Psychology Course: The Individual in Society Reflection Paper

This assignment is a reflective paper from a psychology student exploring the individual's place in society. The student delves into key concepts such as self and identity, including the spotlight effect and the illusion of transparency, and how these concepts relate to their personal experiences. The paper further examines prejudice and discrimination, analyzing various forms and the impact on society, alongside personal reflections on these issues. Finally, the assignment explores attraction and close relationships, discussing different types of love and factors influencing relationship dynamics, particularly within the context of contemporary society and the student's own observations. The student reflects on the course material and connects it to their understanding of societal concerns and their own social world.

Running head: THE INDIVIDUAL IN SOCIETY
THE INDIVIDUAL IN SOCIETY
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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Reflection
The previous assignment of mine related to Learning Journal 1 have obtained certain
level of disparagement as it was incompetent to provide concise connection between the levels of
analysis and my understanding based on the experiences I gathered. However, keeping the
previous apertures in consideration, I intend to enhance my comprehension and grasp over the
subjects which have been made acquainted to us in the course of Learning Journal 2. The
detailed and comprehensive learning which I have gathered during this course have facilitated
the level my competency and ability to demonstrate a distinctive and unambiguous
comprehension of the knowledge I have attained while learning certain fascinating and socially
intriguing subject areas. Subjects associated with self-identity, prejudice and discrimination and
attraction and close or intimate relationships would assist me in comprehending the current
issues and concerns pertaining in the society. Therefore, this assignment intend to study on the
level of my understanding and knowledge that I have received while studying these topics and
the way I consider these societal concerns will draw relevance to my personal social world.
Furthermore, I would attempt to explore the areas of these topics which have developed the level
of my fanaticism and awareness towards these topics by casting light on the fundamental
concepts which I consider as immensely essential and significant to draw attention upon. As
these subject matters are critically incorporated in the quotidian societal contexts, an inclusive
understanding is intensely demanding in order to focus on the decisive areas of the society.
Reflection 1 Self and Identity /Spotlight Effect & the Illusion of Transparency
The concepts on self and identity has gathered global understanding that individuals have
for themselves. Throughout my life, I relied on these comprehensive notions until I experienced

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the detailed understanding of the definite idea behind self and identity. Prior to this journal I was
unaware of the facts that the concept of self and identity encompasses various fundamental facets
which have immense relevance to an individual’s life. The various factors which envelop this
topic have enhanced my level of interest and further assisted me to gather improved ideas
associated to these components. Obtaining productive knowledge through the factors of self
concept, self-esteem, knowledge about ourselves and social self have led me to gather in-depth
understanding of this topic.
The primary concept of self-confidence as lies within the domain of psychology, have
assisted me to learn the way individuals can either enhance or further diminish their
competencies with the profusion of such understanding of psychological health (Holt et al.
2015). My knowledge understanding has promoted the information the way the historical and
contemporary notions of self have undergone rapid transformations whereby the conventional
ideas linked with factors of secularization whereby it was believed that religious beliefs must be
regarded as a voluntary affair which has no distinctive imposition on others of the society along
with other aspects such as education that would resulted in the growth of social mobility.
Inspirational quotes of recognized leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Abraham Maslow have
further been taught to us in this learning course through which I have learnt that immense
recognition and leadership skills can be developed through strong and decisive self-recognition
and self-confidence. Furthermore, while improving my knowledge on the disparities among
independent and interdependent perception of self, my inclination would lie on the latter on as to
my believe a successful self and effective recognition of my identity always depends on the
interconnection of self with family and other associates. I further believe that as a proper
integration and solidarity would assist me in understanding my position to their eyes and

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facilitate in condemning factors associated with egotism. At this juncture, I must point out
certain events of “Spotlight Effect’ also known as cognitive biasness that have at certain times
led me to undergo certain levels of embarrassment and awkwardness (Holt et al. 2015). I must
shed light on one of the experiences I have faced whereby I was continuously develop thoughts
of my participation in a recent group discussion of my college where I had grave concerns over
the statements I gave and how memorable those will be to the other members. This area has
helped me to identify the similar experiences that I have also undergone in the course of my
daily life. Furthermore, I must point out the experiences I have faced with one of my close
associates has been undergoing “illusion of transparency’. I realized the in-depth analysis of this
concept through the lectures by recollecting the way my close associate dealing with emotional
distress have made unnecessary assumptions that his pain and anxiety was much grave than
others which resulted him in losing few of his close ones.
Self-esteem which is one of the essential sub-topics of our learning journal has assisted
me in identifying the way young generation where I belong has been extensively falling into the
depth of the construct of self-esteem. Everyone loves to be admired but after going through this
topic it comes to my wonder it is really good for our social lives to feel so important at every
aspect of our lives? It must be noted that our generation has been experiencing a grave sense of
Narcissistic disorder. The lectures which I have attended given by my professor on the elevating
rate of Narcissistic personality disorder which has been posing serious threats to the social life of
mine along with the others belonging to my generation. As we intend to preoccupied with
fantasies of unrestricted achievements and establishing unrealistic goals will not facilitate us in
achieving constructive success in life.
Reflection 2 Prejudice and Discrimination

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Prejudice and discrimination are two critical terms which have always gathered a lot of
confusion. Though I have obtained the vocabulary understanding of the connotations of these
two terms but have soon realized that these terms comprise of greater connotations and
underlying meaning that have been prevalent through the traditional as well as contemporary
human society. As I have always gathered severe uncertainties towards these meanings and
conceptions of prejudice and discrimination, I might have undergone certain experiences
encompassing these attitudes but have been unable to realize the true implications. Thus, my
greater degree of inclination lies on this area with the buoyancy of improving my understanding
of these areas of subjects.
At this juncture, I wish to focus on certain aspects of prejudice and discrimination which
I have undergone as well as knowingly or unknowingly have acted in these ways that might have
posed certain degree of discriminative or prejudiced attitudes. The lectures and notes on this
topic have enhanced my rate of concern towards the way the significance of rationality and
prudence has impacted in the rise and protraction of racism activities within our nation as well as
in rest of the world. This course has enlightened my understanding on the various forms of
prejudice based on factors related to racism, ethnicity, age, and nationality which have
highlighted the way certain words used in contemporary days both by the generation to which I
belong and the older ones such as ‘dark’, ‘black’ have been associated with ‘ugly’ or
‘unattractiveness’ or ‘white’ or ‘fair’ as ‘cute’ and ‘approachable’ have always grew my
apprehension towards them which has been further triggered while I go through my lecture
notes. I must point out the few social activist movements occurred in Australia, I have been
involved in and the way the social activists have been struggling to alter the perceptions of the
public in general to perceive individuals as person and not on the basis of skin colour or factors

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associated with their ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Furthermore, Pauline Hanson, a
recognized political leader of Australia has also emphasized on perceiving individuals as
Australians and further to demonstrate the love and respect for one’s nation rather than
demeaning the ideologies which the nation is proud of (Myers and Zinkiewicz 2016).
Living in a nation comprising of multicultural entities, the degree of acts related to
discrimination must be taken into consideration. The aspects of religion and ethnicity have not
been so considerable in Australia society, but certain reports have revealed the grievances of few
communities who believe that certain communities does not fit into the Australian society
whereby they are perceived as outsiders with threatening and misogynistic approaches towards
them. Other factors related to the sexual orientation of people have also been experiencing
homophobic bullying and harassment. I must point out the data provided on my textbook that
revealed how over 55% of gay men and lesbians faced severe homophobic exploitation in NSW
(Myers and Zinkiewicz 2016). Furthermore, many a times we as a younger generation tend to
demean the older ones for their biased or influential attitudes towards us (Myers and Passmore
2016). However, the lectures and my comprehension on this topic has made me realize that it
would facilitate the growth of societal development if both the generations develop perceptions
of understanding each other’s ideologies, principles and values.
Reflection 3 Attraction and Close Relationships / what is love
We humans tend to seek each other’s company and belonging in a variety of
circumstances. In order to experience ultimate happiness and integrity in our lives we prefer to
form associations with other people. However, relationship often undergoes transformational
factors and despair especially when we develop increased level of affection and intimacy with

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people. It came to my realization that as being a social breed my inclination lies towards getting
enlightened on this subject area. There have been several factors that make individuals develop
alterations within themselves and further become like others and as a result growth association
with them.
One of the fundamental concepts of this chapter has been the factors which are playing
significantly on the domain of break up or loss of a relationship. Through the lectures and notes,
I have realized that people in recent times, especially the ones of my generation has been
perceiving the understanding of love, affection or attraction in way different approach in
comparison to our elders. All this while, I have been wondering the factors which have been
resulting to such an elevated rate of separation or estrangement. This course has explicitly
reviewed the various forms of love such as the passionate and compassionate love which prior to
which I based my understandings on love in a generalized form. Though I believe the Passionate
Love Scale that is the measurement of love will vary from one individual to the other and further
to the extent of the true emotions couples tend to reveal with evaluating their scales of love.
Moreover, certain essential aspects related to interactive dynamics have been considered to have
influenced the causes of separation among loved ones. The contemporary relationships tend to
show immense boredom with their partners and further develop high level of disparities and
difference in interest and behavioural attitudes. Partners in a relationship tend to be focused on
optimistic factors specifically their personality traits which further attract them towards their
loved ones. However, such traits and attractiveness are gradually being undergoing
transformations thus leading relationships to get over and advancing towards breakups.
Furthermore, certain non-interactive factors also play vital role in separation or breakups among
couples. The yearning to be independent makes oneself to take a decision of leaving his or her

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partner, but what draws my concern is does people really live their lives in independence after
breaking a well-established relationship? However, I believe one must not be suppressed by any
person or in any relationship even if that association has been for years or have immense level of
intimacy into it. At this juncture, I must note the way people in contemporary times perceive the
idea of separation in a optimistic manner and not a matter of sorrow or shame. Many couples
have been celebrating their separation in a positive manner as they believe to sustain their bond
rather than maligning their shared moments.
The understanding which I obtained through this course can be explicitly evaluated
trough Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love. For me the concept of Love Triangle always
intended to include three individuals maintaining a complex form of association (Myers and
Karantzas 2016). However, by focusing on Sternberg’s concept of love triangle I comprehended
that it primarily depends on the amount and balance of love that the individuals involved share.
Furthermore, love does not comprise of a single triangle but tends to involve several numbers of
triangles as well as practical interests.
Contribution of Learning Journal 2 to my understanding of social psychology
and scholarly writing
From the above discussion, I must acknowledge the enhanced knowledge and
understanding I have gathered through this journal which has further led me to view situations in
varied perspectives. Though these concepts have already been known to me previously yet this
journal has developed my level of understanding on these topics which are considered to be
immensely serious within societal contexts and also to develop my personal knowledge. The
understanding which I have obtained is that self-confidence does not have any implication .of

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demeaning others or being decisive. Rather a true self-dependent and confident individual shows
immense courage and ability to lead others without posing any control on them. I believe an
effectively developed self-reliance and self-confidence would lead to the development of the
society as this would be productively contributing to the enhancement of the society.
Furthermore, learning about factors associated with prejudice and discrimination has facilitated
my perceptions towards certain subjects which were completely unidentified to me prior to this
course. The way I have gathered my understanding on the actions and behaviour people
demonstrate and to some extent I have also shown, I can be assured to the fact that such
instances would not be repeated further and I would intend to imbibe similar understandings
within my peer groups. Similarly, the learning regarding attraction and intimate relationships
have assisted me to develop alike comprehension within my friends and close associates in order
to facilitate the development of understanding one’s partner rather than deriving any conclusion
of ending relationships.

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References
Holt, N., Bremner, A., Sutherland, E., Vliek, M., Passer, M.W. and Smith, R.E., 2015.
Psychology: the science of mind and behaviour.-. LondonMcGraw-Hill
Education9780077169848.
Myers, D. G. and Zinkiewicz, L., 2016. Prejudice: Disliking others. In T. Griffin (Ed.), 101557:
The individual in society, (3rd ed., pp. 190-233). North Ryde, Australia: McGraw-Hill Australia.
Myers, D. G. and Karantzas, G., 2016. Attraction and intimacy: Liking and loving others. In T.
Griffin (Ed.), 101557: The individual in society, (3rd ed., pp. 272-321). North Ryde,
Australia:McGraw-Hill Australia.
Myers, D. G. and Passmore, N., 2016. Helping and prosocial behaviour. In T. Griffin (Ed.),
101557: The individual in society, (3rd ed., pp. 323-368). North Ryde, Australia: McGraw-Hill
Australia.