Singapore scores better on Graciousness Index 2014

People in Singapore a little more gracious now: Survey
By Priscilla Goy, The Straits Times, 10 Jul 2014

PEOPLE in Singapore have become a little more gracious, according to the latest results of an annual survey by the Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM).

This year's Graciousness Index gave Singapore a score of 55, a two-point rise from 53 last year, when the index hit a record low.

But the score is still the second-lowest since the index, which tracks the perception and experience of kindness and graciousness in Singapore, was started in 2009. In 2010 and 2012, the index hit a high of 61 out of 100. The higher the index, the better.

 

"This year's results show that we are a little more sensitive to gracious acts that go on around us than last year," said Dr William Wan, SKM's general secretary.

"But I think we're so hard on ourselves that we don't give credit for some of the good things."

In response to last year's low index, the SKM has been engaging more users online, for instance, by encouraging netizens to spread the message of kindness.

The efforts have paid off. More people in this year's survey said they experienced acts of graciousness, be it doing or at the receiving end, or just witnessing a kind act. Some 52 per cent said they had been a "recipient of a random act of graciousness in the last six months", up from 41 per cent in last year's study.

This year's study polled 1,666 respondents, of whom about 62 per cent are Singaporeans, over four weeks last December and in January this year.

Another key result is that heavy Internet users tend to believe in online graciousness.

Among those who use the Internet for more than 20 hours each week, 55 per cent believe graciousness is necessary online, and 80 per cent believe more needs to be done to educate people on gracious behaviour online.

This is higher than the 25 per cent and 57 per cent respectively among those who use the Internet for fewer than two hours a week.

Social entrepreneur Crystal Goh, 28, who is online almost all the time, said: "The Internet is our home and... we want a home we can be proud of."

While respondents, who included parents, largely agreed that the best way to instil kindness in society is to target young people, they were undecided whether parents have been "actively reinforcing moral values" in children. Only 37 per cent agreed, a third disagreed and the rest were neutral.

But Dr Wan said it is good that "parents are self-critiquing".

Other groups have also been encouraging gracious behaviour. For example, the labour movement started a campaign this May Day to get customers to show more appreciation to workers.

Singaporeans slightly more gracious this year: Index
But they fare less well when it comes to accepting foreigners and cleaning up after meals
TODAY, 10 Jul 2014

The Republic is considered gracious when it comes to respecting other races and religions, and expressing thanks after receiving help — but fares less well when it comes to accepting foreign residents in its midst and cleaning up after meals.

These were among the findings from the 2014 Graciousness Index released yesterday, which saw a slight uptick in overall graciousness levels, following a record low last year.

Among the respondents, motorists and those in the 50 and above group were less satisfied with the nation’s state of graciousness. A majority, especially the heaviest online users, also believed that people should be gracious in cyberspace.

Referring to the latest findings, Singapore Kindness Movement general manager Dr William Wan said he thinks the Government recognises the need to better handle the influx of foreign residents.

“Too many workers are coming in too fast. The nation’s infrastructure is not ready for them, so people get upset because they cannot get on buses and so on. Most importantly, the danger is that (Singaporeans) will start stereotyping every foreigner.”

 

Dr Wan added that the Singapore Kindness Movement is working on a programme to educate Singaporeans on foreigners and vice versa.

This year’s Graciousness Index improved slightly to 55 points — after falling eight points from 2012 to a record low of 53 last year, the lowest since the index was started in 2008.

Those more critical of the nation’s state of graciousness included motorists and the older demographic profile of 50 years old and above, while youth and pedestrians were kinder and more perceptive to kindness, the survey found.

In addition, 81 per cent of respondents agreed that encouraging the right values in youth will best promote kindness, but only a third of them believed that parents were actively playing their part to reinforce moral values in their children.

A majority of respondents — especially the heaviest online users who spent more than 20 hours a week surfing the Internet — also believed that people should be gracious in the digital world and that more needed to be done to improve online etiquette.

The annual survey, commissioned by the Singapore Kindness Movement, polled 1,666 respondents between December and January.

The survey attributed this year’s higher index score to more respondents doing, receiving or witnessing acts of graciousness or kindness — or better indicators in the “experience” category — while “perception” indicators remained largely unchanged from last year.

Dr Wan said this could be because “perception takes time to crystallise in people’s minds”.

“Perception follows experience — it’s something you see and becomes stuck in your mind. The fact that it hasn’t trended downward is a good thing, and I think people just need more time to improve their perception of themselves and others around them,” he added.