*** NOTE: This was our term paper for a major subject. We delved into the phenomenon of Philippine English, specifically the mistake often committed by Filipinos, which is the use of continuous tenses for the habitual aspect. The proponents of this study are: Sergei Reyes, Stephanie Puyod, Maxine Villas, and Jewel Torotoro.

The entry is not yet finished. Below are the raw data used in the study.

APPENDIX

TABLE 1 RAW DATA

· The underlined statements contain the error needed for the study.

· The table shows the exact statements given by the respondents.

The task was about understanding the lines drawn by my classmates in COMA106. It was fun scrutinizing ‘anger’ through lines. Ty reading our paper if it interests you. It may also be applicable to other emotions or current states of mind, as well. (Proponents: Sergei Reyes, Duchess Garcia, and Tessa Ramos | A COMA106 Project for Prof. Maria Araceli Dans Lee)

Language of Lines

A hope that you can smolder your whiny classmate who has undeniably annoyed you for no good reason is called irritation. The urge for settling of scores when your best friend has spread lies about you can be called rage. And, pencil strokes erratically drawn, especially those containing sharp edges, can convey the idea of a mortal sin called anger.

Pundits have claimed that anger, as well as its synonyms irritation and rage, can be managed through art. Sometimes, when we doodle on a piece of paper, the symbols we unconsciously draw reveal our mental state; how we feel at the moment.

An outlet for frustrated artistic expression can define doodling, but it may also be described as pictorial symbolic forms that reflect our intuitive feelings. In other words, the images that are formed from mixed lines, or random shapes, and even abstract drawings comprised of curves, zigzags, and perhaps, heart shapes, can convey a thought.

In our study about the Language of Lines, we based our analysis of the drawings made during a COMA 106 class on the three elements shared by Sharon Bender, who studied the art of doodling. These elements are the following: Pressure, Placement, and Practice. According to Bender, graphologists rely on the characteristics of these elements to analyze or to interpret the personality or the emotional state of mind of the artist.

Pressure, is classified in four line weights, namely: light, medium, heavy, and erratic. The light and medium lines represent the people who have a tentative nature and a balanced outlook, respectively. The heavy and erratic lines, on the other hand, refer to people who are aggressive and have an instable thinking.

In our analysis, we based our judgments on the feel of the strokes and how dark or light they are. We also put into consideration whether the paper was torn or not. Surprisingly, there were three.

Most of the pencil strokes applied medium pressure. This reveals that these people have a reasonably well-balanced nature. In relation to anger, they are those who think before they act. They, possibly, weigh first the consequences of their actions.

The table below presents our inferences of the other line weight pressures:

Table 1 Pressure Interpretations

The second element, Placement, is the position of the drawing on the paper and it is categorized in five different areas: left, center, right, top, and bottom. The first three positions indicate if the artist is past-, present-, or future- oriented, respectively. The last two can determine whether the artist is a positive or a negative thinker.

In our analysis, we based the placements on the motion of the lines or shapes and where most of the doodles are. The distance from the edges of the paper was also considered.

Most of the drawings were placed at the left side of the paper; meaning, these people are apprehensive about the future. They are usually cautious, and they find it hard to let go of the past, as these people can also be thought of as nostalgic. Clearly, the past becomes a component of their pensive behavior. In relation to anger, it may be inferred that these people are not really the types that give second chances to those who have made mistakes. They find it hard to forgive as they make such a big deal of the past. People, not stereotypically, who usually have these traits are those who are shy and those who take a little longer to reveal their personality.

The table below shows our inferences of the other drawings concerning placement:

Table 2 Placement Interpretations

The final element, Practice, is sorted out in three ways: repetition, line under, and line over. Repetition of lines suggests that they are in a mood that rules the moment. Line under indicates that the person is seeking balance, while line over is a sign that the person is seeking refuge.

In our analysis, we based our judgments on the third element by looking at what was dominant in the drawing. We also considered the type of lines or marks drawn, such as: horizontal, vertical, zigzag, acute curve, shallow curve, and diagonal.

All repeated the lines or marks they drew; meaning, they are emotionally and mentally compulsive at the moment. In relation to anger, it may not be a good time for them to make serious or impartial decisions where others are concerned. They are considered to be in the highest level of their emotions.

In addition, most of the lines drawn were vertical lines and acute curves. Vertical lines indicate a sense of imprisonment. They may feel trapped, and they may be the types who usually cannot control their anger. Acute curves suggest that they are confused, more of being angry due to frustration.

The table below displays our inferences on the types and combination of lines drawn: (H means ‘Horizontal’, V means ‘Vertical’, Z means ‘Zigzag’, D means ‘Diagonal’, A means ‘Acute Curve’, and S means ‘Shallow Curve’.)

Table 3 Interpretations of the Types of Lines

Having these data, we conclude that lines can suggest the feeling of intense anger when the artist erratically draws diagonal lines and acute curves on the center of the paper. In addition, some findings state that pointed or jagged lines best express anger. Clearly, the three elements help convey the idea of the emotion, anger, and it also does the same to other emotions as well.

Although all placements can be linked to anger, there are placements that suggest the said emotion. These are designs drew on the center or right side of the paper. Pressures that imply anger are designs erratically or heavily drawn. Lastly, the practice that is most likely to be linked to anger is repetition, but it also relies on the dominant design or pattern. Such designs that put forward anger include the following: pointed lines, wandering lines, bars, and dots.

Our subconscious mind is always attempting to contact us all the time but it is often interrupted by habitual conscious thought patterns or mundane trivia. This may explain why some people can be stressed after numerous daily thought processes. Because of this, graphologists suggest that one has to practice more favorable drawing, or doodling and even penmanship, techniques to enhance or modify his/ her state of mind, and possibly, his/her personality as well.

Web sources (***):

http://drawsketch.about.com/cs/tipsandideas/p/doodle_abstract.htm

http://www.pscelebrities.com/shelly/2006/10/doodling-as-creative-process.html

http://www.sharonbender.com/doodling.html

*** - All accessed last July 10, 2008

Because I was trying to help my sister to come up with a good story for a TV program, I was able to do a sort of background study on certain people we (not only I!) thought would be good for a story. So this isn’t just an assignment for one of my college classes. J

There was one person we really wanted to help, but at the moment, we still do not know if the program approved the story. Anyway, his name is Venancio Cuaresma. He lives in a hut by a river in General Santos City, Philippines. The location has no electricity.

Venancio lives with his wife, Veronica, and three of six children. One of his children died, and the other two are in Manila, working. But unfortunately, his two daughters in Manila were not able to give them enough money to support the rest of the family. Venancio said that in two years, his daughters could only send them money once. In addition to that, the only means of communication Venancio has with his daughters is through the mobile phone of his relative.

Nancy, the eldest among the six children, is living in with her fiancé (technically, we can’t say ‘her husband’ as they are not married), and she wants to go home to General Santos City to spend Father’s Day with Venancio. But then, her salary as a nanny is not enough to buy her a ticket back home.

Times in the Philippines are difficult these days. Prices of basic commodities are fluctuating: rice, oil, and even water. But despite this circumstance, Venancio is still able to provide for his family by picking up garbage. He earns around fifty to seventy pesos a day, which is really below the minimum income a Filipino needs. His wife also helps by washing clothes where she earns one hundred to one hundred fifty pesos a day. What they earn is only enough for them to buy rice. (Rice amounts to eighteen to forty pesos per kilo in the Philippines.) They have malunggay or horse radish as viand, but if they cannot find one in their surroundings, they buy salt; sometimes, they don’t eat. They do not know other ways of earning money since they only finished fourth and third grade, respectively. Picking garbage and washing clothes are not stable jobs. Furthermore, they too get sick!

Venancio is suffering from diabetes for more or less than ten years, while his wife has asthma. When they get sick, they rely on the health care center of their barangay, but probably because of their age, they opt to stay in their house to rest and drink plenty of water instead.

But come to think of it, because of their work, they were still able to send their three children to school; the oldest is already in third year high school, and the other two, in elementary. However, they are not able to pay the school in full, therefore, their debts have accumulated and they are not sure if they can still send their children to school this coming school year.

Other than these predicaments, they live in a hazardous area. When it rains hard, the water level of the river goes up until it floods the area. The Cuaresma family has already been a victim of this in year 2000. Even when the rain is not strong, they still get wet inside their house, because their ceiling is not strong enough to hold the water out. These five people live in a small nipa hut.

My brother asked Veronica, the wife, what she would do if she won the lotto and she said she would fix their house and start a small business like “bote-bakal”. (They would buy glass or metal from people to sell). And they wish to have a bicycle.

We do not earn as much as other people do, especially now that we lost our father. But then, we are hopeful that someday, help will come to Venancio’s family. (Yes! I really do hope the program would help.) On the contrary, they may not be helped as well, since they are not the only family suffering in the country. Perhaps there is a family suffering more than Venancio’s. But then, I live by the motto of my club in high school. (CSC, that is. You can read the story on one of my blog entries at www.exeic.wordpress.com). “You’ll never know what little act of kindness can bring about.” And maybe, just maybe, by publishing this story, someone can help me help Venancio and his family.

Photo courtesy of (http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/a/a2/Edsa2001.jpg)

“This house believes that it is better to be feared than to be loved.”

I graduated high school thinking that it was better to be loved than to be feared, because if you were loved, it only means that your ideas coincide with others. They are in agreement of what you are doing, sometimes, they neglect thinking about your decisions and ideas just because they love you. Thus, creating a utopian world. But then, we all know that pleasing everybody is impossible. Others may agree, or disagree with you. Sometimes, they may even fear you.

In the Philippine Society, there are two types of people who make changes: there are those who are radical, and those who would like to follow a process. Radical people usually pertain to those who are young, running naked, creating noise pollution, rallying, protesting, and etcetera, just so they can have the change they want as fast as they can while the problem is still at hand. On the other hand, those who follow a process want change, but they make sure that they follow a procedure, intently. The procedure may include going to discussions, talks, negotiations, hearings, and etcetera.

The people usually fear radicals because they can become so aggressive and they might not fit the cultural frame, perhaps even the traditional, the people have gotten used to as opposed to those who are following a process. It is a fact that the Filipinos are conservative people, and they may see the ways of the radicals as too hostile.

But let us see this situation in perspective. For example, the problem of the Philippines: rice shortage. In addition to that, they have growing problems on schools with insufficient chairs for its students, people who are undeniably jobless and environmental issues. So if everything went into a process, how long must we all wait?

The radical way of doing things is through solving problems by helping raise awareness, which is a sort of enzyme that they produce to catalyze change and make groups function and look into the problem, and eventually solve it as soon as possible. They do not wait for things to be carried to congress or the senate. They almost instantaneously work because they can tap into the consciousness of the ordinary citizens.

With rice shortage, they make people aware that rice is slowly depleting, therefore they have given the people the idea that rice must be conserved, despite the government saying that there is no such problem in the country. The radicals were able to share their ideas that rice hoarders were present in the Philippines and these hoarders were part of the reason there is a so-called “rice shortage in the country”. Because of this, investigations were done and people started thinking on what to do. And we owe all these to the radicals.

With schools that need chairs for its students, the radicals have done their part, and they have been able to successfully tap into non-government organizations, which helped them with their predicament.

With jobless people, they made not only the government agencies aware, but also private-owned companies, that there are still professionals left jobless. Therefore, they catalyzed these groups to join job fairs in search of employees to suit their needs.

Lastly, regarding environment issues. An endangered whale may have been stuck and injured in the Philippines seas. We must also put into consideration that this kind of problem is of global concern; therefore, the international spotlight might just be in our country. So, must we wait for a process to be finished to have a solution? Or must we act right away amidst the newsy international spotlight, in order to save the dying creature?

Think about it. The radical people can be you, who want change just like anyone in this world, but they want the change that they can see almost instantaneously. Solving the problem while it is still at hand! While it is still on going, not while it is getting bigger. Or would you prefer to be the one who follows a process and wait until all the problems of society pile up?

(An Analysis Using Semiotics)

by Sergei C. Reyes

COMA101

Prof. Antonino Salvador S. de Veyra

March 27, 2008

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          In a movie, the characters, or the ‘antagonists’ of the story, described someone as ‘poor’ because she had no ‘breeding’, pertaining to her behavior. In a shampoo commercial, the characters perceived a woman as ‘rich’ because of her long and silky hair. In a situation observed by the proponent, two friends were talking about people who were passing by, and two of the notable descriptions they said were ‘poor’ and ‘rich’, which they based mainly on behavior and demographic features, which became the distinguishing factors for the said descriptions.

This paper seeks to know how people interpret signs to distinguish poor and rich individuals. Further, it tries to find out the meaning of this act through the use of Semiotics, a theory by Roland Barthes. In addition, the proponent would like to know where their perceptions or impressions might have come from in order to understand the meaning of the act. Moreover, the proponent would also like to show what goes in the Perception Process.

Joseph DeVito (1992) defines perception as “the process by which you become aware of objects, events, and especially, people through your senses… Your perceptions result from what exists in the outside world and from your own experiences, desires, needs and wants, loves and hatreds.” (p.108)

To study the communication act more intently, the proponent found a need to know if the situation he first observed was the same in the setting that would be more convenient for him: the University of the Philippines Mindanao (UPMin), where the proponent is currently enrolled. To begin, he first conducted a survey, where random sampling was employed selecting thirty (30) random UPMin students, and then, followed by an interview to five (5) UPMin students.

In the first situation observed by the proponent, the People Perceptions were made based on first glance, meaning the people they saw had no connection whatsoever with them and they had no knowledge of the people they had seen pass by, except the way these people behave and look.

Through the survey, the proponent found out that twenty-nine students (29) out of the thirty (30) usually base their perceptions of a person (pertaining to whether the individual is poor or rich) at first glance. Further, majority base their perceptions on both the demographic features and behavior of a person (13 out of 30), but eleven (11) base their judgments only on the demographic features of a person, and the remaining six (6) on the behavior of a person.

After finding out that the two situations were alike, the proponent then conducted an interview to five (5) UPMin students. The interview aimed to ask the interviewees whether they think the person passing by was poor or rich. Also, the interviewees belonged to classes below the rich class (pertaining to social hierarchy). During the course of the interview, there were only two persons who passed by.

One was tagged ‘rich’ by most (3 out of 5) mainly for the clothes she wore, which they said were ‘branded’. Other than this observation, they cited her cellular phone unit that was one of the top models today, her fair and flawless complexion, and her hair, which was long, silky, and straight.

On the other hand, the second person that passed by was tagged by most (3 out of 5) as ‘poor’ because of the clothes she wore that looked like an item from the ‘Ukay-Ukay’. Other than this, they observed that she had untidy hair, blemished skin, and was ‘not neat’.

These observations were just on the demographic features, but others derived their perceptions from the behavior. Specifically, two (2) out of five (5) interviewees tagged the first person as ‘rich’ because she spoke in English. While the other one was tagged ‘poor’ by two (2) out of five (5) interviewees because she shouted a lot and laughed hard.

Having these data, the proponent divided the situation into scenes, as follows, to be able to know what went in the Perception Process (as cited by Kassin, 1998):

How were the perceptions made? Perception occurs in three stages: the senses picking up stimulation, the person organizing the stimuli, and the interpretation and evaluation of the person on what he or she perceived.

So basically, the descriptions given to the ‘poor’ and ‘rich’ persons were the stimuli picked up by the senses of the friends, or persons-in-conversation.

In the second stage, where these stimuli were organized, the persons-in-conversation applied the Principle of Resemblance (as cited by DeVito, 1992) wherein they have grouped the persons observed according to existing perceptions. For example they group those who are well dressed and have top-of-the-line cellular phones into one category, and if another person were dissimilar to this category, the person is then distinguished as different. Moreover, it can be understood through the Implicit Personality Theory, which everybody seem to have, wherein “each has a subconscious or implicit system of rules that says which characteristics of an individual go with other characteristics.” (DeVito, 1992)

The last stage is inevitably subjective because the interpretations and evaluations of people are generally based on their experiences, needs, wants, values, beliefs, expectations, and etcetera. And their interpretation-evaluation of what they have seen is: perceiving one as ‘rich’, and the other as ‘poor’.

The Perception Process was clear. The distinguishing factors helped a lot in describing one as ‘poor’ or ‘rich’, but what is the significance of these factors when the communication act is subjected to the theory on Semiotics?

The focus would probably be on the second and the third stage of the Perception Process, since the goal of Semiotics or Semiology is to interpret signs, which are usually anything that stands for something else. (Griffin, 2006)

What consist a sign? The combination of the Signifier and Signified compose the sign. (Griffin, 2006) The Signifier(s) is/are usually the letters and sounds that make up the sign, while the Signified(s) is/are the object(s) perceived in the mind. Additionally, the Signified is the concept associated to sound images, which are formed by the Signifier(s).

In this case, the Sign, Signifier, and Signified of the communication act are the following:

Because the proponent asked the interviewees “Is that person poor or rich?” the words ‘poor’ and ‘rich’ became the signifier, which then triggered their perceptions of what a person of that description look like. In turn, these images formed in their minds became the signified, and almost instantaneously, they were able to interpret the sign or the person as ‘poor’ or ‘rich’, which they based on the behavior and demographic features they saw at first glance. All these happened in the second and third stage of the Perception Process, wherein the stimuli were organized and then evaluated/interpreted.

But the third stage seems more applicable to what the sign means, which is the concern of Semiotics. The sign seems to carry a Mythological Meaning: that the image represents ‘wealth’. Obviously, the wealthier, or the ‘rich’, has more money; thus, probably have more to boast, compared to those who have lesser, or no wealth at all, who are the ‘poor’.

The Mythological Meaning belongs to the second-order of the Semiological System, which is “built-off a preexisting sign system.” (Griffin, 2006) Therefore, there must be a history on why they have perceived someone as ‘poor’ or ‘rich’. We can attribute this system to the history and observation of society, which lead back to the definition of perception, as well, wherein perception results from what exists in the outside world or from the experiences of individuals.

When asked why they had these perceptions, the interviewees openly said that their perceptions were formed as they were growing up. These perceptions were influenced by their family and friends, and media, who constantly told them that when someone is rich, they have a lot of money and have something to boast, compared to poor people, who are the complete opposite of the rich people.

These perceptions were probably due to the observation of society, specifically like that of the Philippines, which depicts the country as having an Open System in the society, unlike the Caste System of India, which is a Closed System.

For example, a person may opt to elevate his or her class status by finding a higher paying job. Because of this type of System, it has led some to perceive someone as ‘poor’ because he or she does not look good, basing on his or her demographic features (skin, clothes, hair, etc.) and/ or he or she does not behave well, basing on his or her behavior (fluent in English, poise, etc.). Otherwise, they tag the person ‘rich’. It stemmed from the idea that if one were ‘poor’, he or she does not have enough money to splurge in luxury, take care of his or her appearance, or finish school. Otherwise, the person may be tagged ‘rich’.

Furthermore, according to A History of World Societies Fourth Edition (McKay, Hill, and Buckler, 1996), the ruling class usually directs the work and lives of everyone, like that of the Shang Dynasty in China. On the other hand, those who belonged to the bottommost class, like the Untouchables of the Caste System, were treated impure because of the discrimination brought about by their jobs. Almost similar to the situation today, those who own companies and hire employees are usually the rich people, while the employees, who usually need money the most, are the poor people. The Filipinos seem stuck into this perception wherein those who make jobs are the rich and those who do the jobs are the poor. In turn, a hierarchy was evident.

But at present, there are some employees who are rich just because they see it as an opportunity to elevate their class status in the hierarchy or become richer, since Filipinos, like in other societies today, have the freedom to change their status in the hierarchy from poor to middle-class to rich. So, others have tagged people ‘rich’ if they had white-collar jobs, and those who have blue-collar jobs as ‘poor’.

Since rich people have higher paying jobs, they have enough money to indulge in luxury and look good. Since they have also attended social gatherings, people have the perception that all of them observe etiquette wherever they go. Because of these, some turned to enhance their demographic features or change their behavior so as to deceive others and make them believe that they are rich or they have enhanced their class status in the hierarchy.

In addition, the Standpoint Theory (ST) by Sandra Harding and Julia Wood (as cited by Griffin, 2006) suggests that since people occupy different places in the social hierarchy, they view the social situation from particular vantage points. Their views are just a partial understanding of the social world. But, those who occupy the low rungs of the hierarchy tend to understand the social situation more fully than those on top. This is probably the reason why many poor people aspire to be rich because of the advantages they perceive when they are in the said status. Aside from that, this is also probably the reason why many Filipinos are able to perceive people as poor or rich since most Filipinos belong to the low rungs of the hierarchy. A study on the income of families showed that the number middle class or middle-income families are shrinking and their shift in hierarchy is going down, thus, more families are becoming poor and their class is expanding. It also said that there is only less than one in 100 families belonging to the high-income class, and about 20 and 80 respectively for the middle-income and low-income families in 2003. (http://davidllorito.blogspot.com/2007/10/vanishing-middle-class.html)

Because of this “preexisting system” evident in the society, it caused people to stereotype.

Stereotyping is having a “fixed impression of a group of people through which we then perceive specific individuals. (DeVito, 1992)” The group may be thought of as the class in the hierarchy.

The said impressions have been developed over time, specifically through the influence of people and media in the environment. Because of frequent interaction, people have resulted to the conclusion that since most people seem alike, they clustered them to a group, like that of a taxonomical classification or a hierarchy, as stated in the Standpoint Theory. As a result, they view the world in different vantage points; hence, sometimes tagging one as ‘poor’ or ‘rich’, depending on an “implied criterion” they have set to fit the group or class.

This implied criterion is pertaining to the Principle of Resemblance stated earlier or the Implicit Personality Theory inherent to people, which leads to Stereotyping. Clearly, we all have attitudinal stereotypes: we have a criterion in telling who is rich and who is poor at first glance. This criterion seems fixed and when we meet a member of a group, for example the rich class, we seem to apply to the person all the characteristics we have assigned to the rich class.

In the communication act, when the persons-in-conversation saw a person passing by, they tagged her as ‘rich’ because of a certain behavior and of her demographic features. These factors thus became their criteria: wearing branded clothing, owning a top-of-the-line cellular phone, having a fair and flawless complexion and a long, silky, and straight hair, and possessing the ability to speak in English.

When asked if they saw another person similar to who they have just seen, they said that they would still tag the person ‘rich’, unless the person had something dissimilar, which may lead to them perceiving the person ‘poor’.

This is probably the reason why they tagged the second person that passed by as ‘poor’ because her clothes looked like something from the ‘Ukay-Ukay’. Further, it was because she had blemished skin, untidy hair, and was not looking neat, and she, additionally, laughed hard and shouted a lot.

This system of Stereotyping seem to have been replicated through the use of media or vice versa since some signs, if not most, became prominent in a specific culture due to media, through print or not, because signs are also essential to mass communication. The said replication was observed by the proponent in movies and in commercials as well. According to Kyong Kim (as cited by Griffin, 2006), “Information delivered by mass media is no longer information. It is a commodity saturated by fantasy themes.”

Fantasy themes, according to the Symbolic Convergence Theory (SCT) of Ernest Bormann (as cited by Griffin, 2006), are creative and imaginative interpretation of events that fulfills a psychological or rhetorical need, which has reference to a past of a certain group and a speculation of what might happen in the future.

The past, in this case, refers to the people and media in the environment of the group of friends that have influenced their perception of poor and rich people. The speculation, on the other hand, refers to each individual, or the group as a whole, having the capability of perceiving someone as poor or rich, at any time.

The persons-in-conversation referred in this paper, by the way, are the group of friends. They are tagged as such because according to the Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM) by W. Barnett Pearce and Vernon Cronen (as cited by Griffin, 2006); through their discourse they have co-constructed their own social realities, that is, by having a consensus that the person they saw was ‘poor’ or ‘rich’. Thus, persons who participated in the said discourse and have a commonality, such as their perception, are persons-in-conversation. Further, the said perceptions were co-created by attaining some Coherence and Coordination at some time in their experiences. Coherence occurred when stories were told to them, and coordination existed when the stories were lived, and eventually put into practice.

The Fantasy themes referred, in this case, are the group fantasies, which are the perceptions that created a symbolic convergence within the group, and possibly, the society present in UPMin. Having these perceptions, which are based on certain distinguishing factors, it may have caused the group to become cohesive, since they have met a consensus of perceiving one as ‘poor’ and the other as ‘rich’.

Because of the hierarchical structure observed in the society, the persons-in-conversation have come to organize the meaning of literally hundreds of messages received throughout the day, including the interpretation of the signs that make up the poor and rich people, which leads to the main goal of Semiotics.

The concept of the hierarchy in the ST, the Fantasy themes in the SCT, and the persons-in-conversation in the CMM helped the proponent scrutinize the Mythical Meaning of ‘wealth’, more, less, or none at all, which rooted from the perception of poor and rich people. The Mythical Meaning was made through the use of Semiotics. But why do people perceive people as such? What is its meaning?

At the Mythical level, the perception of ‘wealth’ as having more, less, or none at all, seem to stem a new second-order signified. The Perception Process, or the act of perceiving, seems to function as a substantiation of unfulfilled desires. The Philippines, as stated earlier, is mainly composed of people lower than the rich class. This explains why they understand the social situation more fully as compared to those belonging to the rich class; thus, these people lower than the rich class needs to work harder to gain wealth and abate their suffering. The persons-in-conversation also happen to belong to classes lower than the rich class; thus, the Mythical Meaning may apply to them. They have an unfulfilled desire, and they seem to suffer from it. And to abate this suffering they need to work harder, and their prize is ‘wealth’, which is what they desire. So, since they belong to the lower rungs of hierarchy they tend to be able to perceive people as ‘rich’ and ‘poor’, and usually they are able to do so because of their unfulfilled desires.

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Works Cited

Buckler, John, Hill, Bennet, and McKay, John. A History of World Societies. 4^th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, c1996

DeVito, Joseph. The Interpersonal Communication Book. 6^th ed. New York: Harper Collins, c1992

Griffin, Emory. A First Look at Communication Theory. 6^th ed.. Boston: McGraw-Hill, c2006.

Kassin, Saul. Psychology. 2^nd ed. Upper Saddle, N.J.: Prentice Hall, c1998

The Philippines Without Borders: The vanishing middle class. 29 October 2007. David Llorito. 20 March 2008. <http://davidllorito.blogspot.com/2007/10/vanishing-middle-class.html>

Because I only have a limited time to make the paper for my COMA101 class, I decided to limit my scope.

First, I would like to know the how people would distinguish people at first glance. What are their bases?

Second, I would like to discover what goes on in the perception process.

Third, I’d like to know how their perceptions came about through Semiotics.

Fourth, I’d like to determine the meaning of the Act. Further, does it have a mythical meaning.

And fifth, if it does have a mythical meaning, I shall seek to know where it stemmed.

RESEARCH PROPOSAL 

I.                    Title: How the Students of the University of the Philippines Mindanao (UPMin) Distinguish an Individual as Poor or Rich Based on Demographic Features and/or Behavior

II.                  Duration: Five (5) Weeks (approximated)

III.                Abstract:

The Philippines, although not having the same rigid classification (Caste System) of its population like India, have an Open System. A person may opt to find a higher paying job to elevate his or her class status. Further, this led to the perception that if someone were poor, they do not look good, basing on their demographic features (skin, clothes, hair, etc.) and behavior (fluent in English, poise, etc.); and otherwise, rich.

According to A History of World Societies Fourth Edition (McKay, Hill, and Buckler, 1996), the ruling class usually directs the work and lives of everyone, like that of the Shang Dynasty in China. On the other hand, those who belonged to the bottommost class, like the untouchables of the Caste System, were treated impure because of the discrimination brought about by their jobs.

Instead of having the Closed System, wherein the class of a person becomes permanent, the Filipinos of today, like other societies, have the Open System, wherein the members of the population are free to change their class status.

The proponent, therefore, would like to conduct a study that shall seek to find out how students, specifically the first year BA Communication Arts students of the University of the Philippines Mindanao (UPMin), distinguish someone as poor or rich. Furthermore, he would try to find if these students focus more on the demographic features or behavior of the person.

The proponent shall conduct a survey among the said UPMin students by randomly selecting thirty (30) students as respondents. The results shall then be tallied and scrutinized under applicable theories such as Coordinated Management of Meaning or CMM (W. Barnett Pearce & Vernon Cronen), Symbolic Interactionism or SI (George Herbert Mead), Attribution Theory or AT (Fritz Heider), and other applicable theories.

Through the results, the proponent seeks to find out the factors influencing the judgment or perception of the students (through AT and CMM), understand how a person, if tagged “rich” or “poor”, would act in his environment (through SI), how cognitively complex the ideas of these students are from first glance or primary interaction (through Constructivism), and determine if this perception would contribute to their want to strive for something they think would be better for them, for example, to strive to earn more money (through CMM).

IV.               Significance:

The study is significant due to the following reasons:

1.      The study will employ various communication theories in a local setting, which shall be pertinent to students of COMA101 in the University of the Philippines Mindanao (UPMin).

2.      The study may lead to other researches in UPMin that focuses on the Open System, specifically the factors that may affect the role of one in changing or maintaining his status.

3.      The study may lead to yet another research in UPMin that focuses on perception, specifically how its students derive their judgments or conclusions.

V.                 Background:

Societies before classified their people into different categories. This is called a “Class System”, which can be of two: Closed or Open. In history, the most famous class system would probably be the “Caste System” of India. It was a rigid classification, which determined the destiny of a person. There was either little or no chance at all to change their class status.

The priests were the ruling class, who directed the lives of the others, like the Shang Dynasty of China where the aristocrats were at the top of the pyramid. On the other hand, those who belonged to the lowest class were thought of as slaves. Slavery was said to be a “feature of social life”. They were discriminated because of the job they perform, and were considered impure. (McKay et al., 1996)

Unlike the Closed System characterized above, the Open System is very evident in present society, wherein the members of a population can freely change their status.

In the Philippines, in particular, jobs are classified into two: white-collar and blue-collar jobs, but a person, for example from a blue-collar job, can change his status. He can study for him to be able to get a white-collar job.

But prior to this, the proponent would like to find out how a person, specifically a college student (making use of the local setting of the proponent: University of the Philippines Mindanao), arrives at a conclusion that a person is rich or poor since “the period of late adolescence and early adulthood are the formative stages for the constitution of a distinctive memory and personal outlook. (1972, as cited by Misztal, 2003)”

According to Barbara Misztal (1996),  “memory is the essential condition of our cognition and reflexive judgment. It is closely connected with emotions because emotions are in part about the past and because memory evokes emotion. Memory is also a highly important element in the account of what it is to be a person, as it is the central medium through which identities are constructed.”

The idea of conducting this study is due to the communication act witnessed by the proponent. Some people describe someone as rich if they are wearing branded clothing, smell good, have good hair, and can speak very good English and acts differently from the rest. Someone tagged as poor on the other hand, does not look good, they smell bad, the clothes they wear are obviously not branded, has poor command of the English language, and they do not have good hair.

Where could these judgments or perceptions come from? It may be coming from their past experiences when they saw the difference of the rich and poor. Moreover, these experiences have been accumulated in what we call memory.

According to Connerton (1989, as cited by Mistzal, 2003) the memory this study pertains to is habit memory, wherein one has a:

“…Capacity to reproduce a certain performance and which is an essential ingredient in the successful and convincing performance of codes and rules. Habit is the mode of inscribing the past in the present, as present. In this case, memory denotes a habitual knowing that allows us to recall the signs and skills we use in everyd