Singaporeans' Attitudes Towards Work, Pecuniary Adherence, Materialism, Feminism, Environmental Consciousness and Media Credibility

Abstract

This paper examines the attitudes and traits of Singaporeans, derived from a nation-wide lifestyle study. The output gives us insights into how Singaporeans think, and what they believe in. Selected issues include those commonly featured in lifestyle research, relating to work, pecuniary adherence, materialism, feminism, environmental consciousness, and media credibility.

In general, our results show that most Singaporeans would rather work smart than work hard. Singaporeans are also quite focused on making money and are cautious about spending on credit, especially when it involves buying things other than a car or a house. Singaporeans generally have very traditional beliefs about a woman's role in life, but have very high expectations of her balancing a career and taking care of the family. Most Singaporeans are aware of environmental problems and are keen to help in preserving the environment, provided this is not done at the expense of their comfort/benefits. Finally, Singaporeans only take newspaper reports at face value, and generally do not trust advertising claims. However, these attitudes and traits vary significantly across demographic variables such as age, gender, ethnic groups, and education.