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Sun Jan 17 01:13:10 CET 2016

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Richard Wilk&#39;s comment resonates with my experience doing values and li=
festyles research for 25 years. In several hundred studies, we found that c=
ultural differences in values and worldviews were vastly better predictors =
to consumer behavior, than learning of the kind mentioned in neural researc=
h, or than the kinds of variables used in conventional behaviorist or perso=
nality psychology. Values state what is most important in life, and worldvi=
ews state beliefs about how life works.<br>
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The key discovery that gave rise to the Cultural Creatives research finding=
s was that this is grows out of cultural change processes, and psychologica=
l variables are not correlated with that. In fact, in numerous studies in J=
apan, Western Europe and the United States, competition among three competi=
ng subcultures organize cultural changes in consumption and in sustainabili=
ty-related behaviors. These are Traditionals, Moderns, and Cultural Creativ=
es (who are the leaders in creating change toward sustainable culture).<br>
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Each of the three subcultures is very similar in pattern to its cognate typ=
e in the other developed nations. In a comparison of Cultural Creatives in =
the Netherlands and the U.S., we found that they are more similar to each o=
ther than they are to their countrymen in the other two subcultures.<br>
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This was especially true for sustainability-related products, and any kind =
of &#39;green&#39; behaviors, or attitudes in &#39;green&#39; public issues=
. And there was better leverage for change by working off of values and lif=
estyle preferences, and interpreting consumption changes in terms of worldv=
iews. Values and worldviews simply lie at a deeper level in consumer behavi=
or than attitudes and opinions, and are more accessible to influence throug=
h interpersonal contact.<br>
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Paul H. Ray<br>
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Wednesday, January 13, 2016<br>
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