Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
DEVC 204
Cruz, Maria Victoria
Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Theoretical Framework 9
Findings 11
Discussion 13
Definition 13
Repercussions 15
Conclusion 19
Recommendation 20
Annex A 22
Bibliography 24
Maria Victoria A. Cruz
Introduction
and responses of a person or system to stimulation. The field of psychology agrees that
mindset that it is one’s major loss to miss out on good deals or trends that are already
pull ahead of or gain an advantage over others. This “kiasu” attitude developed a strong
attitude towards education, work and other aspects of their lives. The society is fixated
and always being compared to their peers. On a positive note, this mentality has driven
many Singaporeans to be more diligent and hard working, in order to secure for
“Crab mentality,” on the other hand, is prevalent among Filipinos. It is an attitude likened
to the behavior of crabs in a bucket: when a crab starts to climb its way up, the others
try to pull it back down. It is said that crab mentality is shortsighted thinking that runs
along the lines of “If I can’t have it, neither can you.” It usually conjures negative images
of backbiting, trampling each other down and even jolting. However, some critics say
there is positive side on this type of mentality. It goes to say that Filipinos have a
collective aspiration and goal for equality and justice. We frown on inequality and prefer
everyone to be of equal rights and status. Critics also say that many of those who had
3
Maria Victoria A. Cruz
been subjected to crab mentality of others developed virtues of humility and resilience.
It may be an uphill battle for most Filipinos as they climb their way up to wealth and
success, but in the end, they survive and become more resilient. They become
generous in expressing care and concern for those who are still struggling to move their
way up.
The two mentalities are both not endearing traits. They are both derived or cut from the
same vein, envy or “inggit.” They also exhibit positive and negative outcomes in each
country’s social and political environment. I believe that each country’s respective
government and its and approach play an important role on the development and
prevalence of such mentalities. However, what is the degree of impact or effect of each
Singapore has surprisingly become one of the progressive countries in the world, and
its economy continues to grow rapidly. This is in spite of its small size and lack of
natural resources. This study hopes to address the question: In what way does
The Philippines, on the other hand, is a country with vast resources. However, its slow
4
Maria Victoria A. Cruz
experts. Studies have shown that poverty, unstable political leadership and uncontrolled
population growth remain not only strong factors contributing to this debacle, even the
Filipinos’ unique behavior of crab mentality also play a role. How does “crab mentality”
of Filipinos play a part in our country’s stunted economic growth? On the other hand,
how can such Filipino mentality exhibit a more optimistic change and help our nation
become stronger?
In the 1970’s, the Singapore government strongly encouraged (for a period) the
for the country’s economy. Even up to now, senior government ministers would, from
time to time, remind their citizens of the challenges their country went through in the
past and stress the importance of staying ahead of others. They believe that they had to
start from young, so they created a kiasu environment especially in schools. For them,
the only alternative to winning is losing which obviously is not desirable. Thus,
This research does not suggest that we embrace the very same behavior as that of
mentality. Through this study, we may be able to identify how these social behaviors
affect the development of a nation. From there, we can formulate suggestions as to how
the Philippine government can instill a more positive and progressive attitude among its
5
Maria Victoria A. Cruz
This paper reviews several research studies on the issues of crab mentality and
kiasuism. Hopefully, the researcher will be able to draw some possible analysis and
Hwang, Ang and Francesco (2002) in their article, came up with a definition of kiasuism,
a behavior that refers to obsessive concern with getting the most out of every
transaction and a desire to get ahead of others. This prevalent behavior among
Singaporeans has negative and positive outcomes that were concluded in a study
conducted by Leo (1995). Some of negative outcomes are greed, being inconsiderate
and obnoxious. A significant positive outcome from kiasu behavior is that many
Singaporeans became high achievers. This mentality has also been observed in other
strongly developed nations such as Hong Kong, Australia and the United States.
Ortman (2009) stated in his article that Singapore, being a country with no long history
and inhabited by multitude of different races, had to come up with a strategy geared to
governance is the concept of meritocracy, meaning “the best and brightest would
succeed.” Kiasuism is touted as the possible reason for the meritocratic rise of
Singapore, as cited by Robert Kiyosaki, the author of best-selling book “Rich Dad, Poor
Dad,” when he spoke in the National Achiever’s Congress in 2012. Like Hwang, Ang
and Francesco concluded in their article, kiasuism is a tactic rather than a maladaptive
behavior. It is an approach to life that manifests a specific tactic for the purpose of
achieving goals and gain competitive advantage over others. Since Singapore was a
6
Maria Victoria A. Cruz
young nation, it needed to come up with social and economic strategies that will bring
its country to a new level and one of it indirectly points out to kiasuism. It began when
the Singapore government had to constantly remind its citizens of what their country
had to go through and how it survived crisis. This refers to a “crisis motive” strategy as
further stated by Ortman. This imparted the value of optimism on its people. Its citizens
learned to be determined and driven in whatever they do, hence, it created a healthy
and disciplined competitive environment that compels them to work harder and stay
ahead of others
Crab mentality, on the other hand, is similar to Australia’s “Tall Poppy Syndrome” (TPS)
phenomenon in which people cut down, resent, attack and criticize successful people
because their achievements elevate them above the rest. If TPS is also evident among
the people of a progressive nation like Australia, one can say that this cultural trait is not
a roadblock to its nation’s economic progress. Mancl did a survey among Australian
students and found that individuals with low global self-esteem and perceived self-
competence were more likely to favor the fall of these “tall poppies” than those with high
global self-esteem and perceived self-competence. To relate this with the Filipinos, its
colonization by the Spaniards for more than three centuries and by the Americans for
nearly fifty years had deeply influenced them and left an overpowering cognitive
behavioral concept that determines their sense of inferiority, low self-esteem and crab
mentality (Mclellands 1961). In the beginning, the Filipinos had to rely heavily on their
colonizers in order to survive in spite of the fact that the country is rich in natural
resources. From the time when Filipinos basically lost rights to everything, they learned
7
Maria Victoria A. Cruz
to be dependent on the Spaniards and Americans to carry through life. This can further
children are brought up to be independent and self-reliant. He cited that children who
grow up with these two traits develop a need to achieve more and this provides impetus
for the development of a society. Similarly, the Philippines should have began and
Crab mentality describes a way of thinking best described by the phrase, “If I can't have
it, neither can you.” A person tries to pull somebody down if the latter is getting ahead of
him. There are critics who also look at it in a positive perspective and refer to it as a
collective desire of Filipinos for equality and justice. No one must be given special and
unequal treatment. Seen from a glass half-full perspective, some of those who had been
subjected to crab mentality actually became more resilient and humble in the pursuit of
their dreams and goals. In a recent survey by British organization Charities Aid
Foundation, the Philippines is rated 17th most generous country out of 146 countries
included in the study. Resilience, compassion and generosity are growing virtues
among the Filipinos. These values or morals were believed to have commenced from
the Filipinos’ collective desire of justice and equality that in a way described in crab
Filipinos exhibit especially during times of calamities like typhoons, floods, and
earthquakes and even in non-emergency situations that call for a sense of community—
such as elections, school enrolments, and festivities and other town activities. Different
tragedies have hit the country yet these virtues become more and more evident.
Filipinos continue to fight, struggle and survive in the midst of all challenges and these
8
Maria Victoria A. Cruz
Theoretical Framework
This research is based on a major theory within psychology, which holds that all
behaviors are learned through positive and negative reinforcements. This theory is
Watson (1912). This is a theory of learning based upon the idea that all behaviors are
environment. Behaviorists believe that our responses to environment stimuli shape our
behavior.
Applying this theory to the study at hand, the behaviors in this case are the cultural traits
being studied, specifically kiasuism and crab mentality. These behaviors are acquired
through conditioning, in this case by each country’s history as well as their respective
9
Maria Victoria A. Cruz
A qualitative research approach is applied in this study using Focus Group Interview;
two sets of group with only three participants in each group. Small sampling is due to
structured set of open-ended or probe questions (Annex A) are used for the informal
face-to-face interviews.
respondents, especially under a group setting, would be more willing to express freely
their opinions on the subject being studied. Responses from Interviews were recorded
and transcribed for better analysis. The data from interview transcripts used “open
coding”, wherein each response was labeled or coded according to themes and ideas
Respondents were called over the phone for schedule of interviews. Respondents are
both men and women, aged between 30 and 45 years. Interviews were all held in the
Two of the respondents from group 1 are teachers from a renowned primary school in
provide insight into the extent of kiasuism in their society and its effect on their nation.
The other participant is a housewife who works part-time as an insurance agent in one
of the top financial companies in Singapore. She spoke freely of what she sees with the
10
Maria Victoria A. Cruz
nation’s government and its extent of kiausism. Group 2 consists of one participant who
is a former social worker from the Philippines and is presently engaged in various
the country’s development and his beliefs on the impact of cultural behaviors among
for Citibank Singapore. His wide understanding of both cultures in the Philippines and
Singapore helped the researcher generate more ideas about the subject. The other
Filipinos.
Other than interviews and observations, the researcher gathered data from various
opinions among other Singaporeans and Filipinos as the researcher interacted with
them daily. Information in both print and online media and articles and from extensive
books search and literature reviews were rigorously analyzed. It also entails complex
reasoning and focus on the context for the data to be meaningfully interpreted.
Findings
The questions and responses from the interviews are directly geared toward the
researcher’s objectives to identify the degree of effect of kiasuism and crab mentality in
Singapore and the Philippines, respectively, and to find out if each nation’s respective
government plays a role in the development and prevalence of such cultural mentalities.
The table below shows the key significant responses from the focus group interviews.
11
Maria Victoria A. Cruz
12
Maria Victoria A. Cruz
Discussions
Definition
an attitude of not wanting to be left behind. Kiasu people go beyond what is expected of
13
Maria Victoria A. Cruz
Singapore possess this attitude. There are newspaper and magazine articles that
How Filipino respondents (group 2) defined crab mentality is similar to how kiasuism is
The two attitudes are similar but differ on how one reacts to feelings of envy. On one
hand, Singaporeans not wanting to be left behind push themselves to work harder in
order to achieve greater results. On the other hand, the crab mentality attitude of
Filipinos, not wanting anyone to be ahead of all the others, tend to pull them back down,
The above statements lead us to the question: “What drives these people to behave the
way they do?” Group 1 discussed the fear of missing out on something good, or falling
behind others. A strong example of this is evident in the country’s school environment,
where academic rankings and examination results are highly valued in society.
Academic tuition centers and private tuition services are common. It also shows in the
huge quantity of study materials, such as assessment and practice books, available in
bookstores and shops found in malls, sidewalks and even in bus and train stations. In
general, they believe that kiasuism is incorporated in their government’s policies and
14
Maria Victoria A. Cruz
agenda. News and feature articles from state-controlled media directly or indirectly
The same group of respondents also mentioned how the behavior could possibly be
common for a Chinese society. An example is the case of the “tiger mom,” an ethnic
Chinese American who stirred controversy by saying that Chinese parents raise
children better than western parents. Her beliefs are very similar to the kiasu mentality.
The second group believes that crab mentality must have been derived from the
Chinese people. In the early 1900s, there were 1.5 million people of Chinese ethnicity,
which was almost 25% of the Philippine population then. Chinese people are perceived
to be hard working and always determined to achieve success. One respondent from
the group mentioned how that particular characteristic of Chinese has influenced the
Repercussions
Both behaviors have negative and positive effects in their environment and in the
depression and anxiety due to academic pressure. This has contributed to a fast-paced
stressful environment that may cause other people to lose joy in learning and even in
life. The positive effects, however, are more strongly felt within the society. Many
Singaporeans become result and success-oriented; many of them are high achievers
and abhor complacency in life while desiring continuous growth and improvement.
15
Maria Victoria A. Cruz
On the other hand, envy and belittling as factors discussed among group 2 turn out to
be one of the main negative effects of crab mentality. Most of the respondents insisted
that they could not see anything good resulting from it. The situations in Philippine
politics, the entertainment industry and schools are the most obvious examples. Political
rivalries, endless bickering and intrigues are commonplace in the Philippine political
environment and are clear indications of crab mentality. The same is true in show
business. Even in schools, rivalries and sometimes violent clashes can happen between
situations causes the public to get used to these. This results in an osmosis effect,
wherein constant exposure to such things leads people to adopt them as normal and
accepted in society.
One respondent in the second group was able to identify a positive effect of crab
similar to that of Singapore. This may spur Filipinos to do their best and to excel. It
When asked about the role their respective governments play in the prevalence of such
16
Maria Victoria A. Cruz
It is commonly perceived that the Singapore government wants its citizens to always be
on their toes and not be complacent, therefore pushing its citizens to excel and reach
goals. An excerpt from the recent message of the Prime Minister, “foreigners are better
than locals…” is a very inciting statement for many Singaporeans. For the respondents,
it spells the need to compete and improve all the more. Aside from the strong evidence
areas. This can be seen in the soaring cost of living in the country, very high registration
costs of vehicles, continued increase in the prices of real estate property and more. All
these speak of how high the government wants to set its bar. From the time the country
became an independent nation in 1965 until the 1980s, there had only been one
government political party that runs it. Respondents consider it as strong implication of
unity among their government leaders and their serious collective goal of national
development. To have a full state control of the entire local media in the country is
thought of as another right step or decision from the government. The local media is
controlled and allowed to cover only information on what will build the nation.
Singaporeans are exposed to successful agenda and projects and promising future
plans and developments of the government. This way, the citizens learn to be in one
with their political leaders in achieving national goals. Citizens only see and hear what
their government has to say and that probably led them to be reputed as a “regimented”
society. “Radical long-term goals and plans have always been in the minds of our
government people,” as quoted from one respondent. Amazingly, the government has
effectively delivered well all the development projects making the nation one of the
17
Maria Victoria A. Cruz
fastest growing around the world. These factors give evidence to the perception that
We notice how many Singaporeans acquire the sense of nationalism in effect to how
they see their government rule and manage. It could be the power of positive
reinforcement and positive examples that began among the country’s government
leaders. As discussed and stated by group 1 respondents, further effect from their
government’s kiasu approach is their drive for excellence. Strong display of kiasuism in
their country may have created a competitive environment and academically inclined
and regimented society; however, these factors are believed to be what brought them to
As to the role and approach of the Philippine government, group 2 respondents remain
negative by saying that corruption, blickering, rivalries and dirty elections are just a few
factors that are most evident among the Philippine government leaders. One
respondent even emphasized that in the past, print and radio media coverage was
mostly about disclosing the filth from the government. This basically results in lack of
trust and confidence on the government, and lack of patriotism among many Filipinos.
Many people may have felt disheartened as to the situation and practices among their
mentality.
18
Maria Victoria A. Cruz
Conclusion
Crab mentality and kiasuism are similar in many ways. All respondents look at both as
negative traits rather than positive. However, in a developed country such as Singapore,
kiasuism appears to play a role in a healthy competitive environment. This has led to an
success. This is attributed to how the country’s government leaders practice and apply
among its citizens to do and achieve well and this is more evident in the country’s
positively reinforcing kiasuism in its people. The inspiring success stories in the country
powered by a solely united political party serves as a powerful tool in winning the
Truly a lot of factors have contributed to that effect and one of it is believed to be the
crab mentality are heavily displayed in the different settings in the Philippines
particularly in the country’s politics, show business and schools. Worse is that these
particular industries being main influences in the country are also given the largest
coverage and attention from the media. The Filipinos witness and experience the most
as the country’s government. In the past, strong factors of rivalries that results to dirty
19
Maria Victoria A. Cruz
of various rebel groups and not to mention the strong issue of graft and corruption pose
a big distrust and lost of confidence in many Filipinos. These are all obviously derived
from the issue of crab mentality that is strongly displayed among the country’s
government leaders. Moreover, the lack of trust and confidence brought about by a lot
Recommendation
From this research study, the researcher is able to draw some ideas and suggestions
Singapore has done a tremendous job in reaching development and success. Kiasuism
the extent of kiasuism in the society should be the next step. The open-door policy of
with fear of losing their identity, culture and even jobs. Thus, competition is so strong
The Philippines today is picking up economically and has been gaining positive
reactions among the business and tourism sectors. Kudos to what has the President
been doing to eradicate corruptions and unwanted leaders in the Philippine government.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) was recently able to generate a sound tax
collectibles which is about 46% higher collection than the previous year. That could be
attributed from the gaining confidence and trust of people with its government.
Furthermore, the researcher suggests for the government to come up with a more
20
Maria Victoria A. Cruz
hardline approach that sets standard to excel and focus on just building and developing
the nation. Continue to address the issue of display of crab mentality among Filipinos
specifically the people in politics and entertainment mass media. There is a call for the
government leaders to highly set the pace in practicing excellent leadership. Lastly,
emphasize and promote on the positive sides of crab mentality. It goes to say that
Filipinos must continue to highlight the values of generosity, resilience and hospitality in
the country. Integrate and emphasize learning and adapting these things through
Values Education subject in schools. This will boost security and confidence among the
citizens. This way, the real character of Filipinos will be revived and that will help the
21
Maria Victoria A. Cruz
1) Define Kiauism
22
Maria Victoria A. Cruz
3) Give examples
7) Why do you think many Filipinos practice crab mentality? Please name important
factors.
themselves?
11) In what way does crab mentality behavior affects a development of nation?
23
Maria Victoria A. Cruz
Bibliography
Mancl, A.C. (2006). Of Crabs and Tall Poppies: An Exploratory Study of Attitudes &
Tan, A.L. (1997). Philippine Studies: Values Research in the Philippines. Ateneo De
Clinical Practice. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, New Jersey, 2001. pp 46.
Dy, M.B. (1994). Values in Philippine Culture & Education: Philippine Philosophical
Studies I. The Council for Research in Values & Philosophy. Washington, D.C. 1994. pp
35-45
Kirby, E.G., Kirby, S.L., Bell, J.D., Schafer, C. (2007). Exploring the Factors Affecting
Ortmann, S. (2009). Singapore: The Politics of Inventing National Identity, in: Journal of
Current Southeast Asian Affairs. GIGA German Institute of Global & Area Studies.
Hwang, A., Ang, S., Francesco, A.M. (2002). The Silent Chinese: The Influence of Face
24
Maria Victoria A. Cruz
Ho, J.T.,Ang, C.E., Loh, J., Ng, I.(1998). Journal of Managerial Psychology: A
25