SMU Professor of Psychology Norman Li and his team of international researchers have been investigating the reasons behind a society’s growing reluctance to start families and raise children. This research is funded by the Academic Research Fund Tier 1 grant from Singapore’s Ministry of Education. Separately, a study involving 540 undergraduate students in Singapore found that when they were made to think they were surrounded by more people, they tended to prioritise acquiring knowledge and skills over starting a family and reported less favourable attitudes towards having children. Dr Amy Lim, Senior Lecturer in Psychology and the discipline lead at Murdoch University, Singapore, who highlighted this study in a commentary, added that she is continuing to work alongside Prof Li in exploring effective interventions to change perceptions of population density and, consequently, attitudes towards having children.