Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students

7/27/2019 Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students

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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


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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.


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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.


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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


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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


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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,


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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?


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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.


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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.


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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


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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.


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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


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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.


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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.


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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.


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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.


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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.


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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%


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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.


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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)


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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.


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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)


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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


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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.


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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.


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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.


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APPENDICES

Documents

Perspective of Hypocrisy Among UTM Students