Pair Homework: A question that we really want to find the answer to…
I. Opinionated Background and Statement of the Question
Since time immemorial, some boys have probably grown curious about their naturally unsteady handwriting. At some point in time or another, many males have been quite frustrated with the fact that females have excelled in or mastered the seemingly tricky art of penmanship [perhaps because we guys have overly humungous male egos]. Majority of males have learned to accept this fact, as society has already reared them to believe that their handwriting abilities can only be as good as what them girls locally call sulat manok. Such has been the case, that whenever a part of society encounters a certain male whose penmanship quality is comparably similar to a woman’s handwriting, these people’s reactions could range from partially critical to moderately despising to sexually discriminating and utterly unfriendly.
The writers used the term “sexually discriminating” as the human action of categorizing certain people and their unique respective characteristics to a general sexual class, usually accompanied with derogatory terms or profanities – thus the birth of the modern “Third Sex.” However, people also believe that there are always exemptions. So in all merited fairness to those who were not actually part of the New Gender, but were unfairly treated as one without considering other valuable factors, new, less “derogatory” terms were invented to describe their somewhat unique behavior: effeminate, and effeminacy. Effeminacy, as defined in Wikipedia.com, is “a character trait of a male showing femininity, unmanliness… which contradicts traditional masculine, male gender roles.” The writers have considered this definition, and by relating it to the formerly stated handwriting dilemmas transformed it to this paper’s point of study: Is there a direct correlation between male effeminacy and penmanship quality?
II. Methodology
For this study, the students used a simple survey (see attached) containing some questions and special instructions. Ten (10) randomly selected UP Diliman male students took the survey, each doing so with his personal consent.
The survey, an adapted version of an online masculinity-femininity test, consisted of twenty (20) questions specially made for roughly determining the effeminacy of the person taking the survey; it also contained one special instruction, in which it instructed the survey-taker to write the sentence “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.”
The surveyors then checked the survey sheets; the responses were rated according to how “effeminate” the corresponding answers were, basing the ratings on conventionally accepted behaviors and otherwise, empirically proven facts. For two-choice questions, an effeminate answer was given a point of 1, a masculine answer, 0; for three-choice questions, the former applies, but the semi-effeminate, middle option was given a half-point (0.5); for four-choice questions, the first point system also applies, but the more effeminate answer was rated 0.75, and the more masculine answer, 0.25. The total score per respondent was taken, and then converted into percentages.
Finally, one of the surveyors rated the respective handwritings of the respondents in the sample sentence, using a rating of 0-10 – with 0 corresponding to the worst penmanship possible and 10 to the best. The checker based his judgments on neatness, straightness and evenness, comprehensibility, and curve smoothness.
III. Results, Analysis, and Conclusion:
Table 1: Final tabulation of scores (survey questions and penmanship ratings)
[IMG]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y99/sycophite/psych1.jpg[/IMG]
Table 2: Penmanship rating clusters against average “effeminacy rating”
[IMG]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y99/sycophite/psych2.jpg[/IMG]
Based on the acquired data above, there is no clear pattern regarding the relationship of effeminacy to penmanship; it would be dangerous to conclude such, due to the fact that after the third cluster (5-6), there is a slight drop in the effeminacy percentage. However, it would be interesting to note that the highest rating attained can be found in the fourth cluster (7-8).
IV. Insights and Recommendations
The population that was used in the survey will not generally show the desired pattern because of the limited respondents, besides the fact that the topic can be considered sensitive, wherein the respondents will be conscious of what they are supposed to answer. Seemingly, the respondents were not quite honest in their way of answering the questionnaires because they might have been afraid of the humiliation they could possibly get. For example, Respondent no. 5 is afraid of fire; this can indicate effeminacy of a person because it is not normal for a guy to be afraid of something so simple as fire; aside from his doubtful answers in the survey, he also manifested some very feminine characteristic such as: the soft flip of the hand, the manner of his speech, movements, etc..
This study cannot conclude that there was such a happening because of inevitable differences in the mindsets, beliefs and personalities of our respondents. Here some of the factors to consider in making such judgments: First, the way the survey was presented was awkward when read. This factor greatly influenced the respondents, especially when they read it, and therefore could have contributed to the inconsistency of the results. Secondly, the questionnaires are quite very easy to filter out to which is masculine and which is feminine, considering the mental abilities and understanding of the respondents. These factors lead to the consciousness of the respondents and thus making their defense mechanism work. Lastly, there might have been subjective errors on the surveyor’s ratings, probably due to inexperience in penmanship studies. All these could have lead to such inconsistencies in the study.
V. References:
“Effeminacy.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effeminacy. 25 November, 2006.
“Masculinity/Femininity Test.”
http://www.mysticgames.com/mysticgames_cfmfiles/tests/showtest.cfm?TestID=29. 26 November, 2006.
28.11.06
AY '06-'07 2nd Sem Psych101 joint informal paper
J. Gabriel L. de Leon (BS Psychology)
Jammin M. Tanioka (BS Psychology)
Psychology 101 TFW-2
Prof. Jose Antonio Clemente
27.11.06
AY '06-'07 2nd Sem Psych101 joint paper attachment: survey form
Good day!
We, Gabriel de Leon and Jammin Tanioka, 1st year Psychology students, are conducting a study about the relationship between male effeminacy and their penmanship quality, as partial fulfillment of our course requirements in Psychology 101 (Introduction to Psychology).
In relation to that, we are kindly requesting you to answer the following questions and do some other special instructions in this survey form. Rest assured, any information that you will provide will be strictly kept confidential.
We highly appreciate your honest contribution and involvement in the study. Thank you for your time.
Age:_____ Course:_________________________ Signature:_______________
Please write the sentence “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” in the provided line:
_____________________________________________________________
Please answer the following questions by placing a mark on the blank corresponding to your answer:
1. Are you afraid of fire?
___ Yes! ___ Kind of ___ No
2. Are you assertive?
___ Yes ___ Kind of ___ No
3. Do dirty dishes in the kitchen sink bother you?
___ Yes! ___ Kind of ___ No
4. Do sad movies and/or stories make you cry?
___ No ___ Sometimes ___ Rarely ___ Yes! I am quite sentimental
5. Do you feel sorry for a trapped moth or drowning bee?
___ Yes ___ No
6. Do you shower immediately after exercising?
___ Yes ___ No
7. Do you use names or endearing terms (i.e. honey, baby)
___ Yes ___ Rarely ___ No, I call her by her name
8. How long would it take you to prepare yourself for school? (include shower time)
___ Less than 15 mins. ___ 15 – 40 mins.
___ 40 – 60 mins. ___ More than 1 hour
9. How many styling products do you use on your hair? (excluding shampoo and conditioner)
___ More than two ___ One to two ___ None
10. How often do you get your laundry done?
___ When I run out of clean underwear ___ Once a week
___ Twice or more a week
11. How self-conscious do you tend to be?
___ Very! ___ Somewhat, depending on where I am
___ Not at all, why bother?
12. How would you prefer to spend your free time?
___ Listening to music ___ Reading a book
___ Participating in a sport
13. If the fuse of your electric grill suddenly stopped working, you would…
___ call an electrician to fix it ___ call someone else (friend, relative) to fix it for you
___ try fixing it yourself
14. People are more successful because of their…
___ appearance ___ competence
15. You prefer….
___ making your own decisions ___ having decisions made for you
16. What interests you more?
___ Politics ___ Art
17. When purchasing a car, what is more important to you?
___ Color ___ Comfort ___ Size ___ The engine
18. Which do you prefer more?
___ Mystery stories ___ Poetry
19. Which of these cars would you prefer to own?
___ A pick-up truck ___ Small to medium-sized convertible
___ A sedan
20. Which of these dogs would you rather own?
___ A boxer/rottweiler ___ A dachshund/spaniel ___ A poodle/terrier
Thank you very much for your time! (“,)
We, Gabriel de Leon and Jammin Tanioka, 1st year Psychology students, are conducting a study about the relationship between male effeminacy and their penmanship quality, as partial fulfillment of our course requirements in Psychology 101 (Introduction to Psychology).
In relation to that, we are kindly requesting you to answer the following questions and do some other special instructions in this survey form. Rest assured, any information that you will provide will be strictly kept confidential.
We highly appreciate your honest contribution and involvement in the study. Thank you for your time.
Age:_____ Course:_________________________ Signature:_______________
Please write the sentence “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” in the provided line:
_____________________________________________________________
Please answer the following questions by placing a mark on the blank corresponding to your answer:
1. Are you afraid of fire?
___ Yes! ___ Kind of ___ No
2. Are you assertive?
___ Yes ___ Kind of ___ No
3. Do dirty dishes in the kitchen sink bother you?
___ Yes! ___ Kind of ___ No
4. Do sad movies and/or stories make you cry?
___ No ___ Sometimes ___ Rarely ___ Yes! I am quite sentimental
5. Do you feel sorry for a trapped moth or drowning bee?
___ Yes ___ No
6. Do you shower immediately after exercising?
___ Yes ___ No
7. Do you use names or endearing terms (i.e. honey, baby)
___ Yes ___ Rarely ___ No, I call her by her name
8. How long would it take you to prepare yourself for school? (include shower time)
___ Less than 15 mins. ___ 15 – 40 mins.
___ 40 – 60 mins. ___ More than 1 hour
9. How many styling products do you use on your hair? (excluding shampoo and conditioner)
___ More than two ___ One to two ___ None
10. How often do you get your laundry done?
___ When I run out of clean underwear ___ Once a week
___ Twice or more a week
11. How self-conscious do you tend to be?
___ Very! ___ Somewhat, depending on where I am
___ Not at all, why bother?
12. How would you prefer to spend your free time?
___ Listening to music ___ Reading a book
___ Participating in a sport
13. If the fuse of your electric grill suddenly stopped working, you would…
___ call an electrician to fix it ___ call someone else (friend, relative) to fix it for you
___ try fixing it yourself
14. People are more successful because of their…
___ appearance ___ competence
15. You prefer….
___ making your own decisions ___ having decisions made for you
16. What interests you more?
___ Politics ___ Art
17. When purchasing a car, what is more important to you?
___ Color ___ Comfort ___ Size ___ The engine
18. Which do you prefer more?
___ Mystery stories ___ Poetry
19. Which of these cars would you prefer to own?
___ A pick-up truck ___ Small to medium-sized convertible
___ A sedan
20. Which of these dogs would you rather own?
___ A boxer/rottweiler ___ A dachshund/spaniel ___ A poodle/terrier
Thank you very much for your time! (“,)
AY '06-'07 2nd Sem SocSci1 assignment
J. Gabriel L. de Leon
2006-07148
Soc Sci 1 TFV
Prof. Cherrie Joy Billedo
THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
Social science: The body of knowledge that operates in a scientific approach to study the human aspects of the world, namely, society, and the different relationships of human groups and individuals within it; also referred to as the behavioral sciences. (Google.com, condensed and modified)
[Below are the different disciplines under the Social Sciences, according to the Yahoo! Directory (definitions from Google.com):]
Anthropology: the scientific and humanistic study of man's present and past biological, linguistic, social, and cultural variations
Archaeology: scientific study of past human cultures by analyzing the material remains, sites, and artifacts that people left behind
Communication Studies: the discipline that studies the principles of transmitting information and the methods by which it is delivered
Cultural Studies: the study about how particular phenomena relate to matters of ideology, race, social class, and gender.
Economics: the study of the choices people make in a world with scarce and limited resources.
Environmental Studies: the systematic study of human interaction with their natural environment
Geography: the scientific study of the locational and spatial variation in both physical and human phenomena on Earth
Gerontology: the study of aging and its biological, psychological, and sociological impacts
History: the discipline that records and interprets past events involving human beings
Humanities: the study of the manmade arts such as art, literacy, and music that convey the cultural aspects of humanity
Linguistics: the study of the structure and development of a particular language and its relationship to other languages
Philosophy: the study of seeking knowledge and wisdom in understanding the nature of man and the universe
Political Science: the science deals with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior
Psychology: the scientific study of human behavior, mental processes, and how they are affected and/or affect an individual’s or group's physical state, mental state, and external environment
Sociology: the study of the social and interactive lives of humans, groups, and societies
Notes/Insights:
The social sciences are also colloquially termed as the soft sciences - academic research not based on reproducible experimental data and/or mathematical explanation of that data - mainly because of its semi-subjective-objective [or partly qualitative-quantitative] approach in trying to answer queries (Wikipedia.com). However, the catch is that these so-called “soft” sciences are more often than not the harder points to study, relative to the “hard” sciences (J. Diamond, 1987).
What makes social science so “hard,” and yet interesting, is the fact that all the disciplines under it are remarkably interrelated. It’s almost like when one studies a certain branch, i.e. History, he or she won’t be able to understand the subject fully unless that person relates it to another field of study, i.e. Archaeology, Cultural Studies, Linguistics, and others as well.
Some sciences are practically considered as subdivisions of two or more different fields; recently, many intellectuals brand very broad fields such as Law and Education as part of the social sciences, in which they cite that these two are actually by-products of different sciences, i.e. Psychology with Political Science and Economics, integrated to complement each other.
The subjects actually force you to view a certain aspect in many different, yet significant, perspectives. And personally, as a student, a learner, and wholly as a person, that is kind of fun and exciting. Perhaps this is why I took Soc Sci 1, it enables me to learn a lot and yet actually enjoy at the same time. (“,)
Prof. Cherrie Joy Billedo
THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
Social science: The body of knowledge that operates in a scientific approach to study the human aspects of the world, namely, society, and the different relationships of human groups and individuals within it; also referred to as the behavioral sciences. (Google.com, condensed and modified)
[Below are the different disciplines under the Social Sciences, according to the Yahoo! Directory (definitions from Google.com):]
Anthropology: the scientific and humanistic study of man's present and past biological, linguistic, social, and cultural variations
Archaeology: scientific study of past human cultures by analyzing the material remains, sites, and artifacts that people left behind
Communication Studies: the discipline that studies the principles of transmitting information and the methods by which it is delivered
Cultural Studies: the study about how particular phenomena relate to matters of ideology, race, social class, and gender.
Economics: the study of the choices people make in a world with scarce and limited resources.
Environmental Studies: the systematic study of human interaction with their natural environment
Geography: the scientific study of the locational and spatial variation in both physical and human phenomena on Earth
Gerontology: the study of aging and its biological, psychological, and sociological impacts
History: the discipline that records and interprets past events involving human beings
Humanities: the study of the manmade arts such as art, literacy, and music that convey the cultural aspects of humanity
Linguistics: the study of the structure and development of a particular language and its relationship to other languages
Philosophy: the study of seeking knowledge and wisdom in understanding the nature of man and the universe
Political Science: the science deals with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior
Psychology: the scientific study of human behavior, mental processes, and how they are affected and/or affect an individual’s or group's physical state, mental state, and external environment
Sociology: the study of the social and interactive lives of humans, groups, and societies
Notes/Insights:
The social sciences are also colloquially termed as the soft sciences - academic research not based on reproducible experimental data and/or mathematical explanation of that data - mainly because of its semi-subjective-objective [or partly qualitative-quantitative] approach in trying to answer queries (Wikipedia.com). However, the catch is that these so-called “soft” sciences are more often than not the harder points to study, relative to the “hard” sciences (J. Diamond, 1987).
What makes social science so “hard,” and yet interesting, is the fact that all the disciplines under it are remarkably interrelated. It’s almost like when one studies a certain branch, i.e. History, he or she won’t be able to understand the subject fully unless that person relates it to another field of study, i.e. Archaeology, Cultural Studies, Linguistics, and others as well.
Some sciences are practically considered as subdivisions of two or more different fields; recently, many intellectuals brand very broad fields such as Law and Education as part of the social sciences, in which they cite that these two are actually by-products of different sciences, i.e. Psychology with Political Science and Economics, integrated to complement each other.
The subjects actually force you to view a certain aspect in many different, yet significant, perspectives. And personally, as a student, a learner, and wholly as a person, that is kind of fun and exciting. Perhaps this is why I took Soc Sci 1, it enables me to learn a lot and yet actually enjoy at the same time. (“,)
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