The malleability of cultural values : overcoming conceptual and methodological challenges
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 3:45 PM
End Date
16-5-2025 4:15 PM
Language
English
Description
Understanding cultural change remains central to social science research. The growing availability of long-term data has renewed interest in analyzing cultural change, sparking debate over its mechanisms. Most scholars agree that existential insecurity influences value change (scarcity hypothesis), but whether it occurs across generations or also within lifetimes remains debated. Inglehart's socialization hypothesis, now represented by the settled disposition model, argues that values formed in pre-adulthood remain stable, with change occurring mainly through intergenerational replacement and limited individual adaptation (Restrepo Ochoa & Vaisey, 2024; Kiley & Vaisey, 2020; Vaisey & Kiley, 2021). However, Tormos (2019) and Akaliyski & Tormos (forthcoming) challenge this, presenting evidence of substantial within-individual value change in Western societies, favoring the alternative active updating model. Using panel and repeated cross-sectional data combined with diverse modelling strategies, we provide empirical evidence for this alternative perspective. We address key debates in cultural change, including individual vs. societal shifts, the often-misunderstood implications of age, period, and cohort effects, and the importance of triangulating across data sources and country contexts. We advocate for a theory-driven approach that considers both exogenous and endogenous influences on value dynamics, reviewing mechanisms of change and discussing improved modelling strategies for understanding these complex processes.
Document Type
Presentation
Recommended Citation
Tormos, R. (2025, May 16). The malleability of cultural values: Overcoming conceptual and methodological challenges. Presented at the International Interdisciplinary Conference: Advances in Comparative Culturology, Lingnan University, Hong Kong.
The malleability of cultural values : overcoming conceptual and methodological challenges
MBG06, Lam Woo Lecture Theatre, Patrick Lee Wan Keung Academic Building, Lingnan University
Understanding cultural change remains central to social science research. The growing availability of long-term data has renewed interest in analyzing cultural change, sparking debate over its mechanisms. Most scholars agree that existential insecurity influences value change (scarcity hypothesis), but whether it occurs across generations or also within lifetimes remains debated. Inglehart's socialization hypothesis, now represented by the settled disposition model, argues that values formed in pre-adulthood remain stable, with change occurring mainly through intergenerational replacement and limited individual adaptation (Restrepo Ochoa & Vaisey, 2024; Kiley & Vaisey, 2020; Vaisey & Kiley, 2021). However, Tormos (2019) and Akaliyski & Tormos (forthcoming) challenge this, presenting evidence of substantial within-individual value change in Western societies, favoring the alternative active updating model. Using panel and repeated cross-sectional data combined with diverse modelling strategies, we provide empirical evidence for this alternative perspective. We address key debates in cultural change, including individual vs. societal shifts, the often-misunderstood implications of age, period, and cohort effects, and the importance of triangulating across data sources and country contexts. We advocate for a theory-driven approach that considers both exogenous and endogenous influences on value dynamics, reviewing mechanisms of change and discussing improved modelling strategies for understanding these complex processes.
Additional Information
Speaker
Raül TORMOS (Center for Public Opinion Studies, Government of Catalonia, Spain)
Dr. Raul Tormos is the Head of Methodology and Research at the Center for Public Opinion Studies (CEO), the official polling institute of the Catalan Government in Spain. He also teaches political behavior at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC). He holds a PhD in political science from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a BA in sociology from the University of Barcelona. He was a TMR research fellow at the MZES in Mannheim, and received specialized training at UC Berkeley, University of Oslo, the University of Essex, and RECSM. His research explores how societies change over time, focusing on public opinion, cultural values, and political behavior, while integrating insights from cross-cultural psychology. Methodologically, he specializes in age-period-cohort analysis, multilevel modelling, time series analysis, causal inference, experimental design, and survey methods. His work has appeared in different journals including British Journal of Political Science, Public Opinion Quarterly, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Frontiers in Public Health, International Journal of Comparative Sociology, European Political Science Review, Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, Social Indicators Research, International Journal of Public Opinion Research, among others. His book, The Rhythm of Modernization. How Values Change over Time, was published by Brill in 2019.