I read with amusement Dr Yik Keng Yeong's opposition to monetary incentives to promote good behaviour, as the idealism promoted by Dr Yik and his appeal to birthright and nationalism do not accord with realism (Sad if citizens need to be rewarded to do the right thing, June 7).

We should instead be taking a utilitarian approach where the end is more important than the means, and where problems are tackled expeditiously.

To his rhetorical question of whether Singaporeans should then be "remunerated to go for our vaccinations, to quit smoking, to exercise, to keep healthy and to love our children", my qualified answer is: Yes, why not, if it proves effective? Whether incentivisation leads to materialism remains an open question.

The crux of the matter is perhaps to go beyond extrinsic motivation and find answers to the following questions:

First, why are people motivated the way they are? Second, is the "reward" truly effective for all or are there better ways to motivate people to do the right thing?

We can perhaps look at ways instead to "nudge" individuals into doing good. A nudge, as Professor Richard Thaler and Professor Cass Sunstein, authors of the book Nudge, use the term, "alters people's behaviour in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives".

A nudge employs positive reinforcement and indirect suggestions to influence behaviour and decision-making. Proponents of nudge theory suggest that it can enable people to make better choices for themselves.

For instance, in Britain, nudges caused more than one million people to sign up as volunteers during the Covid-19 pandemic, thereby boosting goodwill, altruism and community spirit. The relevant authorities there have developed a set of messages designed to encourage volunteering behaviour.

They leveraged three key aspects of human behaviour to make the messages as persuasive as possible: people like things that are easy to do (make it easy to volunteer), people do what other people do (appeal to social norms and reciprocity) and people think about their identity (make volunteering a way of life).

Perhaps Singapore should look beyond mere incentivisation and explicit motivation, and exploit nudging in all its subtleties for all it is worth.

Amos Wu Pom Hin