Catholic High School

Are We Kinder?

“Most Singaporeans are willing to act positively to bring about a kinder society.”

By: Tham Yao Ci, Lim Jia Rong, Matthew Chuang, Quek Jia Yang, Luke Tan

Aim:
Sought to determine a “kindness problem” that demonstrated how endemic the lack of kindness was in Singapore.

Why:
Many Singaporeans are apathetic to the hardships of others amid their own struggles to survive and prosper.

Where:
Crowded areas, for instance near shopping malls, cinemas and retail stores.

What:
Social experiment to test how apathetic Singaporeans were, by positioning a subject clearly in need of assistance in public view. Members of the team realistically acted as though they were wounded, falling to the ground in apparent pain. Team would film the scene until someone came to assist.

How:
While some eventually assisted the casualty, most walked past and did not care. Team concluded that most Singaporeans were not inherently malevolent, and that younger Singaporeans were genuinely concerned about the kindness deficit.