Post on 02-Apr-2018
transcript
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
1/33
ULAB2112-46
PERSPECTIVE OF HYPOCRISY AMONG STUDENT
Prepared for
PN NUR SALWA BINTI ABD. WAHID
Prepared by
AHMAD NAFIZIE A RASID | A11CS0208
MOHAMAD FAZLAN ISMAIL ABDUL RAHMAN | A11CS0221
AZWAN SYAMIL ZAINUDDIN | A11CS0213
MOHAMAD FADHIL NORRAJI | A11CS0255
SYED MUHAMMAD SAUFI BIN SYED SALIM | A11CS0255
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
2/33
Abstract
This study was carried out to determine the understanding of hypocrisy as well as the causes and
effects regarding the matter among public. A total of 50 students ranging between 18 to 25 years
of age were randomly selected to be the respondents of the study. A set of questionnaire was
designed to gain primary data from the respondents about their opinions of the issue of
hypocrisy. The overall findings of the study indicates that the mass have a fairly distributed
definitions of hypocrisy but agreed on hypocrisy being caused by a selfish act in order to please
another party for the benefit of oneself which will affect not only the perpetrator and/or the other
party, but the society as a whole. In conclusion, some suggestions have been made to create
awareness regarding this underrated issue and recommendations for future research have also
been included in the final part of the report.
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
3/33
Acknowledgement
First of all, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to Pn Nur Salwa for her comments,
wise advices, and unrelenting guidance throughout the preparations to the completion of this
report. Truly without her pointers, we would not have been able to create such an organized
work. We are also grateful to our friends and colleagues for their patience and overall
cooperation during the entire report making process; their assistances, encouragements, and
companion during the nights we spent to finish the report were very helpful. We would also like
to thank our accommodating respondents that were really vital in our process of collecting
primary data. Lastly, we would like to thank our family for giving their continuous support to us
throughout our life which enables us to continuously conduct this research up until today.
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
4/33
Table of Contents
Abstract......................................................................................................................................................................... ii
Acknowledgement ....................................................................................................................................................... iii
Table of Contents..........................................................................................................................................................iv
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................................................ v
1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1. Background Information .................................................................................................................................... 1
1.2. Statement of Problem ......................................................................................................................................... 2
1.3. Purpose of Study ................................................................................................................................................ 3
1.4. Objective of the Study ........................................................................................................................................ 3
1.5. Research Questions ............................................................................................................................................ 3
1.6. Significance of Study ......................................................................................................................................... 4
1.7. Scope of Study ................................................................................................................................................... 4
2. LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................................................................... 5
2.1. Definition and Usage of Hypocrisy .................................................................................................................... 5
2.2. The Reason behind Hypocrisy ........... .......... ........... .......... ........... .......... ........... .......... ........... .......... .......... ........ 8
2.3. Previous Studies on Hypocrisy ......................................................................................................................... 11
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................ 12
3.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 12
3.2 Research Instruments ........................................................................................................................................ 12
3.3 Respondent of the Study .......... ........... .......... ........... .......... ........... .......... ........... .......... ........... .......... ........... ..... 12
3.4 Research Procedure ........................................................................................................................................... 13
3.5 Data Analysis .................................................................................................................................................... 13
4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION............................................................................................................................. 14
4.1. Perception on Hypocrisy .................................................................................................................................. 14
4.2. Reason behind Hypocrisy ................................................................................................................................. 17
4.3. Effects of Hypocrisy ......................................................................................................................................... 20
4.4. Overcoming Hypocrisy .................................................................................................................................... 22
5. CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................................... 24
6. RECOMMENDATION ........................................................................................................................................... 25
6.1. Future Research ................................................................................................................................................ 25
BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................................................... 26
APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................................................. 28
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
5/33
List of Figures
Figure 1 Definitions of Hypocrisy According to Students .......... .......... ........... .......... .......... ........... .......... ........... ....... 14
Figure 2 Perceptions on Hypocrisy without Bad Intentions or Outcomes According to Students .......... ........... ......... 15
Figure 3 Causes of Hypocrisy According to Students .......... .......... ........... .......... .......... ........... .......... ........... .......... .... 17
Figure 4 the Most Beneficial Party from an Act of Hypocrisy ........... .......... ........... .......... .......... ........... .......... ........... 18
Figure 5 Effects of Hypocrisy According to Students .......... .......... ........... .......... .......... ........... .......... ........... .......... .... 20
Figure 6 Severity of Hypocrisy in Current Community ............... ........... .......... ........... .......... .......... ........... .......... ...... 22
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
6/33
1
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background Information
Hypocrisy in definition of The Oxford English Dictionary is the assuming of a false appearance
of virtue or goodness, with dissimulation of real character or inclinations, esp. in respect of
religious life or beliefs; hence in general sense, dissimulation, pretense, sham. The word
hypocrisy itself comes from the Greek word meaning playing a theatrical role and several other
definitions have regarded hypocrisy as practicing what you preach (e.g., Stone & Fernandez,
2008), saying one thing and doing another (e.g., Barden, Rucker, & Petty, 2005), or publicly
upholding moral norms, especially for others to follow, but personally violating them in private
(e.g., Lammers, Stapel, & Galinsky, 2010).
One thing in common of this multitude of definitions is that hypocrisy, by definition,
refers to virtue or goodness, and is used in other domains only by extension. This means that
hypocrisy is inherently used to refers to the expression of good thing and in fact, even when used
to refer to deception, hypocrisy is still problematic because it involves dishonesty. If the part of
not being true to oneself is omitted, hypocrisy generally resulted in a good thing, for example; a
person might not follow it through himself but if his advices changes other people for the better,
then wheres the wrong in that? In the words of M. Simmon (2007),
I don't see why it would be hypocritical for a drug user to advise people not to
use drugs. Frankly, I think he would have more, not less, credibility than someone
who had never used drugs.
Moreover, if your polite and courteous demeanor generally pleases everyone around you, even
when you dont mean it, it can possibly make their day better. When faced with different
situations, human wears a different personality that masks the wearers true self in order to cope
with those critical situations.
However, hypocrisy has been and always will be associated with grim and negative
meanings. We are nurtured from the early life of ours to put honesty on the high pedestal and
condemn deceitful and treacherous gesture. But how exactly is hypocrisy affecting our daily life,
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
7/33
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
8/33
3
1.3. Purpose of Study
Given the nature of hypocrisy and misleading perception of the public on the issue as a whole, it
is high time for a thorough research to be conducted to properly investigate and instill awareness
of the validity of the issue. Apart from that, there is also a big chance that hypocrisy may lead to
the fall of culture and society as the distortion of individual identities it creates will inevitably
resulted in the lack of trusts among the public.
In response to this possible concern, a special research committee is set up recently in
order to investigate the issue further. The purpose of this study described in this research report
was to assess the current public knowledge on their values concerning hypocrisy and the impact
of hypocrisy on society as well as to explore the broader culture and humanity issues associated.
1.4. Objective of the Study
The objectives of this study are to:
1. To investigate the students perspective on the issue of hypocrisy in relation to situationor general acceptance of the matter.
2. To identify the reason hypocrisy is needed or committed in certain situations.3. To study the effects of hypocrisy in study and social environment.4. To explore the ways to overcome issues created by hypocrisy.
1.5. Research Questions
What is the students perspective on the issue of hypocrisy in relation to situation orgeneral acceptance of the matter?
Why is hypocrisy needed or committed in certain situations and how do students feelabout it?
What would be the outcome of committing hypocrisy in relation to study and socialenvironment?
What are the ways to overcome those issues created by hypocrisy?
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
9/33
4
1.6. Significance of Study
Although evidently hypocrisy is a very subjective topic, in regards to both the perception of
people regarding it and the way it is committed, the findings of this study might create an
opportunity to create awareness of the issues of hypocrisy, and thus help tackling the problem
that precedes and proceeds hypocrisy as well as helping counselors or psychologists to device
countermeasures. With the information at hand, the result can be publicized and more extensive
study may be planned for the future.
1.7. Scope of Study
The first study will be executed on the residents of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Students of
Faculty of Computer Science and Information System in particular will be selected as the
respondents of this study. The respondents, who are between the ages of 18 to 25, will be
randomly selected by the research team themselves.
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
10/33
5
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Definition and Usage of Hypocrisy
As mentioned before, the origin of the word hypocrisy came from the Greek word hypokrisis,
which means the act of playing a part on a stage (Mish, 1993). From this definition, we can relate
that being a hypocrite is similar to being an actor in that both portray one persona for an
audience, which may differ from the behaviors performed when not in front of that audience.
Thus, the root hypokrisis reflects, in part, the more typical contemporary meaning of hypocrisy
as saying one thing in public and doing another in private. (Jamie Barden, Derek D. Rucker,
Richard E. Petty; 2005)
Hypocrisy is also widely accepted as the practice of claiming to have moral standards or
beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform. Which lead back to the act of doing
something opposite to one true self or simply the act of practicing what you preach (e.g., Stone
& Fernandez, 2008). This behavior happened to the point that the one who committed hypocrisy
forgot his/her true nature, thus the unconformity of one behavior.
What about moral hypocrisy? Is it any different from the actual hypocrisy? Some says
that people used that word only to justify the things they did, whether it brings good to the one
who committed the act or to the one it is being used to. To be specific, Valdesolo & DeSteno
(2007) said that,
Moral hypocrisy refers to a fundamental bias in moral judgment in which
individuals evaluate a moral transgression enacted by them to be less
objectionable than an identical transgression enacted by others.
This can only mean that moral hypocrisy is being used as excuses to allow their action.
But is it? The result usually depends on the act it selves. For example, doing something rudewould highly upset someone, so by being good, could avoid getting someone upset by his/her
own action. Normally, we would name this situation as being polite. But by being polite, the
person actually is doing something opposed to his/her actual identity, thus the moral hypocrisy.
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
11/33
6
Several other definition have also condemned hypocrisy as a vice, yet when it is engaged
in studying morals, it finds in this sincerity an invaluable scientific aid. According to Benjamin
Ginzburg (1922), while hypocrisys definition have always been the same in any era, the value or
severity of the act of hypocrisy itself always tends to change in accordance to the social
evolution of community. The changes within society also morph the moral value that is upheld,
but the injunction of obedience remains the same that is the only permanent feature of
morality. From here we can see that hypocrisy will most certainly happen when a person lives in
a community, even when living with just two people. When more people involves, so will the
moral value. One can only be true to him selves. By living alone, it is safe to say that hypocrisy
will never exist. But if we refer back to the word social evolution from Benjamin quotes from
above, we would not just refer to a society where people only meet each other directly face to
face, today modern world have managed to help people communicate directly through other
means like phone, fax and social networking. Unless a person is living alone in the jungle,
hypocrisy can happen just everywhere.
Due to being tied closely with a societys general acceptance of conduct, hypocrisy tends
to differ among citizens of different culture. Norms are created to provide guidelines for how its
members think, feel or act are not the same between cultures with varying level of context
differentiation (CD). Individuals who differentiate their behaviors greatly according to context or
situation may be considered hypocrites or chameleons in some culture while regarded as matured
in another (David Matsumoto, Seung Hee Yoo, Johnny Fontaine; 2009). Doing something we
think is polite might be an insult to other depending on their race and culture. By following the
actual guide and act accordingly, will the other party from different cultures accept and welcome
the person who is try to communicate with them. We can take this example from a business point
of view. A client will try his/her best from their side to take care their customer. These include
taking care of the customers feeling. Thus, such difference in culture may result in discrepancies
of the meanings of hypocrisy itself.
Hypocrisy benefits oneself in more ways than one. One can reap the material rewards of
acting selfishly whilst garnering the social and self-rewards of being seen and seeing oneself as
upstanding and moral. (C. Daniel Batson, Elizabeth R. Thompson, Greg Seuferling, Heather
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
12/33
7
Whitney, Jon A. Strongman; 1999). An act through and through, as long as it will not being
trouble to both side, the person being hypocrite and the person being hypocrite to. Using
hypocrisy, one is able to lay out a safe path to protect oneself from having to shoulder
responsibility; as a cowards way out.
In this context, the definition of hypocrisy have (in some way) explains the usage of
hypocrisy itself. Most of it explains how it is used selfishly while other explained how it was
used unintentionally or unconsciously. It is something that is sure to happen even when two
people is sitting in a room together.
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
13/33
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
14/33
9
Decisions of opposing moralities engulf the everyday lives of human beings. Those who
consider themselves to be moral may not always act morally (Jennifer Finney; 2006). The third
explanation on how hypocrisy can be committed is moral hypocrisy. According to Batson,
Kobrynowicz, Dinnerstein, Kampf, & Wilson (1997), moral hypocrisy is a two-step process. The
first step is seeing choice as an opportunity to maintain ones moral principles. The second step
is to maximize personal gain and minimize costs while still being able to appear moral. These
two strategies create cognitive dissonance for the person who is moral but acts immorally in a
particular situation. Cognitive dissonance occurs when inconsistent thoughts create
psychological tension (McKimmie, Terry, Hogg, Manstead, Spears, &Doosje, 2003). In most
cases, people are motivated to relieve this tension.
From these three factors, hypocrisy can be related to other reasons. For example, it is also
found out that hypocrisy is done by the people because of their own past; it can be either good or
bad enough that it has effect their current behavior. If it is good, one simply tend to repeat the
same action or behavior simply because they wanted to gain and feel the same joy of pleasure
and comfort. On the other hand, pressured by the bad experience of the past, when experiencing
them in unexpected situation, one simply tried what he/her think best to avoid the situation from
happening in their life again. In one of the papers done by Stone, Wiegard, Cooper & Aronson
(1997), it is said that, the discrepancy between the prosocial advocacy and the past transgressions
arouses dissonance. An individual is motivated to reduce this psychological discomfort by
modifying his/her subsequent behaviors into line with the prior advocacy. In other words
practicing what was preached would reduce dissonance without changing the perception of
what constitutes appropriate and reasonable behavior.
Simplest of all the reason are that, they just want to look good from other peoples
perspective; apolitician to his/her country, a student to his/her teacher or a boy to his girlfriends
father. As hypocrisy originated from the greek word of acting, social psychologists are
suspicious of actors' self-reported motives it selves, in part because people are surprisingly
unaware of their actual motives (Nisbett & Wilson, 1977), but also because two central features
of the social psychological model of human behavior, that people care deeply about making a
good impression on others (e.g. Schlenker, 1980) and also wish to hold positive views of
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
15/33
10
themselves (e.g., Greenwald, 1980), contribute to their claiming purer moral intentions than they
actually have.
The danger in hypocrisy is that it can create a personal inconsistency. By doing thing that
they will not actually do when they are alone, they create a different persona or identity, to adapt
to the situation and people they meet. Hypocrisy is known by others as a negative behavior with
hidden motives. The word hypocrisy it selves sounds threatening. When accused by someone as
being a hypocrite whether the accusation is true or not, one would naturally defend them self of
not being one. This is normal because of two reasons, for the one who did not done this will
already know that they will never do it and the other one is simply denying the fact that they
were acting so differently from what they really are. Tedeschi, Schlenker, & Bonoma (1971)
have said the same thing in their research paper that when a person says one thing in public but
does another in private, there is personal inconsistency, and this perceived inconsistency and our
dislike of inconsistent individuals undoubtedly contributes to negative perceptions of
hypocritical others.
It has already been said that hypocrisy would create a personal inconsistency. When
communication is happening between two people, human unconsciously analyses and digest the
other person attributes; how they talk, how they act etc. When this act of communication
happens several times, it would create trust between these two people, or friends as we know it.
When one of these people produce an action differently from what the other guy has learn about
him/her, and the action has creates discomfort, can cause a trust issue. One simply would not
understand the reason why it happen and would definitely be cautious in the next meeting.
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
16/33
1
2.3. Previous Studies on Hypocrisy
Several studies related to social psychology and ethics have been conducted to gauge the relation
of hypocrisy with moral value of the society or individual. According to Valrie Fointiat (2008)
in her research using forced compliance paradigm, the saliency of the discrepancy between what
is preaching and what was done (in a recent past) arouses a feeling of hypocrisy. Changing the
subsequent behavior into line with the normative speech is the easiest way to reduce the
uncomfortable state of hypocrisy.
People are inclined to view themselves as competent, moral, rationale and so on.
Dissonance is aroused when persons behave in a way that they view as incompetent, immoral or
non-rationale, which resulted in induction of hypocrisy that involved in the combination of two
factors commitment of an issue and mindfulness of their own behavior regarding the issue.
People generally prefer to restore positive self-views by choosing to accept a positive request
which is related (e.g., give money to a water preservation association) rather than unrelated (e.g.,
give money to a cancer research association) to the topic targeted by the hypocrisy-induction
procedure (e.g., water preservation) (Arnaud Ligeois, Vincent Yzerbyt, Olivier Corneille; 2005)
David Matsumoto, Seung Hee Yoo, and Johnny Fontaines studies on the effect of norms
in regard to perception on hypocrisy have also inferred that people personality or value is
determined by the culture they are raised in. Their findings also explain why people who come
from low CD cultures, and/or who do not differentiate their behaviors much across contexts, may
be seen as immature in high CD cultures, where the learning of the subtle and intricate meanings
of context and the associated behavioral regulations that are required is a product of
enculturation and a sign of maturity.
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
17/33
12
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
This section discusses the methodology of the research. The main purpose of the research is to
investigate the students perspective on the issue of hypocrisy in relation to situation or general
acceptance of the matter. To assess and evaluate this matter, UTM student from FSKSM was
chosen. Data for the research were collected mainly through questionnaire.
3.2 Research Instruments
This research utilized both the quantitative and qualitative research methodology. The
instruments used to collect data were questionnaire and slight interview. A set of questionnaire
containing 10 questions divided into 4 sections was developed based on related questionnaire
used previously by another study. Different question-types, such as ranking, yes-no, listing,
category, open-ended and scales were used in the questionnaire.
The different sections of the questionnaire were: i) students perspective on the issue of
hypocrisy in relation to situation or general acceptance of the matter, ii) students
acknowledgement for the need of hypocrisy in certain situations, iii) the outcome of committing
hypocrisy in relation to study and social environment and iv) ways to overcome those issues
created by hypocrisy. The questionnaire was piloted to a group of 10 students to assess its
validity before it was distributed.
The qualitative data for the research come from interview and open ended question in the
questionnaire. The interview was utilized to confirm the findings from the questionnaire as well
as to triangulate the data collection methods. The interview further explored the student
understanding and perception towards the issue of hypocrisy.
3.3 Respondent of the Study
The respondents of the study were UTM students of FSKSM from different courses. A total of
50 questionnaires were distributed to 50 chosen students.
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
18/33
13
3.4 Research Procedure
Before the actual data collection period, a pilot study was conducted to assess the validity of the
research instrument. A total of 30 students were involved in this pilot study chosen from random
department across FSKSM.
During the actual study, the questionnaires were distributed at various locations on
faculty, such as the entrance to the computer lab, mini mart and leisure area. Respondents are
asked kindly to answer the questionnaire as true as possible. Five students were selected from
those who completed and returned the questionnaire to attend the mini interview sessions.
Agreement from the respondents was sought to enable us to record their statements.
3.5 Data Analysis
To analyze the data, several variables were taken into consideration. Data was entered into the
computer using SPSS software. Results were presented through frequency counts and other
descriptive statistics. Interview data would provide a way to validate the data from the
questionnaire. The analysis of the interview data went through the coding technique using
identification of patterns and themes that emerged from the analysis.
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
19/33
14
4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
This section discusses the results of the research on the perspective of hypocrisy among students
in higher learning institutions. The findings will be divided into important topics found from a
survey received from 50 students of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, or more specifically, the
students from the Faculty of Computer Science and Information System (FSKSM).
4.1. Perception on Hypocrisy
Respondents have their own point of view on the subject of hypocrisy. Figure 1.1 shows the
different definition of the word hypocrisy given by the respondents when being asked what they
thought of first when describing hypocrisy.
Figure 1 Definitions of Hypocrisy According to Students
As shown from the above figure, the respondents mostly have a mixed view regarding the
definition of hypocrisy with none of the definition are too dominant in acceptance over the
others. This is likely resulting from the respondents background which in majority is Malay; the
issue regarding hypocrisy is a very sensitive issue, coupled with the inherent nature of Malay to
be humble, the split in view is understandable. However, from the figure above, it can be seen
16%
39%44%
1%
Not practicing what onepreaches
Doing something oppositeof one's true feeling
Publicly holds moral normfor others to follow, but
violate them in private
Other: e.g.; Accusessomeone else being of
certain traits (mostly bad)when he himself possesses
the traits.
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
20/33
1
that only a small fraction of the respondents, which is 16 percent, voted on not practicing what
one preaches as their definition of hypocrisy. This is also due to the majority of the respondents
being Malay, and consequently as Muslims; it is indoctrinated in the religion to accept advises
regardless of whom it may come from. Overall, majority of the respondents finds hypocrisy more
related with actions rather than feelings or words.
As reflected also in Figure 1.1, majority of the respondents, 44 percent to be exact, chose
the most malicious sounding definition among the others. This result is very similar to a study
conducted by Piercarlo Valdesolo and David DeSteno (2008) on The Duality of Virtue. The
study remarks that man tends to mark immoral behavior as more severe than it actually is, or
moral hypocrisy, as the study would tell. This is further confirmed by Figure 1.2 below, where
respondents are more inclined to agree with hypocrisy that has neither bad intentions nor bad
outcomes.
Figure 2 Perceptions on Hypocrisy without Bad Intentions or Outcomes According to Students
Furthermore, Not practicing what one preaches had the smallest amount of vote 16
percent in actuality. A journal published by M. Simmon (2007) also had the same findings in
which he finds that its not hypocritical for a drug user to advise others to not use drug; if
anything, a drug user would be more credible in his claims.
Agree57%
Disagree43%
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
21/33
1
The results of the survey have been mostly beneficial for our research. It shows that the
definition of hypocrisy was almost directly influencedby respondents culture we are nurtured
to associate hypocrisy with something vice and negative. However, there are also those who
perceive hypocrisy not as grim, based on Figure 1.2 and are willing to accept hypocrisy without
malice. This split in views has been very informative.
As for our point of view as the researcher, we find that the definition of hypocrisy differs
from one person to another; it is heavily reliant on ones own upbringing, regardless of race and
religions. This is not to say that culture has no impact on ones understanding of the issue; in fact
it does have some significant effects based on the survey. However, two people with the same
background will still develop a differing perspective of hypocrisy, and for that we can infer that a
person view of hypocrisy is molded mostly by ones own personal experience.
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
22/33
17
4.2. Reason behind Hypocrisy
Respondents were asked to give their opinion on reasons that lead to the committing of
hypocrisy. Figure 2.1 below shows the causes behind an act of hypocrisy as described by the
respondents.
Figure 3 Causes of Hypocrisy According to Students
From Figure 2.1 above, 88 percent of the respondents - a huge majority - shared the same
belief that there is always another person or party responsible behind the person who is
committing hypocrisy. More than half of the respondents, 52 percent to be exact reasoned that
hypocrisy is done to blend in with society; with most popular belief being that they are
attempting to adhere to social norm or standard. Another 26 percent of the respondents find thathypocrites are birthed from situational pressure, for example when one is receiving orders from
above or when there is a diffusion of responsibility.
52%36%
11%
1%
To blend in with society(e.g.; adhering to social
norm or standards)
Situational pressure (e.g.;orders from above,
diffusion of responsibility)
Lack of belief and/orconfidence
Other (e.g.; vary persona totackle different situationwith ease)
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
23/33
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
24/33
19
Emerson, Every man alone is sincere. At the entrance of a second person, hypocrisy begins,
hypocrisy is not done without the presence of another person. By abiding the orders from above
regardless of willingly or not, a person may secure his position and please his higher ups, thus
providing a productive environment overall. Adhering to social norms and standards prevents
oneself from becoming a social outcast and at the same time ensures the harmony of the
community.
It can be hypothesized that respondents believed that hypocrisy is not done without
hoping for profit in return. The one who benefit the most from an act of hypocrisy is of course
oneself. However, the resulting act of hypocrisy may also be beneficial to the other party in some
circumstances as some mentioned above.
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
25/33
20
4.3. Effects of Hypocrisy
Respondents gave a plentiful amount of the effects birthed from an act of hypocrisy, both in an
individual and overall perspective. Figure 3 describes what would be affected from an act of
hypocrisy according to the students.
Figure 5 Effects of Hypocrisy According to Students
Once again, the graph showed a split of view of the effects of hypocrisy with some,
although small in numberswhich is 4 percentwho finds that hypocrisy does not affect much
of anything. There are even 1% of the respondents who believed that hypocrisy may in some
way have positive effects according to how and when it is used.
A sizable amount of respondents, 39 percent in actuality, assumed that the rampant use ofhypocrisy may bring about conflicts in relationships. Respondents described that the lack of trust
among members of a relationship that may be resulted from hypocrisy will tear the bond slowly,
but surely. Twenty-four percent of respondents also believed that a hypocrite may become more
prone to lie, which will undoubtedly affect him and those surrounding him, or more importantly,
10%
24%
39%
22%
4%
1%
Lower self-confidence andself-esteem
Prone to lie
Conflicts in relationships
(e.g; lack of trust)
Corruption
None
Other (Positive effects)
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
26/33
2
his close relatives. A relatively low amount of respondents, about 10 percent, believe that an act
of hypocrisy will lower the self-confidence and/or self-esteem level of the hypocrite. In
accordance to the discussion on chapter 4.2 before, most respondents did not believe personal
value to be the decisive cause and effect of hypocrisy.
Majority feels that hypocrisy may sever ties due to the nature of the issue itself as being
almost undetectable, and thus resulting on trust issues and doubt amongst the members in a
relationship. Ayatollah Jafar Subhani (2005) stated that,
One the other hand, the unknown enemy, however small and powerless he may be,
can cause serious damage because he pretends to be a friend or at least pretends to
be indifferent. (3)
However, although minor, some respondents have an indifferent or positive view on the effect of
hypocrisy; their view is that if an act of hypocrisy pleases the other party and is a win-win
situation overall, why bother? Barden, Rucker, and Petty (2005) described two kind of hypocrisy
that is similar yet distinct in effect - saying one thing and doing another and doing one thing
and saying another. The latter is more acceptable as its more likely an honest advice from a
perpetrator of the said action. M. Simmon (2007) also had a same view; drug user who advises
against the use of drug would have more credibility in his claim.
From the results, it can be said that most respondents are more afraid of the effect that
affects the whole component in a relationship, and ultimately in the bigger picture the
community. If summarized with the findings from section 4.2, hypocrisy can be regarded as a
selfish action that not only affects the committer but the whole community.
Regardless, there is still some good that can be brought about from hypocrisy; as mentionedif
a hypocrite action generally brings about a good, or at least not bad, outcome, why not?
Therefore a perpetrator of hypocrisy has to first weigh the profit and loss of his action first, inorder to have a win-win situation
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
27/33
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
28/33
23
suggestions also mentioned having an awareness campaign regarding this issue in order to
invoke much more understanding on the general issues of hypocrisy.
Nonetheless, there are also some of the opinions that suggested stopping labeling of
hypocrisy as such and just accepting everyone for who they are. In their own word, if you want
to be true to yourself, you must continually be on the lookout for times when you are giving
people a double standard.
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
29/33
24
5. CONCLUSION
This research investigated the perspective of UTM students on various issue of hypocrisy.
Primary data were collected by distributing questionnaires to 50 students. As mentioned earlier
in the introduction, the purpose of this study was to investigate students perspective and general
acceptance with regards to the cause and effects of the act of hypocrisy.
The following conclusion can be drawn based on the findings of the study:
1. This study has shown that due to the culture the students are in, the view on hypocrisyhas been a very mixed one. However, the most general acceptance of the definition of
hypocrisy is that it is something vice in nature.
2. Students believed that hypocrisy is caused by the need to please another party for thesake of oneself.
3. With regards to the consequences, students find that no one is exempted from beingaffected by an act of hypocrisy; be it the perpetrator, those around him or the community
itself.
4. Lastly, in order to mend the problems caused by hypocrisy, a very definitive opinionamong the students is to start with changing oneself before moving on to the others.
The results of this study indicate that regardless to culture, hypocrisy always starts with one
selfish action but will undoubtedly affect the society as a whole. However, these findings are
only true for the students of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and cannot be generalized to other
university students, much less the entire world due to one glaring factor the difference in
culture. Hence, the same study needs to be conducted with students from other universities to see
if there are any similarities with the factors that will influence students perception on
hypocrisisy.
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
30/33
2
6. RECOMMENDATION
Based on the findings and conclusions of the study, here are several recommendations to be
considered:
1. Government or any responsible party should hold a talk or lecture as well as awarenesscampaign in order to educate the mass about the dangers and ways to overcome problems
birthed from an act of hypocrisy.
2. One should consider holding an honest discussion among group members in order toavoid this problem.
3. Hypocrite should not be looked down upon as there is always a reason behind their act,with some being noble, and should be understood before labeling the hypocrite as such.
4. To change the big picture, one must first starts with improving oneself first.
6.1. Future Research
Since this study had only focused on Universiti Teknologi Malaysia students, it is recommended
that further studies be carried out on students from other universities, or even another culture, to
see whether there are any similarities in the findings. Furthermore, further research could alsoexplore more underlying reasons of hypocrisy and ways to overcome it in order to curb the
problem once and for all. Lastly, a more conducive research could be conducted in order to
discover the state of mind of those committing hypocrisy as it would be a very helpful material
in determining the causes of hypocrisy and subsequently prepare a way to deter it from harming
mankind.
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
31/33
2
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barden, J., Rucker, D. D., & Petty, R. E. (2005). Saying One Thing and Doing Another: Examining the
Impact of Event Order on Hypocrisy Judgments of Others.Personality and Social Psychology
Bulletin, 1463-1474.
Baron, A. (2012, September 15). Op-Ed: Western Hypocrisy over Freedom of Expression. Retrieved
October 4, 2012, from Digital Journal: http://digitaljournal.com/article/332875
Batson, C. D., Thompson, E. R., Seuferling, G., Whitney, H., & Strongman, J. A. (1999). Moral
Hypocrisy: Appearing Moral to Oneself Without Being So.Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 525-537.
Finney, J. (2006). Effects of Making Moral Decisions on Moral Hypocrisy.Journal of Undergraduate
Psychological Research, 4-8.
Fointiat, V. (2008). Being Together in a Situation of Induced Hypocrisy. Current Research in SocialPsychology, 145-153.
Fointiat, V., Somat, A., & Grosbras, J.-M. (2011). Saying, but not Doing: Induced Hypocrisy,
Trivialization, and Misattribution. Social Behaviour and Personality, 465-476.
Ginzburg, B. (1922). Hypocrisy as Pathological Symptom.International Journal of Ethics, 160-166.
Ligeois, A., Yzerbyt, V., & Corneille, O. (2005).I am as dirty as anyone else So what?: When
attempts at inducing hypocrisy backfire. Universit Catholique de Louvain Louvain-la-Neuve.
Maloyed, C. L. (2011).Hypocrisy: The Not-So Vicious Vice. University of TexasPan American.
Matsumoto, D., Yoo, S. H., & Fontaine, J. (2009). Hypocrisy or Maturity? Culture and Context
Differentiation.European Journal of Personality, 251-264.
Mish, F. C. (1993).Merriam Websters collegiate dictionary (10th ed.). Springfield, MA: Merriam-
Webster.
Monin, B., & Merritt, A. (2010).Moral Hypocrisy, Moral Inconsistency, and the Struggle for Moral
Integrity. Stanford University.
Morrongiello, B. A., & Mark, L. (2008). Practice What You Preach: Induced Hypocrisy as an
Intervention Strategy to Reduce Childrens Intentions to Risk Take on Playgrounds.Journal of
Pediatric Psychology, 11171128.
Simon, M. (2007, February 28). Why Hypocrisy Shouldn't - but does - Matter. Retrieved October 4, 2012,
from Classical Values: http://www.classicalvalues.com/archives/2007/02/why_hypocrisy_s.html
Valdesolo, P., & DeSteno, D. (2007).Moral Hypocrisy: Social Groups and the Flexibility of Virtue.
Northeastern University.
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
32/33
27
Valdesolo, P., & DeSteno, D. (2008). The Duality of Virtue: Deconstructing the Moral Hypocrite.
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 13341338.
7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students
33/33
APPENDICES