Intrinsic motivation in Singapore

As the song goes, "in Singapore, our hearts are big and wide you'll find." Singaporeans do have a heart, and are quite understanding when it comes to matters of the heart. As Asians, we are regarded as being a bunch of hard-working and unforgiving individuals that come together only for self-preservation. We have shattered that stereotype by donating for just about everything. Anytime a person steps up to us with a donation can in their hand and asks us for donations, they do not ask for donations by saying we can get tax rebates. They tell us the name of the foundation and what the foundation is using the money for. This generally tugs the correct heart strings, forcing us to pull out our wallets and at the very least, drop a few coins in the can.

In a similar situation, one of my friends was walking with a drink when approached by a student collecting donations for a foundation. When he said he didn't want to donate, she said that if he had the money to purchase a drink, he should donate. And sure enough, he did donate. This shows how there is subtle intrinsic motivation in Singapore. The use of extrinsic motivation in Singapore has to a large extent been unsuccessful. The government's attempt to reverse the trend of a decreasing population by offering a baby bonus has not been successful. The reason? The Singaporean society retains some of its morals. Singaporeans are not simpletons, we think things over. When we are offered an incentive, a monetary one at that, we think if we are doing the act for the benefit of society or for their own. By having a child simply for the baby bonus, one is doing it for a selfish aim, and as such, they have not been successful.

As Jia Hao has said, the use of extrinsic motivation is present in terms of petty crimes. But, they are seldom enforced, and are not harsh on the criminal. They simply serve to label the person as a criminal or to show the person that what they have done is not correct. It is through this that the person is forced to ponder over what he has done, and think over his life. When seen in this way, the fines imposed can be viewed as intrinsic motivation to not do something that would not benefit them or the society.