1

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

FINAL PROJECT: VIDEO ASSIGNMENT REPORT

Group Members:

NAME STUDENT ID

Chan Yi Qin 0315964

Chong Yi Qi 0304898

Tan Zhao Ming 0318724

Lau Chin Sheng 0317899

Kiing Kiu Chun 0318727

Group/ Session: Monday (4p.m. till 7p.m. slot)

Subject: Social Psychology [PSYC0103]

Lecturer: Mr. T. Shankar

Course: Foundation in Natural & Built Environments

Submission Date: 8th December 2014

2

Acknowledgement

Firstly, the members of our team would like to express our deepest gratitude towards our dear lecturer,

Mr. Shankar for his guidance and continuous encouragement throughout this course. His competence in

delivering his lectures made it possible for us to understand the psychological notions and applying it in

everyday life.

Besides that, I would love to take the chance to thank each and every member of my group for their efforts

to ensure that this project is a success. In the production of this short video, they have participated in

every meeting and their enthusiasm in sharing their ideas and helpful opinions. Not forgetting their superb

spontaneous acting and video recording. Their cooperation is truly appreciated.

A very special thanks to Taylor’s University and Sunway College students, for we would not have

completed the social experiment video without their help. And finally, to the various people who had

contributed in our research, thank you for your participation.

3

Table of Content

CONTENT PAGE NUMBER

Acknowledgement 2

Abstract 4

Introduction 5

Method 6 - 8

(A) Apparatus/ Materials 6 - 7

(B) Procedure 8

Discussion 9 - 14

(A) Concepts 9 - 10

(B) Summary of Video Clip 11 - 14

Conclusion 15

Reference 16

Appendix 17 - 18

4

Abstract

Gender equality, a promise to change humanity from the past, a promise to stand up for human rights,

no matter the gender. However, is it truly “equal” to everyone? Does gender equality necessarily point

towards both male and female in this day and age? Therefore, we embarked on this journey to study the

comparative differences in public perspective responses towards men and women. Domestic violence

happens everywhere, regardless of time and place. Often we hear about abuse towards women and

campaigns to prevent violence against women. But what about men in particular? This social experiment

was conducted in Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus, Sunway College as well as Sunway Pyramid to

study the reactions of students and shoppers from respective locations. The main challenge in conducting

this investigation is to record the comparative differences of perception and responses toward domestic

violence in alternating genders.

5

Introduction

For this assignment, we’re required to produce a video clip which includes a minimum five psychological

concepts taught in class. The primary purpose of conducting this assignment is to promote the application

of social psychology concepts in real-life situations and augment teamwork and leadership in students.

Besides that, this assignment also enhances creative thinking skills as well as other disciplines.

Basically this assignment is divided in two parts. For the first part we are tasked to create a video clip

designated to incorporate the critical concepts learnt in class as well as a written report of the video. As

for the next part, we have to conduct a presentation about our assignment to the class with a time frame

of approximately 20 minutes.

6

Method

For this experiment, our purpose is to shoot a real life situation whereby it is essential to capture a real

live reaction from passerby, therefore the use of hidden cameras from various angles is established.

Through this video, we hope to raise awareness that it is possible for men to be bullied and abused as

well.

(A) Apparatus/ Materials

1. Video shooting

(i) One Digital Single Reflex Lens camera

- Used as hidden camera mainly focusing on the close-up of our main characters.

(ii) Two iPhone 5s cameras

- To shoot the video from different angles, one focusing on the reactions of the passerby

whereas another one focusing on our main characters’ actions. Members pretended to

play with their phones but in fact they’re filming secretly.

(iii) One Go-Pro Hero 3+ Action camera

- Extremely small, light, and not easily detected, great for the usage as hidden camera.

To capture the overall scenario of the scenes, used as back up videos.

(iv) One camera stand

- To hold the digital camera firmly.

2. Script

- A script is the written text of a play, film, or broadcast.

- A script is necessary for a video. We had written it out and followed what we had

transcribed when we were recording. This is to make sure that our recording is on track and

the finished film conveys our intended message with more impact.

3. Setting

(i) Taylor’s University Commercial Block, outside Starbucks

- It’s always crowded with customers; on sidewalks, students or office stuffs come in

and out in an endless stream.

7

- Has several perfect concealed positions for us to hide our cameras and carry out the

recording secretly.

(ii) Sunway College Cafeteria

- Parents always wait for their kids here because tables and chairs are provided.

- Students like to grab something to eat here after having classes.

- Some students also like to do assignment there while waiting for their parents.

- There’s a sideway next to the cafeteria which most students would normally pass by

after they finish lessons.

(iii) Taylor’s University Block D, in front of Norwegian Sandwich

- A handy and crowded spot for students or stuffs to grab a coffee or quick bite to eat.

- Students like to spend their passing time by sitting on the tables and chairs provided

eating and chilling with friends.

- There’s an event held in the lecture theatre near Norwegian Sandwich on the day we

recorded.

- Excellent gathering area packed with crowd.

(iv) Sunway Pyramid Orange Zone, Level 3

- A fairly busy sidewalk due to the famous ice-cream shop nearby.

- Less noise with warm lighting as compared to other zones.

- Comes with several optimum hidden areas for us to record clandestinely, such as the

opposite sideway as well as the passageway located on the level above.

4. Character List

(i) Boyfriend 1 abuses girlfriend 1, vice versa

- Boyfriend 1 by Tan Zhao Ming

- Girlfriend 2 by Chong Yi Qi

(ii) Boyfriend 2 abuses girlfriend 2, vise versa

- Boyfriend 1 by Kiing Kiu Chun

- Girlfriend 2 by Chan Yi Qin

8

(B) Procedures

1. Planning a video

A meeting was held to discuss what type of video that we would like to film, including playing a

story out or arranging a social experiment in public. At last, we all agreed to conduct a social

experiment to study the reactions, different perceptions as well as responses from people. We

came out different ideas such as stealing, dropping wallet, asking others’ permission to use their

phones, and borrowing money to buy food or take bus. All these sounds too mainstream so we

eventually had decided to film domestic violence, focusing on the differences between boys and

girls get abused. The message that we wanted to convey is men will get maltreated, too, but no

one will stand out and give them a helping hand even when they witness so.

2. Confirming the concepts

Another meeting was conducted to discuss about the five psychological concepts we needed in

the video. The concepts we had chosen are stereotype from chapter 3, sexism from chapter 7,

direct aggression from chapter 9, bystander effect from chapter 9, and social perception from

chapter 4.

3. Deciding settings and writing the script

After finalizing the concepts, we started to decide the settings to shoot our video. The locations

must be obvious and are always crowded so that more people could witness our actions and show

their responses. A short, simple yet clear script was then written to ensure that we know the story

line thoroughly and how to attract others’ attention.

4. Shooting the video

We gathered at the Commercial Block started to shoot the video after class at about 2p.m. The

next location was at Block D, Norwegian Sandwich. After that we went to Sunway Pyramid to take

our next shot. The final site was at Sunway College. Most of the shots were required but also

successfully filmed within one take so that we don’t need to keep changing our sites.

9

Discussion

(A) Concepts

There’re 5 concepts used in our video clip, including stereotype, sexism, direct aggression, bystander

effect, and social perception.

1. Stereotype (Chapter 3)

A stereotype is a thought that can be adopted about specific types of individuals or certain ways

of doing things. A stereotype is made based on a prior assumption and is often used to categorize

a group of people. These thoughts or beliefs however, may not accurately reflect reality. In our

video for example, people stereotyped boys (Zhao Ming and Kiu Chun) as good fighters, they think

that all men are strong. They therefore might hurt the girls (Yi Qi and Yi Qin) in serious injured if

they started hitting the girls. People would thus stop the boys immediately even when the boys

just started yelling at the girls to prevent them from abusing the girls.

2. Sexism (Chapter 7)

Sexism or gender discrimination, is a prejudice or discrimination based on a person’s sex or gender.

We often concluded that normally women will experience sexism, however, there’re some

practices and policies that are unfair to men as well. In this video clip, we could see that when

men were getting abused, no one stood out and stopped them from getting hurt. In fact, men can

be the victims of abuse, too. Up to 40% of the victims of physical domestic violence are actually

men.

3. Direct Aggression (Chapter 9)

In social psychology, the term aggression refers to a range of behaviors that can result in both

physical and psychological harm to oneself, other or objects in the environment. The expression

of aggression can occur in a number of ways, including verbally, mentally, and physically. In our

short film, direct aggression is carried out in both physically as well as verbally. When the boys

were abusing the girls, they shouted, yelled and even pushed them aside. The girls remained silent

though, this angered them and started to use force to persuade the girls, and vice versa.

10

4. Bystander Effect (Pluralistic Ignorance) (Chapter 8)

The bystander effect occurs when the presence of others hinders an individual from intervening

in an emergency situation. Pluralistic ignorance, moreover, help us explain the bystander effect

that people are more likely to help in an emergency situation when alone than when other

persons are near. In short, people will decide not to help when they see that others are not getting

involved. This can result in no one taking action, even though some people privately think that

they should do something. On the other hand, if one person decides to help, others are more

likely to follow and give assistance. For instance, in the first scene of our video, when Zhao Ming

was yelling at Yi Qi, a man stood out to stop Zhao Ming immediately, a friend of him came out

after that, a security approached them as well. Alternatively, when Yi Qi was hitting Zhao Ming,

no one stood out to save Zhao Ming instead. Although they may think that boys might also need

help, since nobody’s taking action so they decided to watch and do nothing.

5. Social Perception (Chapter 4)

Social perception is defined as the study of how we form impressions of and make inferences

about other people. To learn about others, we rely on information from their physical appearance,

and verbal and non-verbal communication. In our video for example, when they see an attractive

girl, helpless, unable to resist in a fight, with a fearful expression, as opposed to an angry man

shouting at her, prepared to hit the girl, the audience will automatically perceive the man as the

bad guy in the picture. Therefore, the audience will try to help the girl. On the other hand, when

they see a guy being abused by a girl, not hitting back, with a guilty look on his face, the audience

will perceive the situation as the guy’s fault, in extreme cases aiding the girl to beat up the guy.

11

(B) Summary of Video Clip

Scene 1

Setting: Taylor’s University Commercial Block, outside Starbucks

One day, a couple was quarrelling in front of Starbucks. Boyfriend 1 shouted at girlfriend 1 and started to

hit her. Girlfriend 1 was afraid and was unable to resist in the fight. A man came out immediately to save

the attractive girlfriend 1 by stopping boyfriend 1 from abusing her. A guard approached them to break

up the fight as well.

12

Scene 2

Setting: Sunway College Cafeteria

Another couple was quarrelling at cafeteria, Sunway College. Boyfriend 2 was abusing girlfriend 2 both

physically and verbally. The girl was frightened, helpless, and couldn’t resist in the fight. A man stood out

to stop them by pulling the boyfriend aside.

13

Scene 3

Setting: Taylor’s University Block D, in front of Norwegian Sandwich

The first couple was quarreling in front of Norwegian Sandwich. This time boyfriend 1 was being abused

by girlfriend 1. She pushed him to the wall and yelled at him. Boyfriend 1 however didn’t hit back, looked

guilty and remained silent. The bystanders did not help the boy, they just stood there and watched the

picture. Other people even pretended that they didn’t see the fight.

14

Scene 4

Setting: Sunway Pyramid Orange Zone, Level 3

The second couple was fighting inside Sunway Pyramid. This time girlfriend 2 was abusing boyfriend 2.

Girlfriend 2 was shouting and hitting the boyfriend’s head but he didn’t resist the fight. He remained silent

and didn’t hit back. The girl passed by didn’t try to stand out and save the boy, she just watched and

eventually walked away. Another girl behind her pretended that she didn’t see them fighting neither.

15

Conclusion

Through this assignment, we have learned to apply psychological concepts in our daily lives. We have also

learned that, in order to make this task a success, teamwork and communication is essential. In order to

do well in this social experiment, we must learn to let go of our ego and act out the scenes. Even though

the idea of gender equality has been introduced for decades, still, in this day and age, we have not truly

achieved gender equality. Through this investigation, we hope to have raised awareness regarding this

issue.

16

References

Berlatsky, N. (2013, May 29). ‘When Men Experience Sexism’. Retrieved December 7, 2014, from

http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/05/when-men-experience-sexism/276355/

Cherry, K. ‘What is Aggression?’. Retrieved December 7, 2014, from

http://psychology.about.com/od/aindex/g/aggression.htm

Cherry, K. ‘The Bystander Effect’. Retrieved December 7, 2014, from

http://psychology.about.com/od/socialpsychology/a/bystandereffect.htm

Crispety. ‘What is Social Perception?’. Retrieved December 7, 2014, from

http://www.wisegeekhealth.com/what-is-social-perception.htm

Emily. (2004, January 24). ‘Stereotype’. Retrieved December 7, 2014, from

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=stereotype

17

Appendix

Video script

Scene 1

[Setting: Taylor’s University Commercial Block, outside Starbucks]

Characters: Tan Zhao Ming (Boyfriend 1), Chong Yi Qi (Girlfriend 1)

*Couple walks to the sideway beside Starbucks*

Zhao Ming: (pushes Yi Qi to the wall and yells) who is he??!!

Yi Qi: (shakes her head) I don’t know…

Zhao Ming: (continues to push Yi Qi and starts to grab her shoulder) who is he?? Why did you cheat on

me?!!

Yi Qi: (tries to resist but fails, remains silent)

Scene 2

[Setting: Sunway College Cafeteria]

Characters: Kiing Kiu Chun (Boyfriend 2), Chan Yi Qin (Girlfriend 2)

*Couple walks from cafeteria towards corridor to the front door*

Kiu Chun: (grabs Yi Qin’s shoulder and pushes her aside) who is he? (Shouts) Who is he?? Tell me!!

Yi Qin: (shakes her head) I don’t know… I really don’t know…

Kiu Chun: (pushes Yi Qin’s head) why??? You don’t dare to tell me who is he is it??!!

Yi Qin: (tries to push Kiu Chun) no, please I don’t know…

Kiu Chun: (shouts even louder and wants to hit Yi Qin’s head) just tell me!!

18

Scene 3

[Setting: Taylor’s University Block D, in front of Norwegian Sandwich]

Characters: Tan Zhao Ming (Boyfriend 1), Chong Yi Qi (Girlfriend 1)

*Couple walks to the sideway in front of Norwegian Sandwich*

Yi Qi: (pushes Zhao Ming to the wall and yells) who is she??!!

Zhao Ming: (looks guilty and remains silent) …

Yi Qi: (continues to push Zhao Ming and starts to hit him to the wall) who is she?? Tell me!! Why did you

cheat on me?!!

Zhao Ming: (continues being hit but refuses to hit back) …

Scene 4

[Setting: Sunway Pyramid Orange Zone, Level 3]

Characters: Kiing Kiu Chun (Boyfriend 2), Chan Yi Qin (Girlfriend 2)

*Couple walks along the corridor and starts quarrelling*

Yi Qin: (grabs Kiu Chun’s shoulder and pushes him aside) who is she? (Shouts) Who is she?? Tell me!!

Kiu Chun: (shakes his head) I don’t know… I really don’t know…

Yi Qin: (pushes Kiu Chun’s head) why??? I saw you with her!! You don’t dare to tell me who is she is

it??!!

Kiu Chun: (doesn’t want to fight back) no, please I don’t know…

Yi Qin: (pushes Kiu Chun’s head twice even harder and shouts even louder) just tell me!! Who is she?!!!

-The End-