Interpreting value changes across countries using archetypes as anchor points : individual and country level perspectives
Event Title
International Interdisciplinary Conference: Advances in Comparative Culturology
Location
MBG06, Lam Woo Lecture Theatre, Patrick Lee Wan Keung Academic Building, Lingnan University
Start Date
16-5-2025 3:15 PM
End Date
16-5-2025 3:45 PM
Language
English
Description
Schwartz's seminal psychological theory on human values (Schwartz, 1992, 2012) explains differences among individuals and countries. His instruments are robust, showing similar value structures across nations despite varying priorities. Our study examines value changes over time from both individual-level and country-level perspectives. For the individual level perspective, we use archetype analysis. This method identifies extreme observations representing specific value combinations, which are stable over time and useful for monitoring group changes. Country scores are averages of individual scores. Using European Social Survey data across 29 countries over a 20-year period, we identify three archetypes: Growth-focus, Self-focus, and Social-focus, all fitting Schwartz's theory. Changes in value priorities over time are observed between countries, with Growth-focus prevalence influenced by political and economic conditions. Wealthier and more democratic countries have a larger number of growth-focused individuals. For the country level perspective, we start with country-level value scores as input in the archetype analysis. We explain various results, emphasizing that values are individual level constructs based on survey responses. We argue that valid comparisons over time require equivalence of constructs across countries. The discussion focusses on the need for integrating the two perspectives with a plea for a strong theoretical basis of population-level constructs.
Document Type
Presentation
Recommended Citation
Van Herk, H. (2025, May 16). Interpreting value changes across countries using archetypes as anchor points: Individual and country level perspectives. Presented at the International Interdisciplinary Conference: Advances in Comparative Culturology, Lingnan University, Hong Kong.
Interpreting value changes across countries using archetypes as anchor points : individual and country level perspectives
MBG06, Lam Woo Lecture Theatre, Patrick Lee Wan Keung Academic Building, Lingnan University
Schwartz's seminal psychological theory on human values (Schwartz, 1992, 2012) explains differences among individuals and countries. His instruments are robust, showing similar value structures across nations despite varying priorities. Our study examines value changes over time from both individual-level and country-level perspectives. For the individual level perspective, we use archetype analysis. This method identifies extreme observations representing specific value combinations, which are stable over time and useful for monitoring group changes. Country scores are averages of individual scores. Using European Social Survey data across 29 countries over a 20-year period, we identify three archetypes: Growth-focus, Self-focus, and Social-focus, all fitting Schwartz's theory. Changes in value priorities over time are observed between countries, with Growth-focus prevalence influenced by political and economic conditions. Wealthier and more democratic countries have a larger number of growth-focused individuals. For the country level perspective, we start with country-level value scores as input in the archetype analysis. We explain various results, emphasizing that values are individual level constructs based on survey responses. We argue that valid comparisons over time require equivalence of constructs across countries. The discussion focusses on the need for integrating the two perspectives with a plea for a strong theoretical basis of population-level constructs.
Additional Information
Speaker
Hester van HERK (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Hester van Herk is a full professor of Cross-Cultural Marketing Research at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia. She earned an MSc in psychology from Leiden University, then worked as a scientific researcher in business and government. She later returned to academia to complete a PhD in marketing and cross-cultural psychology at Tilburg University in 2000. After her PhD, she joined Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where she has served as Program Director of the Bachelor of Business Administration and Acting Chair of the Marketing Department. Her research focuses on how human values influence behavior across cultures, using large-scale survey data to study people in both developed and emerging societies. She also specializes in cross-cultural research methodology, examining how cultural context shapes survey responses. Her work has been published in leading journals such as the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Journal of International Marketing, Journal of Common Market Studies, and European Journal of Personality. She coauthored the book International & Cross-Cultural Business Research with Jean-Claude Usunier and Julie Anne Lee, and coedited the book Cross Cultural Issues in Consumer Science and Consumer Psychology with Carlos J. Torelli.