Following the completion of the first part of the graduation projects, the designer has gained a range of useful knowledge during the overall process of her works. She has now grown to be more considerate and not having different perspectives towards the mental patients. Overall from the previous project’s research, she has concluded that people frequently associate wellness with only physical health, but in fact, it is much more than that. Thus, wellness should not only be taken care of physically, but as well as mentally. According to research (Steber, 2019), when a habit interferes with your physical or mental well being, it is considered as a sign of mental illness. Therefore one of the reasons mental illness can be formed are by habits. Aside from that, some of the habits that a person performs may also be an indication of mental illness. Just as similar to bad habits will harm your physical health, some bad habits can also harm your mental health. These habits, for instance, can increase your risk of developing mental illnesses.
Wellness is the act of practising healthy habits in order to achieve better physical and mental health outcomes. For better or worse, our habits are also one of the keys to an individual’s wellness. In fact, our behaviours and habits have an influential impact that affects our physical health, mental health and quality of life. A person’s mental health is important in our daily life as it affects how we interact with others and deal with different situations. As a result, there will be a slight change of intent from the previous projects. In the upcoming projects, the researcher intends to research on a wider context about habits. Whereas for the specific context, the researcher intends to find out how our habits or behaviours can influence us in our well being and gives us a sense of belonging.
For the independent project, the researcher aims to look into the quirkiness of the Malaysian’s habits. As a Malaysian that has been living in Malaysia, a multi racial country for years, there are quite an amount of habits that only being a Malaysian would relate to. These cultural habits are usually only performed by Malaysians which gives out a more quirky impression to others. Due to the different races here in Malaysia, various cultures have been so well integrated into our way of life that many people are unaware of the habit’s formation. Despite the sheer diversity of the population, it can also be used as a way for Malaysians to recognise their compatriots without being told just by their actions and behaviours, which are so called the Malaysian habits.
The research methodologies that will be utilized in this project are through both primary research and secondary research. Online questionnaires will be distributed, and interviews will be conducted with a group of university students. Interviews would be conducted with interviewees via online platforms or questionnaires, allowing the researcher to collect and have a better picture in mind of what are the quirky things that Malaysians do and how it makes it an iconic thing in Malaysia. In addition to the primary research in hand, the researcher will then conduct secondary research. Secondary research such as reading articles, watching documentaries, and considering social media content, will be conducted for a better understanding and development of the project on the chosen topic. Not to forget the Malaysian researcher herself, the research will be based on personal experiences as well. Existing data is summarised, compiled, and observed in order to improve overall research effectiveness. With all of the information in hand, the researcher will compile it and proceed in accordance with the project's direction and approach.
Speaking of habits other than relating it to mental illnesses, the researcher, as a Gen Z herself, realised that there are a variety of behaviours and habits that most people practice nowadays to keep themselves up to trend. It is no longer a new normal but instead it can be stated as an “in thing” that almost everyone does. People are constantly following up with the latest trends due to the FOMO (fear of missing out) and YOLO (you only live once). A more straightforward explanation, it simply means the fear of being left out and excluded by society. Moreover, It usually appears that we are in control of our own thoughts and actions, but social psychology tells a different point of view. The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another is defined as social psychology. We communicate with others everyday and the influence of others on us is one of the lessons of social psychology. Therefore, we do not have as much control over our thoughts and behaviours as we believe. Instead, we take our cues for how to act from our surroundings, particularly from other people. In research by Effectiviology (n.d.), they have stated that an effect named “bandwagon” is a cognitive bias that causes people to behave in a certain way because they believe what the others do are similar. The bandwagon effect, for example, can cause someone to adopt a certain political ideology because they see other people in their social circle adopting the same ideology.
Moving on to the external project brief, the researcher intends to study the current generation's trendy habits or behaviours in the 21st century. Mainly including good and bad habits of the current generation. As a result, the research will be conducted using both qualitative and quantitative methods, and will be divided down into primary and secondary research. First and foremost, primary research will include the distribution of online questionnaires as well as interviews with a group of university students. University students were chosen as the research audiences as most of them are from the group of people from Gen Z. This will allow the researcher to collect more interesting datas and form a better picture in mind of the habit formations of the 21st century generation. Additionally, moving on to a more in depth understanding, secondary research such as reading articles and watching documentaries will be conducted for a deeper understanding and for a better development of the project on the chosen topic. Not to mention, as a Malaysian, the research will also be based on some personal experiences. To improve the overall effectiveness of research, existing data is summarised and compiled and to be observed. With all of the information in hand, the researcher will then all be gathered and proceed as the direction and approach towards the project.
APA Referencing
Pfizer. (n.d.). What is Wellness? | Pfizer. Retrieved from: https://www.pfizer.com/health-wellness/wellness/what-is-wellness.
Steber, C. (2019, Apr 11). 11 Habits That Can Actually Be Signs Of Mental Illness. Retrieved from: https://www.bustle.com/p/11-habits-that-can-actually-be-signs-of-mental-illness-17009548.
Stoewen, D. (2017, Aug). Dimensions of wellness: Change your habits, change your life. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5508938/.
Psychiatry, C. (n.d.). 5 Habits to Help Improve Your Mental Health: Carolina Wellness Psychiatry, PLLC: Psychiatrists. Retrieved from: https://www.carolinawellnesspsychiatry.com/blog/5-habits-to-help-improve-your-mental-health.
Effectiviology. (n.d.). The Bandwagon Effect: Why People Tend to Follow the Crowd. Retrieved from: https://effectiviology.com/bandwagon/.
Henderson, R. (2017, May 24). The Science Behind Why People Follow the Crowd. Retrieved from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/after-service/201705/the-science-behind-why-people-follow-the-crowd.
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