I want to be a......Psychologist!

Kitten A to Kitten B, "So what do you reckon you will be when you are all grown up?"

Kitten B replies, "I hope to be a feline that for once, is able to help my master to fend off bad guys...You know, like a house dog, being all big and fierce. But with all the stereotype out there about cats and kittens, you and I both know what I'll become."

Kitten A nods in agreement, "To be honest, I never really gave a thought about it. All these talking is definitely zapping the energy out of me, I wanna have some fun. Pass that wool ball to me!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The scenario above with the two talking kittens is getting strikingly common in the world of animals, but this can be said as well as to the world of humans. This may sound so normal to you as if this is a mantra for parents to nag their kids, but it is the truth - Teenagers do not have an ambition at all! The fact that this "abnormaility" prevalence rate is so high, psychologists should include it into their insanely abnormal long list of disorders.

Oh wait, did I just mention "Psychologists"? What are they? Psychologists, they sound so, serious. If you don't know already, my latter question isn't exactly asked in that polite manner. They come in form of "Are you trying to read my mind, you !", "Why are doing this to me?" and "Get out of my head!".

However, due to public misconception about psychologists does make life a tad more wonderful for psychology degree undergraduates. So, how is that the case?

1)You will get a lot of stares - as if you have just said the most unbelievable thing in the whole wide world - after you told them what you are studying. Well, who ever say being able to amuse is free?

2)Your friends will think you are such a smarty pants. Fact 1: Psychology undergraduates have high intelligence. Tee Hee.

3)Bigots are scarce in your friend list. For obvious reasons, they don't like psychologist/psychology undergraduate as they couldn't make a case for themselves as they would be left looking stupid in front of a psychologist/psychology undergraduate. Refer to Fact 1.

There are many more, though, since those above are the most common. Even so, why are there still any sane person taking up psychology degree? Well, you see, not everyone is good with numbers (Economist); not everyone is good with words (Lawyer); and certainly, not everyone is good with music(Artiste), such as the case of Mr. William Hung.

So this makes psychology a fall back plan if all above doesn't meet a person's qualities? The answer is "No" as many successful people studied psychology, but this topic is for discussion another day, another time.

Even kittens will deviate from the norms, to go their own paths with an ambition - something every human should have. Perhaps more kittens will become a house guard. Perhaps more teenagers will start having an ambition. Perhaps they will start having a dream for their own betterment. Perhaps more job opportunities will then be available to psychology graduates with employers not wearing a stereotype-tinted glass. And, perhaps...

新年到了~商家各种传销手法也出招了

在大家都为新年而头痛着该怎么用最省钱的方式买下所有新年用品时，其实很多业者也正头痛着该怎么用最有效的方式说服顾客乐于打开皮包来消费更多。我发现，很多人都在和顾客们打心理战。

昨天在扫购新年衣时，我在心里一直告诫自己只能买一套衣服。然而当售货员笑吟吟地向我走来并开始出招时，我有点招架不住了。大致上，以我个人看法来说，他们采取的策略如下：

Similarity（共同点）：
他们会说出他们和你之间的共同点，例如：
性别（大家都是女生，我明白会怎样怎样……），
种族（华人就应该趁新年买多一点……），
社会身份（年轻人都喜欢这种衣服）

Likability （喜欢）：
有些售货员特别讨人喜欢，他们说话方式幽默风趣，而且你总觉得他说的话都很有道理，因为他让你开心，让你喜欢他。每一个人都喜欢听好话，尤其是称赞自己的话。于是当你听到你喜欢的售货员称赞你穿上某件衣服时，我敢打赌你一定打开皮包买下了。

************************************************************************************

有时候，我们会买下一些事后就让我们后悔不已的货品，然后怎么也想不起当初为什么会买下了。售货员并没有用枪逼着自己买，可是为什么，就这么神差鬼使的花钱买下了呢？或许，你该看一看以下的例子：

案例一 只限今天
店门口摆着“大清货，所有物品均折扣高达70%”，然后大大个字写着“只限今天！” 然后店门口就会聚集满满的叔伯阿姨在那里你争我夺，原本低迷的生意也会被这群热血澎湃的消费者给大大地提升了。原本没什么想买的东西，也会因为“机会难得”这个挡箭牌，让自己大掏腰包，买了“唔等使”的东西。
这称之为“deadline technique”，意指这样的大倾销是会结束的，于是制造了人们怕输的心态，唯恐自己捡不到便宜货。殊不知，在很多情况下，“结束的那一天”实际上都不会来到。这只是为了增高生意额所做出的烟雾弹而已。

案例二 最后一件
最近较流行的宣传手法就是这一个了---最后一件！很多时候，在你犹豫不决是否要购买的时候，售货员都会很亲切地来到你身旁，告诉你手上拿着的货品（上至衣服鞋袜，下至厨房用品）是最后一件了，因为这个东西很好卖。换句话说，你现在不买，以后就没有了。于是，很多时候，大家都会“狠下心”买了下来，然后安慰自己说“最后一件了”
这在心理学里称之为“playing hard to get”，意思是说这东西很珍贵，即使你不要，还有一大堆人等着买。

以上这两个案例都是旨在提高货品的“罕有度”(scarcity)，你不买的话，你就走宝了。还是一样，目标锁定在“怕输”的人。你信不信，一个星期后再回去那间店，说不定你的“宝”还安稳如泰山般坐在店里头。

Reference

Baron, R., Branscombe, N., Byrne, D. (2008). Social Psychology.

Yes I can read YOUR mind --- myths in Psychology

Myth 1 心理学家能够猜透你的心

"嗨，我是心理学的学生。”

“啊！酱你懂我在想什么咯！（害怕的表情）”

*谨记：这个回答后面通常是“！”，而不是问号。

这说明了，人们普遍上认为心理学是一种可以让修读这门学问的人，像古代魔法师或巫师那样，能够预测未来和完全掌握别人脑袋里想着什么。或许还会有人认为，心理学家是一个很可怕的人，他们会在半夜偷偷摸着水晶球，或者念着咒语，甚至可以收集全世界各种人的脑袋，然后露出狰狞的面孔说道：“嘿嘿，我知道你在想着什么！”

以上的一切，就好像传说月亮上有兔子，海里有海龙王一样，只是传说而已。揭开了神秘的面纱，月亮上其实只有凹凸不平的坑洞，没有兔子，也没有麻薯；而海里有着各种海洋生物，独独缺了能呼风唤雨的海龙王。

同样的，心理学家不会一看到你的五官面相，就严肃地告诉你说：“你印堂发黑，双颊凹陷，我知道你打算去破门行劫，但今天不适合。”所有的传说创造了有先知能力，如神一般的心理学家，他们能够猜透别人的心，也能够观测面相，更能够预测未来。


Myth 2 心理学家只接见神经病的人

“你神经病啊？去看心理医生啦！”

“我没有问题，不用看心理医生接受辅导。”

外面传得沸沸扬扬的，只有患精神病，或被骂神经病的人，才需要见心理学家。虽然这没有第一个那么离谱，但基本上也没好到哪里去。如果只有精神病或有问题的人才见心理学家的话，那他们也不需要吃饭过活了。

大家有没有想过，去哪儿找那么多神经病的人啊？

真是的。

小知识：心理医生并不是一个正统的名称，我们通常称他们为“心理学家”，因为他们和能够配药的精神科医生不一样。