Societal Value Culture

Abstract

The commentaries identify several aspects of my model that merit elaboration. Perceived societal values complement individuals’ own values as influences on behavior. Aggregating these values across individuals would yield an additional latent index of societal value culture that is external to any individual mind. The level of institutions in my model points to the multiple, proximal cultures (e.g., ethnic, professional, religious, family) that influence individuals more directly than the societal value culture. I consider whether the degree of within-country consensus around values has increased in recent decades, eliminating the Fischer and Schwartz (2011) challege to ‘shared-value’ theories of culture. However, historical data suggest no increase in within-country consensus, so the challenge stands. Contrary to claims that my model is static, I elaborate multiple sources of dynamic change and conflict that are built into the model. Finally, I address several misunderstandings of my views about culture.