon. oon was also attracted to Celene as he flirted with her by using one of his own pickup line. They exchanged numbers and began to go on dates.

As few months goes by after they became a couple, an argument started up and caused the both seemingly loving couple to fall out and break up. Celene was devastated as she cried at a corner after oon leaves. A new stranger appeared and passed by Celene when he was making his way up to the class. !e noticed the girl crying and he immediately went to comfort her. Celene immediately starts to cry on his shoulder as this starts a new spark of another new relationship with that stranger who goes by the name !ow.

"eeks later, as !ow was walking Celene to her class. Celene#s coursemates$ friends greeted !ow as oon %her former boyfriend& which they mistaken the both as the same person. Celene later introduced !ow as her new boyfriend and denied when Carmen asked if !ow is a rebound to her breakup with oon. The conversation was interrupt when Celene#s father calls her on the cell. The three coursemates and friends are
'()* +A( ,013 (S*M ,) PSYC 0103 Assignment 3 !eport

confused when they thought they saw a picture of !ow on the caller id but with the name of '(addy'. They started to recall of all the boys that Celene dated and came to suspicion that all of the boys shared the similar traits as Celene#s father.

Theories

"e have included six theories in this video which comprise of theory of first impression, sterotype, halo effect, confirmation bias, emotional expression of nonverbal communication, theory of attraction and parental image theory.

First impression, sterotype, halo effect, confirmation bias.

)n psychology, a first impression is the event when one person first encounters another person and forms a mental image of that person. *irst impressions are not deliberate. They are not formed by watching others# actions and they may be instataneous. )t takes +ust a quick glance, maybe three seconds, for someone to evaluate you when you meet for the first time. )n this short time , the other person forms an opinion about you based on your appearance, your body language, your demeanor, your mannerisms, and how you are dressed. *irst impressions set the tone for all the relationships that follows. ,inking to the video context, when Celene and oon accidentally bumped into each other, both of them formed a mental image of each other before they proceed picking up the papers that fell across the floor. Celene thinks that oon is good looking wheareas oon finds Celene very attractive.

-eople tend to associate beauty with other positive qualities. oth the 'what is beautiful is good stereotype' and the 'halo effect' both theories took place in this scene. Sterotyping is the process by which we draw inferences about others based on knowledge of the categories to which they belong. The sterotype acts as a self.fulfilling prophecy where the perception of attractive people are more valuable members of society leads to their receiving perferential treatment and tangible benefit. Similarly, what is beautiful is good effect relies on the assumption that physically attractive people are superior to others on many other traits, such as intelligence and overall personality.
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/ot only that, !alo effect is the cognitive bias where one positive attribute will cause us to attribute other positive qualities to an individual. This also speaks to the importance of a good first impression. !alo effect can occur without our active awareness. *or instance, Celene involuntarily form a mental thought that oon is smart and sweet +ust because he acts like a gentleman, added that he has a good looking face too. )n conclusion, both cognitive biases in which people use to make +udgements about others are common when good first impression applies. These decisions are made easily and instantiously because a person#s physical appearance is the personal characteristic that is the most obvious and accessible to others in social interaction.

0oreover, the concept of confirmation bias also applies in this scene where both Celene and oon started to introduce themselves. Confirmation bias is defined as the tendency of people to favor information that confirms their beliefs or opinions . oon#s belief of Celene being a nice girl is confirmed when Celene starts to speak. !er voice is gentle and sweet causes him to be more interested in her.

Theory of attraction.

Attraction refers to both romantic and social attraction which includes feelings between lovers as well as friends. "hat contributes to the theory of attraction is proximity, mere exposure and interaction. -roximity is the physical closeness between two individuals. )n this case, when Celene and oon bend down to pick up the papers, this causes them to have a smaller proximity and it leads them to have a mutual attraction with one another. 0ere exposure occurs when both of them accidentally touched hands while picking up the papers. This happens when the both of their first impression is a positive one and it refers to the effect created by close proximity. Consequently, the more we come into contact with something, the more we will like it. 0ere exposure and proximity lead to interaction, which is a key to attraction. )n that particular scene, oon and Celene involuntarily create a physical contact with one another, and this leads to both of them being attracted to each other. Thus, leading to both of them exchanging numbers.

-hysical attractiveness also has an impact on the theory of attraction. "hether we admit it or not, looks do matter. -hysical beauty is easiest thing to spot in social
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interactions. 0a+ority of us tend to hold a 'beautiful is good' sterotype. This supports a universal standard of attractiveness.

Nonverbal Communication.

/onverbal cues are behaviors, gestures, and expressions that convey thought or emotion without words. 1motional expression in psychology are observable verbal and nonverbal behaviors that communicate and internal emotional or affective state. 1xample of emotional expression in the video is shown when celene shows facial movements of her crying after a delibrate fight between her and her boyfriend, oon. This can occur with or without self.awareness. -resumably, individuals have conscious control of their emotional expressions2 however, they need not to have conscious awareness of their emotional or affective state in order to express emotion. This can be seen when oon left Celene at the stairs even though Celene begged him not to. She started to break down and cry out of her awareness on her own emotions.

Parental Image Theory.

-arental )mage Theory is a psychodynamic theory supported by Sigmund *reud. !e called it the 3edipus or 1lectra complex which is occurs when a person dates someone like his or her mother of father. 0others and fathers are generally our first love ob+ects, and this theory suggests that sons and daughters model after the parents of the same sex by selecting partners similar to the one the parent selected. This complex happens when you reached the age of 4 to 5. *rom the video context, the 1lectra complex can be shown when celene#s father called and a picture of her father is shown on the screen. !er friends suspected that she chose to date boys that have similar traits as her father due to the obvious fact that all the boys she dated are seemingly similar to her father.

'()* +A( ,013 (S*M ,) PSYC 0103

Assignment 3 !eport

'()* +A( ,013 (S*M ,) PSYC 0103

Assignment 3 !eport