BCU MAGC 303 – SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

NAME: Bayangan Joan G. DATE: 23 July 2022

(Last Name) (First Name) MI

FINAL EXAMINATION
Reflection Essays
1. The following are some instances of social influence and conformity. In each case, the person who is
conforming has changed his or her behavior because of the expressed opinions or behaviors of another
person. In some cases the influence of the others is more obvious; in other cases less so. (20 points)

o Using the principles from the lessons, first consider the likely role of the social situation versus
the individual person. Did the person freely engage in the behavior, did the social situation force
him to engage in the behavior, or was there some combination of both?

o Then consider the role of underlying human goals—concern for self and concern for others. Did
the conformity occur primarily because the person wanted to feel good about himself or herself
or because he or she cared for those around him or her?

a. Bill laughed at the movie, even though he didn’t think it was all that funny; he
realized he was laughing just because all his friends were laughing.

 Because Bill wanted to look well, feel good, and care for his
friends, he adapts to the situation in this scenario and accepts
that others thought the movie humorous even if it wasn't
humorous to him at all.

b. Jennifer went to the mall with her friends so that they could help her choose a gown
for the upcoming prom.

 Jennifer complies with the circumstances in this situation

willingly. She used informational conformity since she
thought her peers had greater taste and knowledge in prom
dresses.

c. Sally tried a cigarette at a party because all her friends urged her to.

 Although Sally doesn't smoke, she gave in to her friends'

requests to do so even though she knows it's not the correct
thing to do because she wants to fit in and be liked by the
group. In this scenario, normative conformity is at play even
though Sally doesn't smoke.

d. Phil spent over P3,000.00 on a pair of sneakers, even though he couldn’t really afford
them, because his best friend had a pair.

 In this case normative conformity is still applied like in the

case of sally, Phil bought the shoes because his goal is to
belong and being accepted by the group and to impress
others.
 2. Analyze the following in terms of the principles in our lesson: (10 points)

John, Sarah, Billy, and Warren were assigned to work on a group project for their psychology class.
However, they never really made much progress on it. It seemed as if each of them was waiting for
the other person to call a meeting. They finally met a couple of days before the paper was due, but
nobody seemed to do much work on it. In the end, they didn’t get a very good grade. They realized
that they might have done better if they had each worked alone on the project.

 The concept of process losses and gains is being used in this situation; if
the group had performed better, there would have been a process gain,
but because they did not, there is now a process loss. They ought to have
applied the idea of task division.

3. Imagine that you were working on a group project that did not seem to be going very well. What
techniques might you use to motivate the group to do better? (10 points)

 The strategy that could encourage the team to perform better is

brainstorming, in which each participant generates innovative ideas that
could improve the project. Other strategies include group work,
collaboration, social creativity, and group action.

4. Aggression is another example of the person-situation interaction. Some people are naturally more
aggressive than others, but the social situation may either increase or decrease the likelihood that
aggression actually occurs. Think for a moment about your personality and about the situations that you
spend time in. Are these likely to create aggression? If so, how might you change your behavior to
reduce the likelihood of being aggressive? (10 points)

 In terms of personality, I have a tendency to raise my voice when

faced with a situation I don't like or whenever I hear something that
doesn't match the real story. By shouting, we increase our level of
stress and tension, which frequently develops into an argument. The
louder the voice, the more intense the anger that is produced, which
may result in physical confrontation.
 I can alter this tendency by developing the ability to maintain
composure under pressure.

Total points = 50

**use A4 bond paper, Tahoma 12-point front, single-spaced, one inch margins

Prepared by:
Ofelia Borja Padlan
Registered Guidance Counselor