Kiasu (fear of losing out, FoLO) is considered the single most defining adjective that captures Singapore identity, and it is well-observed in other Asian cultures as well. Despite the widespread endorsement of kiasu in Singapore, there is limited empirical research on the theoretical conception of kiasu as a psychological construct. To empirically investigate kiasu, we validated the construct and measurement of the FoLO mindset in Study 1. In Study 2, we hypothesized and found a negative association between FoLO and Singaporeans’ self-esteem, which was mediated by a higher tendency of conformity. In addition, we hypothesized and found that individuals’ need for cognitive closure (NFCC) moderated the negative link between conformity and self-esteem such that high NFCC accelerated the negative impact of conformity on self-esteem. Whereas FoLO is often described as a form of competitiveness, the moderated-mediation model of FoLO and self-esteem can be replicated with competitiveness but in an opposite direction. This demonstrated that FoLO and competitiveness are two distinct psychological constructs. Implications of FoLO in Singapore as well as in other Asian contexts are discussed. © 2022 Asian Association of Social Psychology and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

This article discusses the relationality between death and masculinity in economically prosperous Singapore. In positioning the Singaporean male conscript, spatially disciplined by the state in both life and death, this article discusses how the reproduction of militarized masculinities through National Service (ns) in Singapore is co-constitutive of geopolitical tensions that contour how the space of the male body is reproduced. In the aftermath of four training-related deaths, this article examines the extent to which the authoritarian state is selective in exercising necropower by denying slain military bodies their existence as bodies-as-space. Granted that bodies-as-space are generative of emotions and affects, the final section of this article discusses how the Singaporean state exercises necropower to enhance life-giving conditions. It does so by deciding which military cadavers are most worthy of communicating affects and emotions for the purposes of preventing future deaths from training and ensuring support for conscription. © john lowe, 2022.

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This paper questions to what extent the category “Asia” is effective as a cultural or ethnic identifier in late modernity. It elucidates the category's plurality and individual customization, as well as the limitations of Asian solidarity, by analyzing the narratives of two groups in Singapore: Chinese Singaporeans and Japanese sojourners. The Singaporean government's national-identity building owes much to Asianist discourses. For Chinese Singaporeans, however, Asia is a void concept; they tend to deny their “Asianness” while emphasizing the hybridity of their identification. For Japanese sojourners, conversely, Singapore awakens their Asian identification and solidarity, albeit temporarily. This paper argues that the foremost concern of people in both groups is not their affiliation with an ethnic group, a state, or “Asia,” but how to navigate their individual lives; moreover, their acceptance of Asianness depends on whether they find the category meaningful in specific situations in the course of their lives. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd

Based on the Pandemic Influenza Severity Assessment (PISA), edited by the World Health Organization (2017), COVID-19 is a severe pandemic based on its transmissibility, symptom severity, and economic impact. People are also more likely to behave and make decisions that would bolster their self-esteem after reminders of death, for example by purchasing items reflective of higher status (Heine et al., 2002) or reporting higher positive regard from significant others (Cox & Arndt, 2012). The determination of particular actions or decisions is based on the prominence of death thoughts in the individuals' focal attention, giving rise to the dual process model in TMT (Pyszczynski et al., 1999). Logically, when reminded of one's death, we would expect individuals to make rational decisions such as expressing more interest in sunscreens with better protective properties (i.e., higher SPF) regardless of the delay between the mortality salience induction and their interest in sun protection.