Kiasuism (fear of losing out) is a prominent cultural trait of Singapore that encompasses greed, selfishness, and inconsiderate behavior. It contributes to social problems in education and entrepreneurship. Despite its pervasiveness and negative impact, kiasuism is not well understood. The three studies that have tried to conceptualize it offer conflicting conclusions about its properties. The two existing measures focus exclusively on behavior while neglecting motivation. Inconsistencies in the conceptualization and operationalization of kiasuism warrant a fresh exploration of the construct. Our analysis of qualitative interviews with 36 Singaporean undergraduates provided a clearer understanding of kiasuism by identifying cognitive aspects in addition to behavior. Our results suggest that kiasuism is a single dimension with a range of outcomes, and the motivation for a behavior is the key to determining whether it is kiasu. Our research provides a foundation for a variety of directions for future research, both theoretical and practical. Keywords Chinese, culture, fear of losing, qualitative research, Singapore, social norms, social relations, university students ''Everything also I want,'' ''Everything also must grab,'' ''Everything also number one'': with these mottos, Mr. Kiasu, a selfish grab-all-you-can character in Johnny Lau's 1990s comic books, became iconic of Singapore. Since the release of the first comic book, a television series featuring Mr. Kiasu and a range of popular
The completion of this thesis is a milestone and would not be possible without the help of the following people. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my thesis adviser, Dr. Ringo Ho, for his mentorship and support. I am thankful for the timely feedback Dr. Ringo has provided me throughout the course of this research. His extensive knowledge in statistics has been a tremendous help and I am very fortunate to have him as my adviser.
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