Sketch: Drugs are Bad

Group Members : Liew Cherng Qing 0322613

Farah Aida 0322962

Muhammad Fareez 0322961

Cherilyn Chia Qiao Xin 0321986

Loo Siah Mong 0321995

Lecturer : Mr T. Shankar

Intake : January 2015

Submission Date : 7th December 2015

Content Page

I. Acknowledgement

II. Introduction

III. Methoda. Apparatus/ Materialsb. Procedure

IV. Discussiona. Concepts and Definitions of Sketchb. Storyboard Designc. Application and Analysisd. Conclusion

V. References

VI. Appendix

i. Acknowledgement

On behalf of the whole group, may I take this opportunity to express our appreciation

to every group members, Farah Aida, Fareez, Cherilyn Chia Qiao Xin, Loo Siah

Mong and Liew Cherng Qing (Mike) for their efforts of completing the assignment in

time and fulfilling individual tasks divided to them thoroughly.

Farah Aida was in charged as the director 1 of the sketch and script producer 1

as well as videographer and editor. Fareez was in charged as script producer 2 and

secondary in charge of making presentation slides. Cherilyn was in charged as the

producer 1 of report. Loo Siah Mong was in charged as the script producer 3 and

primary in charge of making presentation slides. Mike was in charged as the leader,

job divider and director 2 as well as producer 2 of report.

Thousands of thanks towards Mr. T. Shankar for his guidance and advice

towards clarity of the assignment as well as leading us to our video production, report

production and incorporation & application of learned concepts.

ii. Introduction

In this assignment, students are to produce a video clip by incorporating social

psychology concepts, produce a report of the sketch with detailed explanation of the

script and a presentation of the clip in class.

Sketch produced must be based around concepts learned in lectures given by

Mr. T.Shankar in class. This assignment will allow students to recognize and identify

the connections among concepts and perspectives within social psychology and with

other disciplines.

iii. Method

a) Apparatus & Materials

Filming Equipments :

Camera & Tripod Stand

Props & Costumes :

(Bed) Chairs, Cupboard and Sleeping bag

(Nerd) Files, Round spectacles, Check shirt (tucked in), Long pants

(Bad friends) Cigarette, Black outfit

(Drug addict) Cigarette, Check shirt (untucked), Period pills (bright color), Makeup

(Father) Spectacles, Collared shirt

(Lecturer) Spectacles, Papers (Exam sheet)

b) Procedure

Settings :

(University) Taylor’s University front entrance (red carpet)

(Café) Starbucks coffee shop in Syopz TU

(Dark corner) Staircase in Syopz TU

(Classroom) Classroom in Block E TU

(Bedroom) Classroom in Block E TU

(Corridor) Corridor in Block E TU

Operation :

1. Discussion

Multiple pre-discussions held to understand the script of the sketch, job division, role delegation and finalizing the video settings.

2. Role delegation

Role Actor Description of role

Nerd Mike A freshman in University who wants to be like the cool kid.

Bad friends Farah, Fareez “Cool Kids” who introduced the nerd to cigarettes and drugs.

Drug addict Mike The nerd after taking drugs, slacker, bad grades.

Lecturer Cherilyn Worried about nerd’s academic grades.

Group mates All members Group members carrying out discussions.

Parents Fareez, Siah Mong Worried about child and forgives child for his mistakes.

3. Video filming

Farah Aida and Fareez produced the script of the sketch. Farah Aida who also works

as the videographer of the sketch, was the director together with Mike. Tripod stands are

often used to film the sketch when all members are present in the same scene or to produce a

stabilized video.

During the filming process, group members studied the scenes carefully and practiced

the dialogues as well as carry out inter discussions to avoid misunderstandings and provide

better ideas for the filming process.

iv. Discussion

a) Concepts and Definitions of Sketch

The team assigned Loo Siah Mong, Farah Aida and Fareez to come out with different

storylines and concepts for our sketch. Finally, our team had made the choice and decided to

use Farah Aida’s idea of storyline.

As the title of our sketch stated, “Drugs are Bad”, the general concept of the storyline

is to show how drugs can affect us in terms of physically and mentally.

The leading role of the sketch is a young man, in his adolescent years which brings

relatability to our main audiences who are in their teenage years. The storyline of the sketch

portrays how a common people like the audience will have the unconscious desire of being

just like the ‘Cool Kids’ in their life, to boost their ego and self-esteem.

When the young man walked the wrong path, taking drugs, the sketch shows how

drugs affected the young man in physically and mentally. The young man is tired and living

and unhealthy life. Besides that, the young man is also changed into someone who does not

pay attentions to his academic and unconsciously disappointing people around him.

However, the sketch not only acts as awareness to the audiences, it also reminds the

audiences it’s never too late to make the right choice and walk the right path towards success

and a healthy life.

Our main theme describes five social psychology concepts including Social Learning

Perspective, Social Loafing, Persuasion, Extrinsic & Intrinsic Motivation and Self-awareness.

b) Storyboard Design

Group discussions are held to understand and give suggestions on the techniques we wished

to use in the video through paper and pen. After that, we improvised and reinforced the

message of the video and discussed about the application of social psychology concepts in

five different scenes and merge them into a single storyline. Before progressing to film the

video,

We sketched a visual storyboard that would guide us through the filming process of

the five concepts

A draft script for the video was also written to provide the actors a guideline to apply

in the video

The copies of hand-drawn storyboards and draft script for the scenes are attached in the

appendix section.

Storyboard:

#1: Mike the Nerd joined Taylor’s U. #2: He started taking cigarettes and drugs.

#3: Mike received bad grades for his exams. #4: His parents persuaded him to change.

#5: He started working hard towards his goal. #6: He was rewarded with a new car.

c) Application and Analysis

Our video consists of five scenes that each shows a specific social psychology concept in the

story of “Drugs are Bad”. The analysis of each scene and the application of psychology

concepts in the scenes are explained below.

1. Scene One - Social Learning Perspective

The ‘cool kids’ introducing ecstasy to Mike.

Description

Mike, the nerd, made friends with the ‘cool kids’ in university as he wanted to be cool too.

Being vulnerable to the negative actions of these friends, he started to smoke as he was

invited by these friends. Eventually, they also led him into having drugs and he became

addicted to it. He even took drugs before class, making him unconscious of his surroundings.

Concept Definition

Social Learning Perspective - Behaviour is learned from the environment through the process

of observational learning.

Explanation

Social learning perspective includes learning through the effect of psychological factors and

the responses to external stimuli. People normally learn to do something through the exposure

towards others’ behaviour or actions. An act is also learnt when a person has a strong will

towards the other’s actions, without considering whether it is negative or positive.

Application

Mike’s mind-set of wanting to be cool in school resulted in the action of making friends with

the cool kids without considering if they are bad or good influences. Having the thought of ‘I

want to be cool!’ makes him vulnerable to the bad influences of his friends. He learns to

smoke and do drugs through the influence of his friends who deals with these substances.

2. Scene Two - Social Loafing

Mike was sleeping while the rests are having a group discussion.

Description

After started taking drugs, Mike was always tired and sleepy in class. He did not pay

attention when the lecturer was teaching and always sleeps during group discussions. Even

though his friends had problems with the assignment, he did not help and thought that they

could overcome it by themselves. He did not participate in the meetings and rely on other

group members to do his part in the project as well.

Concept Definition

Social Loafing - The phenomenon of when an individual exerts less effort to achieve a goal

when working in a group than when working alone.

Explanation

Working in groups may seem like the accomplishments are achieved through each member’s

contribution. However, in certain cases, some members tend to contribute less in group works

as compared to individual projects. These individuals can hide their unproductiveness as the

other members will pick up the slack.

Application

Mike is not participative in group discussions after he started taking drugs. He thinks that his

laziness will not be spotted by the lecturer as there are other members that will make more

effort to cover his part in the project. He acted supportive to other members and thought of

the other members will do his part as they will not want to score bad grades for the project.

This eventually resulted in him being inactive and not contributing during group assignments.

3. Scene Three – Persuasion

Mike was being persuaded by his parents.

Description

Finding out that their son was taking drugs, Mike’s parents became very angry and scolded

him badly. They could not believe that their son would turn into a drug addict. Even so, they

tried to persuade him to leave drugs and told him that the action would affect his future.

Concept Definition

Persuasion - A process in which communicators try to convince other people to change their

attitudes or behaviours regarding an issue through the transmission of a message in an

atmosphere of free choice.

Explanation

Persuasion normally happens to change a person’s actions or mind-set of doing certain things.

There are two types of persuasion with one being positive and the other negative. Positive

persuasion helps people to stay away from negative doings while a negative persuasion will

lead to a person being involved in negative activities.

Application

Mike’s parents persuaded their son to stop doing drugs by stating that drugs can harm his

body and also affect his daily lifestyle. It can also affect his productiveness in class and

projects. They want Mike to return to his old self, being a good students and get good grades

in his studies.

4. Scene Four – Self-awareness

Mike was studying in a café with his friend.

Description

After being scolded and persuaded by his parents, Mike started to realise his fault and wanted

to change into a better person for his future. He went back to his hardworking self and hangs

out with friends who are good in studies. He even studied hard for his examinations and

finally achieved good grades in his studies.

Concept Definition

Self-awareness - The capacity for introspection and the ability to recognize oneself as an

individual separate from the environment and other individuals.

Explanation

Self-awareness is having a clear perception about ourselves. It allows us to understand other

people’s perception towards us, as well as our own thoughts and interpretations we make in

our mind. It is important to have self-awareness as it allows us to see how we can control our

behaviour and personality and make changes accordingly.

Application

Being persuaded by his parents, he becomes aware of his wrongdoings of involving in

smoking and drugs. He realises that these negative actions will lead him to nowhere in the

future. He wants to transform into a better person by getting rid of these actions and have a

better future. He wants to succeed in life and not waste his talent just because he wants to be

cool in school. He recognizes his own fault and eventually succeeds in his studies.

5. Scene Five – Motivation

Mike’s father was giving Mike a new car key as a reward for getting an A in his exam.

Description

During the persuasion process, Mike’s parents also offered to buy Mike a new car if he quits

drugs and does well in his studies. His father also wants him to prove himself by getting an A

in his upcoming examination. Being motivated by his father, Mike quits drugs and managed

his studies well. Eventually, he managed to get an A in his exam and his father gifts him a

new car as a reward of his changes.

Concept Definition

Motivation – The process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviours.

Explanation

Motivation is what causes us to act. There are two types of motivations, extrinsic and

intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation refers to an action taken in response to external reward while

intrinsic motivation arise from within the individual, where an action is taken for the sake of

enjoyment or believe of it as a positive action. In this case, an extrinsically motivated person

will do a task to avoid punishment or earn a specific reward.

Application

The offer of Mike’s father in buying a new car becomes an extrinsic motivation to Mike.

Driven by the material good, which is the car, Mike puts in much more effort in getting rid of

his addiction and getting good results in his examination. Mike acts as such to obtain the

reward from his father. However, after his self-awareness and wanted to be a better person

and live a healthy lifestyle, it became an intrinsic motivation to Mike. Mike do not want to

disappoint his parents anymore and believed stop doing drugs and worked hard for good

grades will help him live a better lifestyle.

v. References

Cherry, K. (2015). How Social Loafing Explains Why We Do Less When We're in a Group. About.com Health. Retrieved 1 December 2015, from http://psychology.about.com/od/sindex/g/socialloafing.htm

Cherry, K. (2015). How Does Extrinsic Motivation Influence Behaviour? About.com Health. Retrieved 2 December 2015, from http://psychology.about.com/od/eindex/f/extrinsic-motivation.htm

Cherry, K. (2015). Motivation: The Psychological Factors That Guide Behaviour. About.com Health. Retrieved 2 December 2015, from http://psychology.about.com/od/mindex/g/motivation-definition.htm

Pathwaytohappiness.com. (2015). Self-Awareness. Retrieved 3 December 2015, from http://www.pathwaytohappiness.com/self-awareness.htm

Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Perloff, R. M. (2003). The Dynamics of Persuasion: Communication and Attitudes in the

21st Century. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

vi. Appendix